Train Up a Child

I was always taught that Prov. 22:6 went this way:

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Well, let's be fair. I was taught that because that's what our Bibles say.

This has always been an interesting verse for a couple of reasons. On one hand, young parents have seen it is a hopeful promise. Do the right thing with your child, and you are assured success. On the other hand, older parents have always been "under its thumb", so to speak. They did what they thought was right raising their children, and something went wrong. It must be, according to this verse, that they failed to train up the child in the way he should go.

So I am reading through Proverbs these days and I noticed a footnote in my Bible. Where the verse says, "in the way he should go", the footnote says, "Lit. 'According to his way'." What? That's not the same thing. So I did a little research. Jameison-Faussett-Brown says, "the way--literally, 'his way,' that selected for him in which he should go; for early training secures habitual walking in it." In other words, "in the way he should go" is a deduction, not a translation.

Now, I have to admit that every commentator I reviewed on this verse agreed with it as it stands, but I have to wonder. Is it a promise or a warning? The normal reading comes across as a promise ... which too many parents have seen fail. But if we read it "Train up a child according to his way and when he is old he will not depart from it", that would be saying, "If you let your child determine his own natural path, you'll never get him out of that failure." Now, both readings tell parents, "Train your children." One, however, seems to hold out a promise (and a curse), while the other is simply a warning. I wonder if, based on experience, Solomon didn't have a warning in mind rather than the commonly perceived promise.