Proverbs 20:30

20:30 Beatings and wounds cleanse away ¹  evil,

and floggings cleanse ²  the innermost being. ³ 

Hebrews 4:12-13

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ⁴  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

[20:30]  ¹ tc The verb מָרַק (maraq) means “to polish; to scour”; in the Hiphil it means “to cleanse away,” but it is only attested here, and that in the Kethib reading of תַּמְרִיק (tamriq). The Qere has תַּמְרוּק (tamruq, “are a means of cleansing”). The LXX has “blows and contusions fall on evil men, and stripes penetrate their inner beings”; the Latin has “the bruise of a wound cleanses away evil things.” C. H. Toy suggests emending the text to read “stripes cleanse the body, and blows the inward parts” or “cosmetics purify the body, and blows the soul” (Proverbs [ICC], 397). Cf. CEV “can knock all of the evil out of you.”

[20:30]  ² tn The term “cleanse” does not appear in this line but is supplied in the translation in the light of the parallelism.

[20:30]  ³ sn Physical punishment may prove spiritually valuable. Other proverbs say that some people will never learn from this kind of punishment, but in general this may be the only thing that works for some cases.

[4:13]  ⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.