Anti-antichrist wrote: Hi Mike, are you saying the rod must be a tree branch then?
I don't think is neccesarly a literal rod, but it could and it would be right. I think the text is trying to tell us that some kind of fisical punishment must be applied (and be applied the way the Lord told us to be done)
You can discipline your children fisically, not because of anger, but because of discipline. Not trying to harm them, but trying to teach them
BTW... I would use a tree branch but I think I would ran out of trees XD