John Gill Commentary Proverbs 20:30

"Stripes that wound cleanse away evil; And strokes [reach] the innermost parts." — Proverbs 20:30 (ASV)

The blueness of a wound cleanses away evil
Rubs it off and scours it away, as the word ^F13 signifies, or is a clearing and rubbing it off; some men must be beaten black and blue, or must have very sore correction, before they can be reclaimed and reformed from their evil ways; so some interpret it of the evil man ^F14 : sanctified afflictions to God's people are the means of purging away their iniquities, their dross, and their sin; but there is nothing so effectually cleanses from sin as the blood of Jesus, or heals or cures of it as his blue wounds and stripes; see (Isaiah 27:9) (53:5) ;

so [do] stripes the inward part of the belly ;
or heart and conscience; by means of corrections and chastisement men are brought to an inward sense of sin; they are shown their transgressions wherein they has exceeded, and are commanded to return from iniquity, (Job 36:9Job 36:10) ; they lament and mourn over sin, confess it and forsake it; and then may the inwards of the heart, the mind and conscience, defiled with them, be said to be cleansed from them; especially when led by these stripes and corrections to the stripes, wounds, and blood of Christ which, being applied, cleanse from all, sin inwardly and outwardly.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F13: (qyrmt) "abstesio", Piscator, Mercerus, Cocceius; "detersio", Montanus, Michaelis; "effricatio", Schultens.
• F14: (erb) "in malo, sub, homine", Vatablus, Mercerus, Gejerus, Michaelis; "in malo (homine nequam)", Schultens, so Aben Ezra.