When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.
Parallel translations
- WEB When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
- KJV When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
- NKJV When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
- NASB When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
- NLT You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The wise can lie down without fear and enjoy sweet sleep. Trust in God's wisdom brings rest and freedom from dread.
Overview
Untroubled sleep is a sign of a clear conscience and confidence in God's care (cf. Ps 4:8). The wise are not consumed by anxiety because their lives are entrusted to the LORD. This rest foreshadows the deeper rest Christ gives to the weary who come to him (Matt 11:28-29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 3:5I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
- Ps 4:8I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
- Prov 6:22When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
- Ps 121:4–7Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
- Job 11:19You will lie down without fear, and many will court your favor.
- Jer 31:26At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.
- Ps 127:2In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
- Lev 26:6And I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to fear. I will rid the land of dangerous animals, and no sword will pass through your land.
- Ezek 34:15I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
- Acts 12:6On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.
- 1 Th 4:13–14Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 3:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.