When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall 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.
- BSB When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will 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 laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
- Ps 4:8I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
- Prov 6:22When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
- Ps 121:4–7Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
- Job 11:19Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
- Jer 31:26Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
- Ps 127:2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
- Lev 26:6And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
- Ezek 34:15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
- Acts 12:6And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
- 1 Th 4:13–14But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.