Bible Strands
Proverbs 24:33
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses the reader immediately after observing a sluggard’s neglected field in the preceding verse.
The words — The text emphasizes מְעַט (me'at), meaning "a little of," and חִבּ֖ק יָדַ֣יִם (chi Buk ya Da yim), literally "folding of hands."
The thread — This warning against excessive rest appears in Proverbs 6:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:6, and Romans 13:11.
Why it lands — The passage demands immediate action to prevent the gradual onset of poverty described in the following verse.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
Cross-references
- Proverbs 6:4 Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6 So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.
- Romans 13:11 And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- Ephesians 5:14 So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”