Bible Strands
Proverbs 3:24
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Solomon (or the wisdom tradition) addresses his son within a block of commands to trust the LORD and hold fast to wisdom (vv. 1–8). The verse is the middle link in a three-beat sequence: safe travel (v. 23), peaceful sleep (v. 24), freedom from fear of the wicked's ruin (v. 25).
The words — עָרְבָה ('a.re.Vah), "it will be pleasing," shares its root with עֶרֶב (evening) and carries the sense of agreeable, acceptable; the BSB's "sweet" captures this better than a neutral "good." The verb תִשְׁכַּב (tish.kav), "you will lie down," is repeated to frame the entire promise in a single physical act.
The thread — Psalms 4:8 and 3:5 pair lying down with sleep in the same confidence, attributing the safety to the LORD alone. Proverbs 6:22 extends the image: wisdom watches over the sleeper and speaks at waking.
Why it lands — The verse is not a general encouragement to relax; it is a conditional promise embedded in a command to trust. It asks the reader to see that the quality of their rest is downstream of their posture toward God, not a matter of technique or circumstance.
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
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Cross-references
- Psalms 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
- Psalms 3:5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
- Proverbs 6:22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
- Job 11:19 You will lie down without fear, and many will court your favor.
- Psalms 121:4 Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
- Jeremiah 31:26 At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.
- Leviticus 26:6 And 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.
- Psalms 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
- Ezekiel 34:15 I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
- Acts 12:6 On 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.