The Meaning of Proverbs 3:24 Explained

Proverbs 3:24

KJV: When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

YLT: If thou liest down, thou art not afraid, Yea, thou hast lain down, And sweet hath been thy sleep.

Darby: when thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid, but thou shalt lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet.

ASV: When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

When thou liest down,  thou shalt not be afraid:  yea, thou shalt lie down,  and thy sleep  shall be sweet. 

What does Proverbs 3:24 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 3:13-26 - Wisdom's Ways Of Pleasantness
Wisdom is susceptible of cultivation. It is a mine that needs to be worked with patient toil. Compare Proverbs 3:13-15 with Job 28:18. It is comparable to a noble woman, who approaches us with full-handed beneficence, Proverbs 3:16-17. It may be described as a tree, requiring careful tendance and bearing fruit for the patient cultivator, Proverbs 3:18. And we may turn from our own little lives to see the mighty results of divine wisdom in Creation and Providence. We are made in the image of God, our minds are able to appreciate His mind, and we think over again, as Kepler said, the thoughts of God, Proverbs 3:19-20.
Learn the security of the life which is built on the eternal principles of this book. It has no fear. Its repose is unbroken by alarm. It is at peace with itself, with man, and with God. This is not the result of our calculating prudence, but because we exercise ourselves to have consciences void of offense toward God and man; and because the God of patience, of hope, and of peace is with us. See Romans 15:5; Romans 15:13; Romans 15:33. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 3

1  various exhortations
13  The gain of wisdom
27  Exhortation to goodness
33  the different state of the wicked and upright

What do the individual words in Proverbs 3:24 mean?

When you lie down not you will be afraid and Yes you will lie down and will be sweet your sleep
אִם־ תִּשְׁכַּ֥ב לֹֽא־ תִפְחָ֑ד וְ֝שָׁכַבְתָּ֗ וְֽעָרְבָ֥ה שְׁנָתֶֽךָ

תִּשְׁכַּ֥ב  you  lie  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
תִפְחָ֑ד  you  will  be  afraid 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: פָּחַד  
Sense: to fear, tremble, revere, dread, be in awe or dread.
וְ֝שָׁכַבְתָּ֗  and  Yes  you  will  lie  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
וְֽעָרְבָ֥ה  and  will  be  sweet 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: עָרַב  
Sense: (Qal) to be pleasant, be sweet, be pleasing.
שְׁנָתֶֽךָ  your  sleep 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: שֵׁנָא 
Sense: sleep.