Amsal 6:4

6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes ¹ 

or slumber to your eyelids.

Amsal 3:24

3:24 When ²  you lie down you will not be filled with fear; ³ 

when ⁴  you lie down your sleep will be pleasant. ⁵ 

Amsal 6:9-10

6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?

When will you rise from your sleep? ⁶ 

6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax, ⁷ 

Amsal 24:33

24:33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax,

Amsal 4:16

4:16 For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; ⁸ 

they are robbed of sleep ⁹  until they make someone stumble. ¹⁰ 

Amsal 20:13

20:13 Do not love sleep, ¹¹  lest you become impoverished;

open your eyes so that ¹²  you might be satisfied with food. ¹³ 

[6:4]  ¹ tn Heb “do not give sleep to your eyes.” The point is to go to the neighbor and seek release from the agreement immediately (cf. NLT “Don’t rest until you do”).

[3:24]  ² tn The particle אִם (’im, “if”) here functions in its rare temporal sense (“when”) followed by an imperfect tense (e.g., Num 36:4; BDB 50 s.v. 1.b.4.b).

[3:24]  ³ tn Heb “terror.” The verb פָּחַד (pakhad, “terror”) describes emotion that is stronger than mere fear – it is dread.

[3:24]  ⁴ tn The construction of vav consecutive + perfect tense followed by vav (ו) consecutive + perfect tense depicts a temporal clause. The temporal nuance is also suggested by the parallelism of the preceding colon.

[3:24]  ⁵ tn The verb עָרְבָה (’orvah) is from III עָרַב (“to be sweet; to be pleasing; to be pleasant”; BDB 787 s.v. III עָרַב). It should not be confused with the other five homonymic roots that are also spelled עָרַב (’arav; see BDB 786-88).

[6:9]  ⁶ sn The use of the two rhetorical questions is designed to rebuke the lazy person in a forceful manner. The sluggard is spending too much time sleeping.

[6:10]  ⁷ sn The writer might in this verse be imitating the words of the sluggard who just wants to take “a little nap.” The use is ironic, for by indulging in this little rest the lazy one comes to ruin.

[4:16]  ⁸ sn The verb is רָעַע (ra’a’), which means “to do evil; to harm.” The verse is using the figure of hyperbole to stress the preoccupation of some people with causing trouble. R. L. Alden says, “How sick to find peace only at the price of another man’s misfortune” (Proverbs, 47).

[4:16]  ⁹ sn Heb “their sleep is robbed/seized”; these expressions are metonymical for their restlessness in plotting evil.

[4:16]  ¹⁰ sn The Hiphil imperfect (Kethib) means “cause to stumble.” This idiom (from hypocatastasis) means “bring injury/ruin to someone” (BDB 505-6 s.v. כָּשַׁל Hiph.1).

[20:13]  ¹¹ sn The proverb uses antithetical parallelism to teach that diligence leads to prosperity. It contrasts loving sleep with opening the eyes, and poverty with satisfaction. Just as “sleep” can be used for slothfulness or laziness, so opening the eyes can represent vigorous, active conduct. The idioms have caught on in modern usage as well – things like “open your eyes” or “asleep on the job.”

[20:13]  ¹² tn The second line uses two imperatives in a sequence (without the vav [ו]): “open your eyes” and then (or, in order that) you will “be satisfied.”

[20:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “bread” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV), although the term often serves in a generic sense for food in general.