1 Thessalonians 5:6 (DBY)

Passage

So then do not let us sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober;

Nearby Context

1 Thessalonians 5:4 But *ye*, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief:

1 Thessalonians 5:5 for all *ye* are sons of light and sons of day; we are not of night nor of darkness.

1 Thessalonians 5:6 So then do not let us sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be sober;

1 Thessalonians 5:7 for they that sleep sleep by night, and they that drink drink by night;

1 Thessalonians 5:8 but *we* being of [the] day, let us be sober, putting on [the] breastplate of faith and love, and as helmet [the] hope of salvation;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sleep", "rest", "watch", and "sober". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sleep" and "rest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "for all ye are sons of light..." into verse 7's "for they that sleep sleep by night...", so "sleep" and "rest" belong inside that flow. In 1 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sleep" and "rest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.