Proverbs 4:16 (DRB)

Passage

For they sleep not, except they have done evil: and their sleep is taken away unless they have made some to fall.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 4:14 Be not delighted in the paths of the wicked, neither let the way of evil men please thee.

Proverbs 4:15 Flee from it, pass not by it: go aside, and forsake it.

Proverbs 4:16 For they sleep not, except they have done evil: and their sleep is taken away unless they have made some to fall.

Proverbs 4:17 They eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of iniquity.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just, as a shining light, goeth forwards, and increaseth even to perfect day.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sleep", "except", "done", "evil", "taken", "away", and "unless". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sleep" and "except", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Flee from it pass not by it..." into verse 17's "They eat the bread of wickedness and...", so "sleep" and "except" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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