Proverbs 4:16 (YLT)

Passage

For they sleep not if they do not evil, And their sleep hath been taken violently away, If they cause not <FI>some<Fi> to stumble.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 4:14 Into the path of the wicked enter not, And be not happy in a way of evil doers.

Proverbs 4:15 Avoid it, pass not over into it, Turn aside from it, and pass on.

Proverbs 4:16 For they sleep not if they do not evil, And their sleep hath been taken violently away, If they cause not <FI>some<Fi> to stumble.

Proverbs 4:17 For they have eaten bread of wickedness, And wine of violence they drink.

Proverbs 4:18 And the path of the righteous <FI>is<Fi> as a shining light, Going and brightening till the day is established,

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Avoid it pass not over into it..." into verse 17's "For they have eaten bread of wickedness...", so "sleep" and "evil" 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 "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.