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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Proverbs 4:16

Evil people are restless unless they're making trouble; They can't get a good night's sleep unless they've made life miserable for somebody. Perversity is their food and drink, violence their drug of choice.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Malice;   Wicked (People);   Young Men;   Thompson Chain Reference - Activity;   Evil;   Mischief;   Righteous-Wicked;   Wicked, the;   Wickedness;   The Topic Concordance - Evil;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Violence;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Proverbs book of;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for February 4;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For they can’t sleepunless they have done what is evil;they are robbed of sleepunless they make someone stumble.
Hebrew Names Version
For they don't sleep, unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.
King James Version
For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
English Standard Version
For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
New Century Version
because they cannot sleep until they do evil. They cannot rest until they harm someone.
New English Translation
For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.
Amplified Bible
For the wicked cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are deprived of sleep unless they make someone stumble and fall.
New American Standard Bible
For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
World English Bible
For they don't sleep, unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For they can not sleepe, except they haue done euill, and their sleepe departeth except they cause some to fall.
Legacy Standard Bible
For they do not sleep unless they do evil;And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
Berean Standard Bible
For they cannot sleep unless they do evil, they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall,
Contemporary English Version
They can't sleep or rest until they do wrong or harm some innocent victim.
Complete Jewish Bible
For they can't sleep if they haven't done evil, they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone fall.
Darby Translation
For they sleep not except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they have caused [some] to fall.
Easy-to-Read Version
The wicked cannot sleep until they have done something evil. They will not rest until they bring someone down.
George Lamsa Translation
For they do not sleep until they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away until their evil devices are carried out.
Good News Translation
Wicked people cannot sleep unless they have done something wrong. They lie awake unless they have hurt someone.
Lexham English Bible
For they will not sleep if they have not done wrong, and they are robbed of their sleep if they do not cause stumbling.
Literal Translation
For they do not sleep if they have done no evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For they can not slepe, excepte they haue first done some myschefe: nether take they eny rest, excepte they haue first done some harme.
American Standard Version
For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
Bible in Basic English
For they take no rest till they have done evil; their sleep is taken away if they have not been the cause of someone's fall.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
For they sleep not, except they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
King James Version (1611)
For they sleepe not except they haue done mischiefe: and their sleepe is taken away vnlesse they cause some to fall.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For they sleepe not except they haue done mischiefe: and sleepe is taken from them, vntyll they haue done harme.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For they cannot sleep, unless they have done evil: their sleep is taken away, and they rest not.
English Revised Version
For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For thei slepen not, `no but thei han do yuele; and sleep is rauyschid fro hem, no but thei han disseyued.
Update Bible Version
For they don't sleep, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
Webster's Bible Translation
For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause [some] to fall.
New King James Version
For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
New Living Translation
For evil people can't sleep until they've done their evil deed for the day. They can't rest until they've caused someone to stumble.
New Life Bible
For they cannot sleep unless they do wrong. They are robbed of sleep unless they make someone fall.
New Revised Standard
For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For they sleep not, unless they can do mischief, - They rob themselves of their sleep, if they cannot cause someone to stumble,
Douay-Rheims Bible
For they sleep not, except they have done evil: and their sleep is taken away unless they have made some to fall.
Revised Standard Version
For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made some one stumble.
Young's Literal Translation
For they sleep not if they do not evil, And their sleep hath been taken violently away, If they cause not [some] to stumble.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

Contextual Overview

16Evil people are restless unless they're making trouble; They can't get a good night's sleep unless they've made life miserable for somebody. Perversity is their food and drink, violence their drug of choice. 18The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine. But the road of wrongdoing gets darker and darker— travelers can't see a thing; they fall flat on their faces.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Proverbs 1:16, Psalms 36:4, Isaiah 57:20, Micah 2:1, Luke 22:66, John 18:28, 2 Peter 2:14

Reciprocal: Genesis 19:4 - But Genesis 27:42 - comfort himself Genesis 34:25 - Simeon Exodus 1:22 - Every son Exodus 32:22 - that they are Judges 9:32 - by night 1 Samuel 23:14 - Saul 2 Samuel 15:2 - rose up 2 Samuel 17:1 - I will arise Ezra 4:23 - they went up Esther 3:15 - hastened Esther 5:14 - he caused Job 24:5 - rising Psalms 26:10 - In Isaiah 59:4 - they conceive Jeremiah 9:5 - weary Hosea 7:6 - they Micah 7:3 - do Matthew 27:1 - the morning Luke 11:24 - seeking John 13:30 - went Acts 23:15 - that he Acts 24:7 - the chief Acts 25:2 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 3:8
When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
Exodus 20:18
All the people, experiencing the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the smoking mountain, were afraid—they pulled back and stood at a distance. They said to Moses, "You speak to us and we'll listen, but don't have God speak to us or we'll die."
2 Kings 24:20
The source of all this doom to Jerusalem and Judah was God 's anger— God turned his back on them as an act of judgment. And then Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.
Job 1:12
God replied, "We'll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don't hurt him." Then Satan left the presence of God .
Job 2:7
Satan left God and struck Job with terrible sores. Job was ulcers and scabs from head to foot. They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes.
Psalms 5:11
But you'll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to you. Let the party last all night! Stand guard over our celebration. You are famous, God , for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight.
Jeremiah 23:39
"Are you paying attention? You'd better, because I'm about to take you in hand and throw you to the ground, you and this entire city that I gave to your ancestors. I've had it with the lot of you. You're never going to live this down. You're going down in history as a disgrace."
Jeremiah 52:3
The source of all this doom to Jerusalem and Judah was God 's anger. God turned his back on them as an act of judgment. Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar set out for Jerusalem with a full army. He set up camp and sealed off the city by building siege mounds around it. He arrived on the ninth year and tenth month of Zedekiah's reign. The city was under siege for nineteen months (until the eleventh year of Zedekiah).
Luke 13:26
"You'll protest, ‘But we've known you all our lives!' only to be interrupted with his abrupt, ‘Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don't know the first thing about me.'
John 1:3
Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For they sleep not, except they have done mischief,.... Or they cannot sleep, as Jarchi and Gersom interpret it. Oftentimes they cannot sleep on their beds for devising mischief, their thoughts are so intensely set on contriving wicked schemes; and when they have so done, they cannot sleep until they have executed them; they are continually restless and uneasy day and night, like the troubled sea, constantly casting up mire and dirt. Who would keep such company as these?

and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause [some] to fall; into the snares and traps they lay for them, or into sin and calamity by it; the former of which they endeavour by all means to draw men into, and the latter is the unavoidable consequence of it. They imitate their father the devil, both delight in sin, and in the ruin of their fellow creatures; it is a sport to thereto do mischief, and they have no pleasure without it; see Proverbs 11:23. What company are such!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The counsel which has come to him, in substance, from his father. Compare it with 2 Samuel 23:2 etc.; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Chronicles 29:17; Psalms 15:1-5; Psalms 24:1-10; Psalms 37:0.

Proverbs 4:7

Or, “The beginning of wisdom is - get wisdom.” To seek is to find, to desire is to obtain.

Proverbs 4:12

The ever-recurring parable of the journey of life. In the way of wisdom the path is clear and open, obstacles disappear; in the quickest activity (“when thou runnest”) there is no risk of falling.

Proverbs 4:13

She is thy life - Another parallel between personified Wisdom in this book and the Incarnate Wisdom in John 1:4.

Proverbs 4:16

A fearful stage of debasement. Sin is the condition without which there can be no repose.

Proverbs 4:17

i. e., Bread and wine gained by unjust deeds. Compare Amos 2:8. A less probable interpretation is, “They eat wickedness as bread, and drink violence as wine.” Compare Job 15:16; Job 34:7.

Proverbs 4:18

Shining ... shineth - The two Hebrew words are different; the first having the sense of bright or clear. The beauty of a cloudless sunshine growing on, shining as it goes, to the full and perfect day, is chosen as the fittest figure of the ever increasing brightness of the good man’s life. Compare the marginal reference.

Proverbs 4:19

Compare our Lord’s teaching John 11:10; John 12:35.

Proverbs 4:20

The teacher speaks again in his own person.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 4:16. Except they have done mischief — The night is their time for spoil and depredation. And they must gain some booty, before they go to rest. This I believe to be the meaning of the passage. I grant, also, that there may be some of so malevolent a disposition that they cannot be easy unless they can injure others, and are put to excessive pain when they perceive any man in prosperity, or receiving a kindness. The address in Virgil, to an ill-natured shepherd is well known: -

Et cum vidisti puero donata, dolebas:

Et si non aliqua nocuisses, mortuus esses.

ECLOG. iii. 14.


"When thou sawest the gifts given to the lad, thou wast distressed; and hadst thou not found some means of doing him a mischief, thou hadst died."


 
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