3:24
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
24a
When you lie down, you will not be afraid ;
24b
when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.
3:24a
When you lie down, you will not be afraid: There is a textual difference in the first clause:
(1) The Hebrew text has “lie down.” For example:
When you lie down you will be unafraid (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
(2) The LXX has “sit down.” For example:
When you sit, you need have no fear (Revised English Bible)
It is recommended that you follow option (1).
3:24b
when you rest, your sleep will be sweet: The Hebrew phrase meaning “you will lie down” is repeated here. If it is unnatural or redundant to use “lie down” in both lines, you may use a synonym, such as “go to bed,” or a more general term like rest, as in the Berean Standard Bible. For example:
You will not be afraid when you go to bed (Good News Translation)
-or-
you will rest without a worry (Contemporary English Version)
The clause your sleep will be sweet refers to peaceful, undisturbed sleep, free from worry. In some languages, “sleep” and “sweet” are not used together. Some other ways to translate this clause in English are:
you will sleep soundly (Good News Translation)
-or-
your sleep will be pleasant (Revised English Bible)
Use a natural expression in your language to translate this clause.
General Comment on 3:24a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel lines. For example:
you will rest without a worry and sleep soundly (Contemporary English Version)
© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
