4:16

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

16a For they cannot sleep unless they do evil ;

16b
they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.

4:16a–b

For: The word For introduces the reason for the commands in 4:14–15 that the young man should avoid evil behavior. The reason is that evil behavior is addictive. Some English versions leave this word implied. For example:

Wicked people cannot sleep… (God’s Word)

Introduce this reason in a natural way in your language.

they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall: These two parallel statements are examples of hyperbole—deliberate exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. Both lines emphasize that wicked people are very addicted to doing wrong. They even find it difficult to fall asleep at night if they have not recently committed an evil deed.

they cannot sleep…they are deprived of slumber: The phrase they are deprived of slumber is a figurative way of saying they cannot sleep. The second expression adds emphasis to the first. If there is a figurative expression in your language for sleeplessness, you may want to use it, if it will add emphasis. Otherwise, you may want to rearrange the parallel items in these two lines (see the General Comment for 4:16a–b) or use a single expression for sleeplessness.

unless they do evil…until they make someone fall: The second expression gives a specific example of what it means to do evil. The phrase make someone fall or “stumble” (New Revised Standard Version) is a figurative expression that means “hurt someone” (Good News Translation).

General Comment on 4:16a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. For example:

They cannot sleep or rest until they do wrong or harm someone.

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