What the Bible Says About Sleep

"Sleep" and its forms come 165 times in the King James Bible, in 150 verses. 117 of the 165 are in the Old Testament and 48 in the New. Sleep itself comes 82 times, slept 49 times and asleep 16 times. 1 Kings has the most of any book, 15. The first is Genesis 2:21, the first passage quoted below.

The Hebrew word behind sleep most often is a word for lying down. 49 of the 165 stand for shakab, which Strong's Concordance defines as "to lie down" and goes on to name rest and decease among its purposes. 39 of those 49 are in the phrase slept with his fathers and its forms, said of Moses, of David and of the kings after him. The Hebrew words for sleep itself are yashen, which Strong's defines as "properly, to be slack or languid, i.e. (by implication) sleep (figuratively, to die); also to grow old, stale or inveterate," and shenah, a noun Strong's derives from yashen. In the New Testament katheudō stands behind 22 and koimaō behind 17. Strong's defines katheudō as "to lie down to rest, i.e. (by implication) to fall asleep (literally or figuratively)" and koimaō as "to put to sleep, i.e. (passively or reflexively) to slumber; figuratively, to decease."

Below are passages with sleep or one of its forms, each quoted word for word with its reference. Short notes give the Hebrew and Greek words behind the English. Well-known verses on sleep like Psalm 4:8 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and 14 are already quoted on the site's other pages, so they're named and linked near the end rather than quoted again. A table counts the words behind all 165, and a list gives every verse where the KJV says sleep.

A deep sleep to fall upon Adam (Genesis 2:21)

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; (Genesis 2:21)

"A deep sleep" is tardemah, which Strong's defines as "a lethargy or (by implication) trance." "Slept" is yashen. Tardemah stands behind seven of the 165. Among them are Genesis 15:12, where "a deep sleep fell upon Abram," and 1 Samuel 26:12, where "a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them."

Surely the Lord is in this place (Genesis 28:11 and 16)

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. (Genesis 28:11)

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. (Genesis 28:16)

"Lay down" in 28:11 is shakab. "Pillows" is meraashah, which Strong's defines as "properly, a headpiece, i.e. (plural for adverbial) at (or as) the head-rest (or pillow)." In 28:16 "his sleep" is shenah and "awaked" is yaqats, "to awake (intransitive)." Between the two verses, in 28:12, "he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth".

Samuel was laid down to sleep (1 Samuel 3:3 and 4)

3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. (1 Samuel 3:3-4)

"Was laid down" is shakab. The printed KJV sets "to sleep" in italics as words the translators supplied, and the Hebrew says only that Samuel was lying down. The Lord calls him again in 3:6, 8 and 10. In 3:10 Samuel answers, "Speak; for thy servant heareth."

So David slept with his fathers (1 Kings 2:10)

So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. (1 Kings 2:10)

"Slept" is shakab. It's shakab in all 39 places where the KJV says slept with his fathers, sleep with his fathers or sleep with thy fathers. The phrase comes first in Deuteronomy 31:16, where the Lord tells Moses "thou shalt sleep with thy fathers," and last in 2 Chronicles 33:20, of Manasseh.

He lay and slept under a juniper tree (1 Kings 19:5 and 6)

5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. (1 Kings 19:5-6)

"Lay" and "laid him down" are shakab, and "slept" is yashen. The man under the tree is Elijah, named in 19:1, and in 19:4 he "requested for himself that he might die". "At his head" is meraashah, the word behind Jacob's "pillows" in Genesis 28:11.

On that night could not the king sleep (Esther 6:1)

On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. (Esther 6:1)

"Sleep" is shenah and "could not" is nadad, which Strong's defines as "properly, to wave to and fro (rarely to flap up and down); figuratively, to rove, flee, or (causatively) to drive away." Word for word, the king's sleep fled. Among the verses that say sleep, nadad comes in one more, Genesis 31:40, where Jacob says "my sleep departed from mine eyes." In Daniel 6:18, below, the Aramaic word nedad says the same of another king.

In the Psalms

I laid me down and slept (Psalm 3:5)

I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. (Psalm 3:5)

"Laid me down" is shakab and "slept" is yashen. "Awaked" is quts, "to awake (literally or figuratively)." "Sustained" is samak, which Strong's defines as "to prop (literally or figuratively); reflexively, to lean upon or take hold of (in a favorable or unfavorable sense)." The peace page quotes Psalm 4:8.

Lest I sleep the sleep of death (Psalm 13:3)

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; (Psalm 13:3)

"I sleep" is yashen. The printed KJV sets "sleep of" in italics as supplied words, and the Hebrew reads lest I sleep the death. "Death" is maveth.

He that keepeth thee will not slumber (Psalm 121:3 and 4)

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:3-4)

"Slumber" is num, "to slumber (from drowsiness)," and "sleep" is yashen. "Keepeth" is shamar, which Strong's defines as "properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc." The psalm has shamar six times. It's keepeth in 121:3 and 4, keeper in 121:5 and preserve twice in 121:7 and once in 121:8.

He giveth his beloved sleep (Psalm 127:2)

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:2)

"Sleep" is shenah, and Strong's entry for shenah names this verse for its other spelling, shena. "His beloved" is yedid, "loved." The psalm opens in 127:1, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it".

In Proverbs

Thy sleep shall be sweet (Proverbs 3:24)

When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. (Proverbs 3:24)

"Liest down" and "lie down" are shakab and "sleep" is shenah. "Sweet" is areb, "to be agreeable." The KJV calls sleep sweet in two more verses, Ecclesiastes 5:12 and Jeremiah 31:26, both below.

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? (Proverbs 6:9 to 11)

9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. (Proverbs 6:9-11)

The first sleep in 6:9 and the last in 6:10 are shakab, and the other two are shenah. "Slumber" is tenumah, "drowsiness, i.e. sleep," which Strong's derives from num. "Sluggard" is atsel, "indolent." The passage begins in 6:6, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard". Proverbs 24:33 and 34 repeat 6:10 and 11 with a semicolon for a comma, and Proverbs 20:13 says "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty".

When thou sleepest, it shall keep thee (Proverbs 6:22)

When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. (Proverbs 6:22)

The passage opens in 6:20, "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother". In 6:22 "sleepest" is shakab and "awakest" is quts. "Keep" in 6:22 is shamar, the word Psalm 121 uses six times.

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet (Ecclesiastes 5:12)

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. (Ecclesiastes 5:12)

"The sleep" is shenah and "to sleep" is yashen. "Sweet" is mathoq, "sweet." The money page quotes 5:10.

My sleep was sweet unto me (Jeremiah 31:26)

Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me. (Jeremiah 31:26)

The verse before it, 31:25, reads "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." "Sleep" is shenah. "Awaked" is quts, as in Psalm 3:5, and "sweet" is areb, as in Proverbs 3:24.

His sleep went from him (Daniel 6:18)

Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. (Daniel 6:18)

The king is Darius, named in 6:9, and in 6:19 he "arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions." Daniel 6 is in Aramaic. "His sleep" is shenah, the Aramaic word Strong's gives as corresponding to the Hebrew one. "Went" is nedad, "to depart," which corresponds to the nadad of Esther 6:1.

What meanest thou, O sleeper? (Jonah 1:5 and 6)

5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. (Jonah 1:5-6)

"He lay" is shakab. "Was fast asleep" and "sleeper" are radam, which Strong's defines as "to stun, i.e. stupefy (with sleep or death)." Strong's derives tardemah, the deep sleep of Genesis 2:21, from radam. Radam stands behind seven of the 165, among them "fast asleep" in Judges 4:21 and "a deep sleep" in Daniel 8:18 and 10:9.

Asleep on a pillow (Mark 4:38)

And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? (Mark 4:38)

"Asleep" is katheudō. The peace page quotes 4:39. Matthew 8:24 tells of the same storm with "he was asleep," and Luke 8:23 with "he fell asleep." In Luke 8:23 the word is aphupnoō, which Strong's defines as "properly, to become awake, i.e. (by implication) to drop (off) in slumber." Luke 8:23 is the only place it comes in the New Testament.

The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth (Mark 5:39)

And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. (Mark 5:39)

"Sleepeth" is katheudō. In 5:40 "they laughed him to scorn," and in 5:42 "straightway the damsel arose, and walked". Matthew 9:24 and Luke 8:52 also have "not dead, but sleepeth."

Simon, sleepest thou? (Mark 14:37)

And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? (Mark 14:37)

"Sleeping" and "sleepest" are katheudō. "Watch" is grēgoreuō, "to keep awake, i.e. watch (literally or figuratively)." In 14:40 "he found them asleep again," and in 14:41 he says "Sleep on now, and take your rest". The temptation page quotes 14:38 and names Luke 22:46. In Luke 22:45 he "found them sleeping for sorrow".

Our friend Lazarus sleepeth (John 11:11 to 14)

11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. (John 11:11-14)

"Sleepeth" in 11:11 and "sleep" in 11:12 are koimaō. "Awake" and "out of sleep" in 11:11 render one word, exupnizō, "to waken." In 11:13 "taking of rest" is koimēsis, "sleeping, i.e. (by implication) repose," and "sleep" is hupnos. John 11:11 is the only place exupnizō comes in the New Testament, and 11:13 is the only place koimēsis comes. The grief page names 11:11 and quotes 11:25 and 26.

He fell asleep (Acts 7:60)

And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60)

"He fell asleep" is koimaō. The man kneeling is Stephen, named in 7:59. Koimaō is also "fell on sleep" in Acts 13:36, "fallen asleep" in 1 Corinthians 15:6 and 18 and "fell asleep" in 2 Peter 3:4. In 1 Corinthians 7:39 the KJV renders it "be dead".

Peter was sleeping between two soldiers (Acts 12:6)

And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. (Acts 12:6)

"Sleeping" is koimaō. In 12:5 "prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." In 12:7 an angel "smote Peter on the side, and raised him up".

High time to awake out of sleep (Romans 13:11)

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. (Romans 13:11)

"Sleep" is hupnos, which Strong's defines as "sleep, i.e. (figuratively) spiritual torpor." "Awake" is egeirō. The wisdom page names 13:12.

We shall not all sleep (1 Corinthians 15:51 and 52)

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

"Sleep" is koimaō and "be changed" is allassō, "to make different." 15:20 calls Christ "the firstfruits of them that slept," with koimaō again. The grief page quotes 15:54 and 55.

Awake thou that sleepest (Ephesians 5:14)

Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Ephesians 5:14)

"Sleepest" is katheudō. "Shall give" and "light" render one word, epiphauō, "to illuminate (figuratively)." Ephesians 5:14 is the only place it comes in the New Testament.

Let us not sleep, as do others (1 Thessalonians 5:6, 7 and 10)

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5:6-7)

Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:10)

Sleep is katheudō all four times, and "watch" and "wake" are grēgoreuō. In 4:13 to 15 the same letter has koimaō three times. The grief page quotes 4:13 and 14, and the hope page names 5:8.

The words behind sleep

The KJV says sleep or one of its forms 165 times. Counted by their Strong's numbers, the Hebrew and Greek words in this table stand behind 163 of them. The other two are in 1 Samuel 3:3 and Psalm 13:3, where the translators supplied the word.

Shakab, yashen and the Hebrew shenah stand behind 97 of the 117 in the Old Testament. Katheudō and koimaō stand behind 39 of the 48 in the New. Strong's counts yashen as two words, a verb and an adjective it derives from the verb. The Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible files two of the adjective's nine, in 1 Samuel 26:12 and Song of Solomon 7:9, under the verb's number.

Every place the KJV says sleep

Sleep or one of its forms comes in these 150 verses.

• Genesis 2:21, 15:12, 28:11, 28:16, 31:40, 41:5
• Exodus 22:27
• Deuteronomy 24:12, 24:13, 31:16
• Judges 4:21, 16:14, 16:19, 16:20
• 1 Samuel 3:3, 26:7, 26:12
• 2 Samuel 7:12, 11:9
• 1 Kings 1:21, 2:10, 3:20, 11:21, 11:43, 14:20, 14:31, 15:8, 15:24, 16:6, 16:28, 18:27, 19:5, 22:40, 22:50
• 2 Kings 8:24, 10:35, 13:9, 13:13, 14:16, 14:22, 14:29, 15:7, 15:22, 15:38, 16:20, 20:21, 21:18, 24:6
• 2 Chronicles 9:31, 12:16, 14:1, 16:13, 21:1, 26:2, 26:23, 27:9, 28:27, 32:33, 33:20
• Esther 6:1
• Job 3:13, 4:13, 7:21, 14:12, 33:15
• Psalms 3:5, 4:8, 13:3, 44:23, 76:5, 76:6, 78:65, 90:5, 121:4, 127:2, 132:4
• Proverbs 3:24, 4:16, 6:4, 6:9, 6:10, 6:22, 10:5, 19:15, 20:13, 24:33
• Ecclesiastes 5:12, 8:16
• Song of Solomon 5:2, 7:9
• Isaiah 5:27, 29:10, 56:10
• Jeremiah 31:26, 51:39, 51:57
• Ezekiel 34:25
• Daniel 2:1, 6:18, 8:18, 10:9, 12:2
• Hosea 7:6
• Jonah 1:5, 1:6
• Zechariah 4:1
• Matthew 1:24, 8:24, 9:24, 13:25, 25:5, 26:40, 26:43, 26:45, 27:52, 28:13
• Mark 4:27, 4:38, 5:39, 13:36, 14:37, 14:40, 14:41
• Luke 8:23, 8:52, 9:32, 22:45, 22:46
• John 11:11, 11:12, 11:13
• Acts 7:60, 12:6, 13:36, 16:27, 20:9
• Romans 13:11
• 1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:6, 15:18, 15:20, 15:51
• Ephesians 5:14
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 4:14, 4:15, 5:6, 5:7, 5:10
• 2 Peter 3:4

Sleep on the other pages

Some well-known verses on sleep are quoted on the site's other pages. Psalm 4:8 is on the peace page, 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and 14 are on the grief page and Matthew 1:24 is on the Christmas page. Other pages name a few more. The strength page names Judges 16:19 and quotes a phrase of it. The grief page names John 11:11 and quotes three words of it, and the temptation page names Luke 22:46 and quotes a phrase of it. The wisdom page names Ecclesiastes 8:16, the peace page names Ezekiel 34:25 and the hope page names 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

Worry, fear, grief, strength, love, forgiveness, hope, peace, anger, pride, temptation, wisdom, joy, thanksgiving, money, trust, Christmas, patience and comfort

Worry, fear, grief, strength, love, forgiveness, hope, peace, anger, pride, temptation, wisdom, joy, thanksgiving, money, trust, Christmas, patience and comfort have pages of their own. They're What the Bible Says About Worry, What the Bible Says About Fear, What the Bible Says About Grief, What the Bible Says About Strength, What the Bible Says About Love, What the Bible Says About Forgiveness, What the Bible Says About Hope, What the Bible Says About Peace, What the Bible Says About Anger, What the Bible Says About Pride, What the Bible Says About Temptation, What the Bible Says About Wisdom, What the Bible Says About Joy, What the Bible Says About Thanksgiving, What the Bible Says About Money, What the Bible Says About Trust, What the Bible Says About Christmas, What the Bible Says About Patience and What the Bible Says About Comfort. Every chapter quoted here can be read whole in Read the Bible.

How this page was made

Every verse is quoted from the 1769 standard text of the King James Version and checked word for word against two more digital copies. The printed KJV sets supplied words in italics, which this page doesn't show. Verse numbers follow the KJV. Hebrew Bibles number Psalm 3:5 as 3:6, Psalm 13:3 as 13:4, Ecclesiastes 5:12 as 5:11 and Daniel 6:18 as 6:19. They number Psalm 4:8, Ecclesiastes 5:10 and Daniel 6:9 and 6:19, which the notes name, as 4:9, 5:9, 6:10 and 6:20. Seven verses in the list are numbered differently there too. They're Exodus 22:27, 1 Kings 22:50, 2 Chronicles 14:1, Psalm 44:23, 76:5 and 76:6 and Song of Solomon 7:9.

Hebrew words were identified with the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible. Greek words were identified with STEPBible's tagged Greek New Testament. The counts of the words behind sleep come from the Strong's numbers in the CrossWire Bible Society's KJV, each checked against the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible or STEPBible's Greek. Greek counts follow the Textus Receptus as STEPBible gives it. Every Greek word the notes cite in a quoted verse stands in all eight Greek editions STEPBible compares. Elsewhere in the quoted verses the editions differ in a word, its form, its spelling or the order of words. In Mark 4:38 "in" and "awake" stand for other words in the Textus Receptus and the Byzantine text than in the other six. STEPBible is a Tyndale House Cambridge project. STEPBible's data and the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible are both shared under CC BY 4.0. The definitions come from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). If you find a mistake, tell us through the support page.

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