Psalms 3:5

3:5 I rested and slept;

I awoke, ¹  for the Lord protects ²  me.

Psalms 4:8

4:8 I will lie down and sleep peacefully, ³ 

for you, Lord, make me safe and secure. ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 5:12

5:12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant – whether he eats little or much –

but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

Jeremiah 31:26

31:26 Then they will say, ‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep

when I wake up and look around.’” ⁵ 

Ezekiel 34:25

34:25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely ⁶  in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. ⁷ 

Acts 12:5-6

12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly ⁸  praying to God for him. ⁹  12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, ¹⁰  Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while ¹¹  guards in front of the door were keeping watch ¹²  over the prison.

¹ tn The three verbal forms that appear in succession here (perfect + vav [ו] consecutive with preterite + perfect) are most naturally taken as narrational. When the psalmist received an assuring word from the Lord, he was able to sleep calmly. Because the Lord was protecting him, he awoke safely from his sleep.

² tn Or “supports”; “sustains.” In this explanatory causal clause the imperfect verbal form probably has a habitual or present progressive nuance, for the psalmist is confident of God’s continual protection (see v. 3). Another option is to take the verb as a preterite, “for the Lord protected me.” In this case, the psalmist focuses specifically on the protection God provided while he slept.

³ tn Heb “in peace at the same time I will lie down and sleep.”

⁴ tn Heb “for you, Lord, solitarily, securely make me dwell.” The translation understands לְבָדָד (lÿvadad) as modifying the verb; the Lord keeps enemies away from the psalmist so that he is safe and secure. Another option is to take לְבָדָד with what precedes and translate, “you alone, Lord, make me secure.”

⁵ tn Or “When I, Jeremiah, heard this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very pleasant.” The text is somewhat enigmatic. It has often been explained as an indication that Jeremiah had received this communication (30:3–31:26) while in a prophetic trance (compare Dan 10:9). However, there is no other indication that this is a vision or a vision report. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 124, 128-29) suggest that this is a speech of the restored (and refreshed) exiles like that which is formally introduced in v. 23. This speech, however, is not formally introduced. This interpretation is also reflected in TEV, CEV and is accepted here as fitting the context better and demanding less presuppositions. The Hebrew text reads literally, “Upon this I awoke and looked and my sleep was sweet to me.” Keown, Scalise, and Smothers have the best discussion of these two options as well as several other options.

⁶ tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).

⁷ sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).

⁸ tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.

⁹ tn Grk “but earnest prayer was being made by the church to God for him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to follow English style, and the somewhat awkward passive “prayer was being made” has been changed to the simpler active verb “were praying.” Luke portrays what follows as an answer to prayer.

¹⁰ tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

¹¹ tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.

¹² tn Or “were guarding.”