58 Bible Verses about Sleep, Physical

He lay down and slept under the juniper tree, and behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.”

At this I (Jeremiah) awoke and looked, and my [trancelike] sleep was sweet [in the assurance it gave] to me.

The disciples answered, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” However, Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was referring to natural sleep.

It is vain for you to rise early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of anxious labors—
For He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his sleep.

My son, let them not escape from your sight,
But keep sound wisdom and discretion,

And they will be life to your soul (your inner self)
And a gracious adornment to your neck (your outer self).

Then you will walk on your way [of life] securely
And your foot will not stumble.
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When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.

I tell you, on that night [when Messiah comes again] there will be two [sleeping] in one bed; the one (the non-believer) will be taken [away in judgment] and the other (the believer) will be left.

We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed [in Christ]. The night [this present evil age] is almost gone and the day [of Christ’s return] is almost here. So let us fling away the works of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.

And he came to a certain place and stayed overnight there because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down there [to sleep]. He dreamed that there was a ladder (stairway) placed on the earth, and the top of it reached [out of sight] toward heaven; and [he saw] the angels of God ascending and descending on it [going to and from heaven].

Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile.

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel (Jerusalem),
Even all who fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.

It will be as when a hungry man dreams
That he is eating,
But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams
That he is drinking,
But when he awakens, in fact, he is faint
And his thirst is not quenched.
So will the multitude of all the nations be
Who fight against Mount Zion.

In the second year (604 b.c.) of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams which troubled and disturbed his spirit and [interfered with] his ability to sleep.

I saw a dream and it made me afraid; and the fantasies and thoughts and the visions [that appeared] in my mind as I lay on my bed kept alarming me.

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions appeared in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related a summary of it.

But Leah answered, “Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Jacob shall sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me [tonight], for I have in fact hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he lay with her. And when she was purified from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.

So Sarai said to Abram, “See here, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I will obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to Sarai and did as she said.

“If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry (marriage price) for her to be his wife.

“If a man is intimate with a woman who is another man’s wife, they shall both be put to death, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall remove the evil from Israel.

Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?”

Marriage is to be held in honor among all [that is, regarded as something of great value], and the marriage bed undefiled [by immorality or by any sexual sin]; for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

In peace [and with a tranquil heart] I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety and confident trust.

And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping.

But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor’s leather] cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?”

But as they were sailing, He fell asleep. And a fierce gale of wind swept down [as if through a wind tunnel] on the lake, and they began to be swamped, and were in great danger.

The very night before Herod was to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries were in front of the door guarding the prison.

He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber [briefly] nor sleep [soundly].

I lay down and slept [safely];
I awakened, for the Lord sustains me.

I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands
Who have set themselves against me all around.

When you lie down [to rest] among the sheepfolds,
You [Israel] are like the wings of a dove [of victory] overlaid with silver,
Its feathers glistening with gold [trophies taken from the enemy].

“I will make a covenant of peace with them and will eliminate the predatory animals from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep [safely] in the woods.

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him.

“Now a word was secretly brought to me,
And my ear received a whisper of it.

“Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,

“For God speaks once,
And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job].

“In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice],
When deep sleep falls on men
While slumbering upon the bed,

Then He opens the ears of men
And seals their instruction,
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That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And keep him from pride;

He holds back his soul from the pit [of destruction],
And his life from passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

Daniel said, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea (the nations).

Then a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man from [the Roman province of] Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”

So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they left, and no one saw or knew nor did anyone awaken, because they were all sound asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep.
He has closed your eyes, [you who are] the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, [you who are] the seers.

Laziness casts one into a deep sleep [unmindful of lost opportunity],
And the idle person will suffer hunger.

and said, “You say this, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were sleeping.’

[stay alert,] in case he should come suddenly and unexpectedly and find you asleep and unprepared.

He who gathers during summer and takes advantage of his opportunities is a son who acts wisely,
But he who sleeps during harvest and ignores the moment of opportunity is a son who acts shamefully.

Then the sailors were afraid, and each man cried out to his god; and to lighten the ship [and diminish the danger] they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was sound asleep. So the captain came up to him and said, “How can you stay asleep? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god will give a thought to us so that we will not perish.”

And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?

And He came back and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Were you unable to keep watch for one hour?

When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not fall into temptation.”

and there was a young man named Eutychus (“Lucky”) sitting on the window sill. He was sinking into a deep sleep, and as Paul kept on talking longer and longer, he was completely overcome by sleep and fell down from the third story; and he was picked up dead.

Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him.

Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me [truthfully] with what you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair with the web [and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks (braids) of his hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened it with the pin [of the loom] and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the [weaver’s] loom and the web.

My son, if you have become surety (guaranteed a debt or obligation) for your neighbor,
If you have given your pledge for [the debt of] a stranger or another [outside your family],

If you have been snared with the words of your lips,
If you have been trapped by the speech of your mouth,

Do this now, my son, and release yourself [from the obligation];
Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,
Go humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor [to pay his debt and release you].
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Give no [unnecessary] sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;

Tear yourself away like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter
And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

And you will be [as unsteady] as one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
And [as vulnerable to disaster] as one who lies down on the top of a ship’s mast, saying,

But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds [resembling wheat] among the wheat, and went away.

How long will you lie down, O lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]?

“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to lie down and rest”—

So your poverty will come like an approaching prowler who walks [slowly, but surely]
And your need [will come] like an armed man [making you helpless].

Do not love [excessive] sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes [so that you can do your work] and you will be satisfied with bread.

For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags.

Israel’s watchmen are blind,
They are all without knowledge.
They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;
Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.