the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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King James Version
Psalms 127:2
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It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
It is vain for you to rise up early, To take rest late, To eat the bread of toil; Thus he gives to his beloved sleep.
It is no use for you to get up early and stay up late, working for a living. The Lord gives sleep to those he loves.
It is vain for you to rise early, come home late, and work so hard for your food. Yes, he can provide for those whom he loves even when they sleep.
[It is] vain for you to rise early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.
It is vain for you to rise up early, To stay up late, Eating the bread of toil; For he gives sleep to his loved ones.
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.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
It is veyn to you to rise bifore the liyt; rise ye after that ye han sete, that eten the breed of sorewe. Whanne he schal yyue sleep to his loued; lo!
It is vain for you that ye rise up early, and so late take rest, and eat the bread of toil: for so he giveth unto his beloved sleep.
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat-for He gives sleep to His beloved.
It is useless to get up early and stay up late in order to earn a living. God takes care of his own, even while they sleep.
It is vain for you to rise up early, To take rest late, To eat the bread of toil; For so he giveth unto his beloved sleep.
It is of no use for you to get up early, and to go late to your rest, with the bread of sorrow for your food; for the Lord gives to his loved ones in sleep.
In vain do you get up early and put off going to bed, working hard to earn a living; for he provides for his beloved, even when they sleep.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to lie down late, to eat the bread of sorrows: so to his beloved one he giveth sleep.
It is a waste of time to get up early and stay up late, trying to make a living. The Lord provides for those he loves, even while they are sleeping.
It is vain for you that ye rise early, and sit up late, {N}so He giveth unto His beloved in sleep.
It is vaine for you to rise vp early, to sit vp late, to eate the bread of sorrowes: for so hee giueth his beloued sleepe.
You rise up early, and go to bed late, and work hard for your food, all for nothing. For the Lord gives to His loved ones even while they sleep.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.
It is in vaine for you to rise earely, and to lie downe late, and eate the bread of sorow: but he wil surely giue rest to his beloued.
It is in vain for those who rise up early, who sit up late; they eat the bread of sorrows, for so he gives in sleep to his beloved.
It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late. For the Lord provides for those he loves, while they are asleep.
Vain for you, - to be early in rising, to be late in lying down, to be eating the bread of wearisome toil, So, would he give his beloved one sleep.
(126-2) It is vain for you to rise before light, rise ye after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow. When he shall give sleep to his beloved,
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
[Is] it is a vayne thing for you that ye make haste to ryse vp early, that ye make delayes to take rest, eatyng the bread of sorowes: euen so he geueth sleepe to his welbeloued.
It is vain for you to rise early: ye rise up after resting, ye that eat the bread of grief; while he gives sleep to his beloved.
In vain you get up early and stay up late,working hard to have enough food—yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.
It is vain for you to rise up early, To stay up late, Eating the bread of toil; For he gives sleep to his loved ones.
It is in vain for you who rise early and sit late, eating the bread of anxious toil, when thus he provides for his beloved in his sleep.
It is in vain for you to rise early, sit up late, to eat the bread of toils; for so He gives His beloved sleep.
Vain for you who are rising early, Who delay sitting, eating the bread of griefs, So He giveth to His beloved one sleep.
Excepte the LORDE kepe the cite, the watchman waketh but in vayne.
It is futile for you to rise up early, To stay up late, To eat the bread of painful labor; This is how He gives to His beloved sleep.
It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.
It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
It is in vain that you rise up early,That you sit out late,O you who eat the bread of painful labors;For in this manner, He gives sleep to His beloved.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
vain: Psalms 39:5, Psalms 39:6, Ecclesiastes 1:14, Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, Ecclesiastes 2:20-23, Ecclesiastes 4:8
rise up: Proverbs 31:15-18
the bread: Genesis 3:17-19, Ecclesiastes 6:7
for so he: Psalms 3:5, Psalms 4:8, Ecclesiastes 5:12, Jeremiah 31:26, Ezekiel 34:25, Acts 12:5, Acts 12:6
Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:6 - ye shall Deuteronomy 8:18 - he that Deuteronomy 16:3 - the bread 1 Kings 22:27 - bread of affliction Proverbs 3:24 - and Proverbs 31:18 - her candle Ecclesiastes 2:22 - and of the Ecclesiastes 2:23 - all Ecclesiastes 5:17 - he eateth Ecclesiastes 8:16 - there is that Isaiah 30:20 - the bread Isaiah 37:27 - their inhabitants Habakkuk 2:13 - is it Luke 5:5 - we
Gill's Notes on the Bible
[It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,.... A description of an industrious and laborious person, who takes great pains to get a livelihood, or increase his substance; see Psalms 104:23; which, yet, as in the former instances, depends upon the blessing of divine Providence, Proverbs 10:4. For, after all, it may come to nothing more at last than
to eat the bread of sorrows; that is, to eat bread gotten with much sorrow and labour; such get bread, and that is all, and not that without the providence of God;
[for] so he giveth his beloved sleep; that is, the Lord: such who are partakers of his grace, that fear and love him; to them, thus diligent and industrious, he gives not only bread to eat, but sleep, which to a labouring man is sweet; and having food and raiment, he gives them contentment, quietness, and satisfaction of mind, which is the greatest blessing of all. Sleep, even bodily sleep, was reckoned with the very Heathens a divine gift x. Some think respect is had to, Solomon, whose name was Jedidiah, and signifies the beloved of the Lord,
2 Samuel 12:24; to whom God gave peace, rest, and safety all around; or, as others, the kingdom without labour, when Absalom and Adonijah toiled for it: Christ, who is the Beloved of the Lord, the Son of his love, his well beloved Son, may be thought of, whose rest is glorious; his sleep in the grave, where his flesh rested from his labours and sufferings, in hope of the resurrection of it: and it may be applied to all the Lord's beloved ones; to whom he gives spiritual rest in this world, sleep in the arms of Jesus at death, and an everlasting rest in the world to come; all which depends not on their endeavours, but on his grace and goodness.
x "----prima quies--dono divum gratissima serpit", Virgil. Aeneid. l. 2. v. 264, 265. Ï ÏÎ½Î¿Ï Î´ÏÏον, Homer. Iliad. 7. v. 482. & 9. v. 709. & Odyss. 16. v. ult.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
It is vain for you to rise up early - The psalmist does not here say that it is improper to rise early; or that there could be no advantage in it; or that people would be more likely to be successful in their undertakings if they did not rise early; but that, although this was done, they would be still altogether dependent on God. Mere early rising, without his blessing, would not secure what they hoped to accomplish, for everything is still in the hand of God. Health, strength, clearness of mind, and success, are all under his control; and though early rising may tend to produce all these - as it does in fact - yet still people are not the less dependent on God for success.
To sit up late - That you may labor or study. As in the former case the psalmist does not express any opinion about the propriety or impropriety of early rising, so it is in respect to this. He merely says that if it is done, this, of itself, will not accomplish the object; people are still dependent on God for success though they do it. As a matter of fact, however, sitting up late has less tendency to promote success in life than early rising; but in either ease there is the same dependence on God.
To eat the bread of sorrows - Bread of care, anxiety, or trouble; that is, bread earned or procured by the severity of toil. There may be an allusion here to the original sentence pronounced on man, Genesis 3:17. The meaning is, that it is in vain that you labor hard, that you exhaust your strength, in order to get bread to eat, unless God shall bless you. After all your toil the result is with him.
For so he giveth his beloved sleep - The word âforâ is not in the original, The sentence is very obscure in the connection in which it stands. The Septuagint and Latin Vulgate render it, âYe who eat the bread of care - rise when you have rested - when he hath given his beloved sleep.â Some have supposed it to mean that God gives his people rest without toil, or that, while others labor, his âbelovedâ - his friends - sleep; but this interpretation is not necessarily demanded by the Hebrew, and is inconsistent with the general doctrine of the Bible. Others have supposed the idea to be, that God gives his beloved rest after labor; but though this is true, it is not true of them especially or exclusively. Some suppose, with as little probability, that the meaning is, that what others hope (but hope in vain) to get by labor, the Lord bestows upon his people in sleep, they know not how.
The meaning evidently is, that God bestows âsleepâ upon his people in some sense in which it is not bestowed on others, or that there is, in regard to their case, something in which they differ from those who are so anxious and troubled - who rise so early for the sake of gain - who toil so late - who eat the bread of care. The idea seems to be that there would be calmness, repose, freedom from anxiety or solicitude. God makes the mind of his people - his beloved - calm and tranquil, while the world around is filled with anxiety and restlessness - busy, bustling, worried. As a consequence of this calmness of mind, and of their confidence in him, they enjoy undisturbed repose at night. They are not kept wakeful and anxious about their worldly affairs as other men are, for they leave all with God, and thus he âgiveth his beloved sleep.â The particle âsoâ - ×× keÌn - or âthus,â I apprehend, refers to the general sense of what had been said, rather than to what immediately precedes it; to the fact that all success depends on God Psalms 127:1, and that it is always by his interposition, and not as the result of human skill, toil, or fatigue, that people find calmness, success, repose. It is only by the favor of God, and by their recognizing their dependence on him, that they find repose, success, and freedom from care.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 127:2. It is vain for you to rise up early — There seems to be here an allusion to the daily and nightly watches which Nehemiah instituted. The people are worn out with constant labour and watching; he therefore divided them in such a manner, that they who had worked in the day should rest by night, and that they who worked by night should rest in the day; and thus his beloved, a title of the Jews, the beloved of God, got sleep, due refreshment, and rest. As for Nehemiah and his servants, they never put off their clothes day or night but for washing.
