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Psalm 127:2
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.
1A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
2It 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.
3Behold, children are a heritage of the LORD. The fruit of the womb is his reward.
4As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth.
Notice
Early starts and late nights fill this verse, exposing the limits of toil in a psalm where building and guarding depend on YHWH.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What would you call “the bread of toil” in your own work this week?
Write on thisWhat difference, if any, does receiving sleep from God make to how you view bedtime?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Ecclesiastes 5:12The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.Both passages connect labor, food, and sleep, showing that greater effort or abundance does not guarantee rest.
Psalm 4:8In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me live in safety.Both connect sleep with God's care: one names his gift to his loved ones, the other his provision of safety.
Job 11:18You will be secure, because there is hope. Yes, you will search, and will take your rest in safety.Zophar speaks of rest in safety; the psalm speaks of sleep given by God to those he loves.
Psalm 3:5I laid myself down and slept. I awakened, for the LORD sustains me.Both trace sleep to God's care, with Psalm 3 also naming the LORD's sustaining hand in waking.
Jeremiah 31:26On this I awakened, and saw; and my sleep was sweet to me.Sleep appears as something good in both passages: God's gift in the psalm and a sweet experience in Jeremiah.
Ecclesiastes 2:20–23Therefore I began to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor in which I had labored under the sun.Both reckon with labor's limits: the psalm names vain toil, while Ecclesiastes describes despair over work already done.
Proverbs 3:24When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.Both describe sleep as a good thing, with Proverbs adding freedom from fear when lying down.
Ezekiel 34:25“‘I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil animals to cease out of the land. They will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the …God gives sleep to his loved ones in the psalm; in Ezekiel, he establishes peace so his people can sleep securely.
Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.Both name the vanity of human effort, challenging the assumption that doing more must produce lasting gain.
Proverbs 31:15–18She rises also while it is yet night, gives food to her household, and portions for her servant girls.Both mention rising before dawn, though Proverbs describes household provision while the psalm warns that extended toil can be vain.
Isaiah 30:20Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers won’t be hidden any more, but your eyes will see your …Bread carries the language of hardship in both passages, paired with toil in the psalm and adversity in Isaiah.
Psalm 39:6“Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather.Both describe people busy in vain, with Psalm 39 naming uncertainty about who will receive what a person accumulates.
Where this verse fits
Burnout. job loss or money fear. anxiety or panic.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
A sleepless night does not measure God's love for you. The psalm names sleep as his gift, and your longest workday cannot replace his care.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).