Psalms 127:2

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

It is vain for you to rise early, come home late, and work so hard for your food. Yes, he provides for those whom he loves even when they sleep.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Ps 4:8 : 8 I will lie down and sleep peacefully, for you, LORD, make me safe and secure.
  • Eccl 5:12 : 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.
  • Ps 39:5-6 : 5 Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.(Selah) 6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”
  • Ps 60:5 : 5 Deliver by your power and answer me, so that the ones you love may be safe.
  • Prov 31:15-18 : 15 Then she rose while it was still night, and provided food for her household and a portion to her female servants. 16 She considered a field and bought it; from her own income she planted a vineyard. 17 She clothed herself in might, and she strengthened her arms. 18 She perceived that her merchandise was good. Her lamp would not go out in the night.
  • Eccl 1:14 : 14 I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!
  • Eccl 2:1-9 : 1 Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure I thought to myself,“Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is futile. 2 I said of partying,“It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure,“It accomplishes nothing!” 3 I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine(all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom) and the effects of behaving foolishly, so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives. 4 Futility of Materialism I increased my possessions: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself. 5 I designed royal gardens and parks for myself, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I constructed pools of water for myself, to irrigate my grove of flourishing trees. 7 I purchased male and female slaves, and I owned slaves who were born in my house; I also possessed more livestock– both herds and flocks– than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem. 8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces. I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight– a harem of beautiful concubines! 9 So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity: 10 I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort. 11 Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
  • Eccl 2:20-23 : 20 So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth. 21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice! 22 Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth? 23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!
  • Eccl 4:8 : 8 A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!
  • Eccl 6:7 : 7 All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!
  • Jer 31:26 : 26 Then they will say,‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep when I wake up and look around.’”
  • Ezek 34:25 : 25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods.
  • Gen 3:17-19 : 17 But to Adam he said,“Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,‘You must not eat from it,’ the ground is cursed because of you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
  • Job 11:18 : 18 And you will be secure, because there is hope; you will be protected and will take your rest in safety.
  • Ps 3:5 : 5 I rested and slept; I awoke, for the LORD protects me.
  • Acts 12:5-6 : 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly praying to God for him. 6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Ps 127:1
    82%

    1A song of ascents, by Solomon. If the LORD does not build a house, then those who build it work in vain. If the LORD does not guard a city, then the watchman stands guard in vain.

  • Eccl 5:12
    78%

    12The sleep of the laborer is pleasant– whether he eats little or much– but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

  • Prov 20:13
    77%

    13Do not love sleep, lest you become impoverished; open your eyes so that you might be satisfied with food.

  • Prov 6:9-10
    2 verses
    76%

    9How long, you sluggard, will you lie there? When will you rise from your sleep?

    10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax,

  • Prov 24:33
    76%

    33“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax,

  • Eccl 2:21-26
    6 verses
    75%

    21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!

    22Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?

    23For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!

    24Enjoy Work and its Benefits There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.

    25For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.

    26For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth– only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile– like chasing the wind!

  • Prov 19:15
    75%

    15Laziness brings on a deep sleep, and the idle person will go hungry.

  • Prov 6:4
    73%

    4Permit no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.

  • Ps 132:3-4
    2 verses
    72%

    3He said,“I will not enter my own home, or get into my bed.

    4I will not allow my eyes to sleep, or my eyelids to slumber,

  • Jer 31:26
    72%

    26Then they will say,‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep when I wake up and look around.’”

  • Ps 127:3
    72%

    3Yes, sons are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.

  • Job 33:15
    71%

    15In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds.

  • Prov 4:16
    71%

    16For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.

  • Job 14:12
    71%

    12so man lies down and does not rise; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor arise from their sleep.

  • Ps 128:2
    71%

    2You will eat what you worked so hard to grow. You will be blessed and secure.

  • Prov 3:24
    70%

    24When you lie down you will not be filled with fear; when you lie down your sleep will be pleasant.

  • Eccl 8:16
    70%

    16Limitations of Human Wisdom When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth– even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night–

  • Isa 28:20
    70%

    20For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself.

  • Job 7:4
    70%

    4If I lie down, I say,‘When will I arise?’, and the night stretches on and I toss and turn restlessly until the day dawns.

  • Job 4:13
    70%

    13In the troubling thoughts of the dreams in the night when a deep sleep falls on men,

  • Eccl 4:6
    70%

    6Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind.

  • Eccl 3:9
    69%

    9Man is Ignorant of God’s Timing What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?

  • Job 3:17
    69%

    17There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.

  • Ps 104:23
    69%

    23Men then go out to do their work, and labor away until evening.

  • Prov 23:4
    69%

    4Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

  • Isa 5:11
    69%

    11Beware, those who get up early to drink beer, those who keep drinking long after dark until they are intoxicated with wine.

  • Ps 39:6
    69%

    6Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

  • Ps 3:5
    69%

    5I rested and slept; I awoke, for the LORD protects me.

  • Eccl 10:18
    69%

    18Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of idle hands the house leaks.

  • Eccl 6:7
    69%

    7All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!

  • Ps 37:7
    69%

    7Wait patiently for the LORD! Wait confidently for him! Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, a man who carries out wicked schemes!

  • Ps 121:3-4
    2 verses
    69%

    3May he not allow your foot to slip! May your protector not sleep!

    4Look! Israel’s protector does not sleep or slumber!

  • 1 Thess 5:7
    68%

    7For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

  • Ps 116:7
    68%

    7Rest once more, my soul, for the LORD has vindicated you.

  • Mic 2:1
    68%

    1Land Robbers Will Lose Their Land Beware wicked schemers, those who devise calamity as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.

  • Heb 4:10
    68%

    10For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.

  • Eccl 1:3
    68%

    3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

  • Prov 31:27
    68%

    27Watching over the ways of her household, she would not eat the bread of idleness.

  • Hab 2:13
    68%

    13Be sure of this! The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has decreed: The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing.

  • Ps 6:6
    68%

    6I am exhausted as I groan; all night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.

  • Prov 28:19
    68%

    19The one who works his land will be satisfied with food, but whoever chases daydreams will have his fill of poverty.

  • Prov 22:27
    68%

    27If you do not have enough to pay, your bed will be taken right out from under you!