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Psalm 127:2
Overwork and Sleep
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.
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Why it is worth knowing
- The builders and the watchman are working; the psalm questions effort that leaves God out
- Rising early, staying up late and “eating the bread of toil” describe anxious overwork
- Sleep is named as a gift: “he gives sleep to his loved ones”
- The verse speaks to anyone who measures their safety by the hours they put in
Where it sits: Psalm 127:1-2
Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain. 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.
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Background
Psalm 127 is a Song of Ascents, one of the psalms sung on the way up to Jerusalem, and the only one of them with Solomon’s name in its title. It opens with builders and city watchmen, people whose work is hard and necessary, and says their labor is in vain unless Yahweh builds and watches. Verse 2 brings the same thought to the person who rises early and stays up late, and sets sleep beside that work as something God gives.