Psalms 104:22
in Psalms 104The sun rises, and they withdraw; they lie down in their dens.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The sun ariseth, they get them away, And lay them down in their dens.
KJV
The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
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This verse in Psalms 104
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe beasts creep forth to spoil and do mischief; man goes forth to work and do good. There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, which man must apply to every morning (for the lights are set up for us to work by, not to play by) and which he must stick to till evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which no man can work.
This site's exposition
He made the moon to mark
on Psalms 104:19-23
The two lights keep time. The moon marks the seasons, the sun knows the hour it sets, and the night belongs to the lions, who seek their food from God and roar for prey. When the sun rises they go to their dens, and man goes out to work until evening.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"The Sun has arisen, and they get them away together, and lay them down in their dens" [Psalm 104:22]. More and more as the Sun rises, so that Christ is recognised by the round world, and glorified therein, do the lion's whelps get them away together; those devils recede from the persecution of the Church, who instigated men to persecute the house of God, by working in the sons of unbelief. [Ephesians 2:2] Now that none of them dares persecute the Church, "the Sun has arisen, and they get them away together." And where are they? "And they lay them down in their dens." Their dens are the hearts of the unbelieving. How many carry lions crouching in their hearts? They burst not forth thence, they make no assault upon the pilgrim Jerusalem. Wherefore do they not so? Because the Sun is already risen, and is shining over the whole world.
Then, even if anger boils up, it is easily cooled. If passion flares forth, the flames are readily quenched. If envy consumes us, it is not difficult to drive it away. The same thing happens that the prophet says happens when the sun rises. What did he say? "You made the darkness, and it was night. In it all the wild beasts of the forest will go forth, even young lions roaring for prey and to seek meat for themselves from God. The sun arose, and they were gathered together and shall lie down in their dens." At sunrise, then, every wild beast is driven off and slinks away to its lair. So, too, when a prayer, like a ray of the sun, arises from our tongue and comes forth from our mouth, our mind is enlightened, all the savage passions that destroy our reason slink away and flee to their own lairs, if only our prayer is diligent, if only it comes from a watchful soul and sober mind. Should the devil be on hand when we pray, he is driven off; should a demon be there, he slinks away.
The sun arose, and they were gathered together. Let not the one who has fallen be saddened, but let him do penance: the sun of righteousness rises upon him, and all the beasts and his sins flee from him, and he becomes such as he was before. For the sun of righteousness has arisen again.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Satisfied - By this means all the parts of the earth, are made fruitful. The fruit - With the effects of those sweet showers. Oil - He alludes to the custom of those times and places, which was upon festival occasions to anoint their faces with oil.
The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together,.... Having gone some one way, some another, seeking their prey; but upon the sun's rising gather together in order to return from whence they came, abhorring the light of the sun, as some creatures do, and fearing being hunted and taken by men, the fear of whom is still in some measure upon the beasts of the field, Gen 9:
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
The sun ariseth. Every evening has its morning to make the day. Were it not that we have seen the sun rise so often we should think it the greatest of miracles, and the most amazing of blessings. They gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Thus they are out of man's way, and he seldom encounters them unless he desires to do so.
The sun ariseth. Every evening has its morning to make the day. Were it not that we have seen the sun rise so often we should think it the greatest of miracles, and the most amazing of blessings. They gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Thus they are out of man's way, and he seldom encounters them unless he desires to do so. The forest's warriors retire to their quarters when the morning's drum is heard, finding in the recesses of their dens a darkness suitable for their slumbers; there they lay them down and digest their food, for God has allotted even to them their portion of rest and enjoyment. There was one who in this respect was poorer than lions and foxes, for he had not where to lay his head: all were provided for except their incarnate Provider. Blessed Lord, thou hast stooped beneath the conditions of the brutes to lift up worse than brutish men! It is very striking how the Lord controls the fiercest of animals far more readily than the shepherd manages his sheep. At nightfall they separate and go forth each one upon the merciful errand of ending the miseries of the sickly and decrepit among grass eating animals. The younger of these animals being swift of foot easily escape them and are benefited by the exercise, and for the most part only those are overtaken and killed to whom life would have been protracted agony. So far lions are messengers of mercy, and are as much sent of God as the sporting dog is sent by man on his errands. But these mighty hunters must not always be abroad, they must be sent back to their lairs when man comes upon the scene. Who shall gather these ferocious creatures and shut them in? Who shall chain them down and make them harmless? The sun suffices to do it. He is the true lion tamer.
The sun ariseth - The dawn of day is the warning for man to arise and betake himself to his work; and is the warning to them to retire to their dens.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The sun ariseth - A new scene in this endless variety of incidents in a world full of life and beauty. The psalmist sees the light break in the east, and the sun appear above the horizon - and the whole scene is changed. The animals that had gone forth at night are seen to return again to their hiding-places, and man in his turn Psa 104:23 is seen to go forth to his daily toil. They gather themselves together - Though scattered in the night, when light returns, they all bend their steps to the places where they are accustomed to repose in the daytime. The scene is most beautiful. At night they sally forth for their prey; when the morning light returns, they all retrace their steps to the places in dens and caverns where they pass the day, and there they repose in silence until night returns again.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תִּזְרַ֣ח | tizrach | it rises | H2224 → | |
| הַ֭שֶּׁמֶשׁ | hashemesh | the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| יֵאָסֵפ֑וּן | yeasefun | they gather ! | H622 → | 200 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְ֝עוֹנֹתָ֗ם | meonotam | dens their | H4585 → | |
| יִרְבָּצֽוּן׃ | yirbatzun | they lie down ! | H7257 → |
תִּזְרַ֣חit rises
tizrachH2224 →
הַ֭שֶּׁמֶשׁthe sun
hashemeshH8121 →134 times
יֵאָסֵפ֑וּןthey gather !
yeasefunH622 →200 times
וְאֶל־and into
veel-H413 →5510 times
מְ֝עוֹנֹתָ֗םdens their
meonotamH4585 →
יִרְבָּצֽוּן׃they lie down !
yirbatzunH7257 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 3:20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:11–13
Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
- John 7:7
The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- Job 24:13–17
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
- Proverbs 1:29
For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.
- Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Ephesians 5:11–13
Through
Nahum 3:17Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:27
“Raise a banner in the land! Blow the ram’s horn among the nations! Prepare the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a captain against her; bring up horses…
- Revelation 9:7
And the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads, and faces like the faces of men.
- Jeremiah 51:27
Through
Job 37:8The wild animals enter their lairs; they settle down in their dens.
it leads to
- Job 38:40
when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
- Job 38:40
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 104; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Jerome, Homily 30, on Psalm 103; John Chrysostom, AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS 7:59; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.