Psalms 104:23
in Psalms 104Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Man goeth forth unto his work And to his labor until the evening.
KJV
Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
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This verse in Psalms 104
Commentary
10 notes on this verseMan goeth forth. It is his turn now, and the sunrise has made things ready for him. His warm couch he forsakes and the comforts of home, to find his daily food; this work is good for him, both keeping him out of mischief, and exercising his faculties. Unto his work and to his labour until the evening. He goes not forth to sport but to work, not to loiter but to labour; at least, this is the lot of the best part of mankind.
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. When the sun rises they go to their dens, and man goes out to work until evening.
This site's exposition
Man goes forth to his work
Man comes last in the order of the day. His labor runs until evening, the hour the beasts come out in verse 20. Jesus used the same order at John 9:4, work by day before night comes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
What art thou doing, O man of God? thou, O Church of God? what art thou, O body of Christ, whose Head is in Heaven? what art thou doing, O man, His unity? "Man," he saith, "shall go forth to his work" (ver. 23). Let therefore this man work good works in the security of the peace of the Church, let him work unto the end. For sometime there will be a sort of general darkening, and a sort of assault will be made, but in the evening, that is, in the end of the world: but now the Church doth work in peace and tranquillity; for "man shall go forth to his work, and to his labour, unto the evening."
Man shall go forth to his work, and to his labor until the evening. But after the sun of righteousness has arisen, we go forth again to our labor until the evening, that is, until the consummation. Therefore we ought to work righteousness at every time.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The 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.
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.
Man goeth forth to his work,.... Having taken sleep in the night, being comfortably refreshed, and his strength recruited; he rises with the rising sun, and goes forth cheerfully and with intrepidity to his work in the field, or elsewhere, the beasts being fled and gone.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Man goeth forth. It is his turn now, and the sunrise has made things ready for him. His warm couch he forsakes and the comforts of home, to find his daily food; this work is good for him, both keeping him out of mischief, and exercising his faculties. Unto his work and to his labour until the evening. He goes not forth to sport but to work, not to loiter but to labour; at least, this is the lot of the best part of mankind. We are made for work and ought to work, and should never grumble that so it is appointed. The hours of labour, however, ought not to be too long. If labour lasts out the average daylight it is certainly all that any man ought to expect of another, and yet there are poor creatures so badly paid that in twelve hours they cannot earn bread enough to keep them from hunger. Shame on those who dare so impose upon helpless women and children. Night work should also be avoided as much as possible. There are twelve hours in which a man ought to work: the night is meant for rest and sleep. Night, then as well as day has its voice of praise. It is more soft and hushed, but it is none the less true. The moon lights up a solemn silence of worship among the fir trees, through which the night wind softly breathes its "songs without words." Every now and then a sound is heard, which, however simple by day, sounds among the shadows startling and weird like, as if the presence of the unknown had filled the heart with trembling, and made the influence of the Infinite to be realized. Imagination awakens herself; unbelief finds the silence and the solemnity uncongenial, faith looks up to the skies above her and sees heavenly things all the more clearly in the absence of the sunlight, and adoration bows itself before the Great Invisible!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Man goeth forth ... - Man is now seen to go forth from his dwelling, and he appears on the stage to perform his daily toil, until evening comes, and then again he gives way for the beasts of night. Thus the scene is ever varying - showing how full of animated existence the earth is; how varied are the occupations of its different inhabitants; and how the varieties of being are adapted to its own varied condition in the alternations of day and night.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֵצֵ֣א | yetze' | he goes out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אָדָ֣ם | ʾadam | a person | H120 → | 551 times |
| לְפָעֳל֑וֹ | lefoolo | to work his | H6467 → | 37 times |
| וְֽלַעֲבֹ֖דָת֣וֹ | velaavodato | and to labor his | H5656 → | |
| עֲדֵי־ | ʾadei- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עָֽרֶב׃ | ʾarev | evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
יֵצֵ֣אhe goes out
yetze'H3318 →1067 times
אָדָ֣םa person
ʾadamH120 →551 times
לְפָעֳל֑וֹto work his
lefooloH6467 →37 times
וְֽלַעֲבֹ֖דָת֣וֹand to labor his
velaavodatoH5656 →
עֲדֵי־until
ʾadei-H5704 →1261 times
עָֽרֶב׃evening
ʾarevH6153 →134 times
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
Genesis 3:19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 12:7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- Job 34:15
all flesh would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.
- Psalms 104:29
When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust.
- Genesis 2:7
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7
Through
Ephesians 4:28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:18
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12
and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
- Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.
- 1 Timothy 6:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 104; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Jerome, Homily 30, on Psalm 103; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.