Bible Strands
Psalms 104:22
The sun rises, and they withdraw; they lie down in their dens.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the created order while tracing the daily rhythm of divine provision, positioned between the lions’ hunt in verse 21 and humanity’s labor in verse 23.
The words — תּזרח (tizrach) means "it rises," marking the sun’s emergence, while יִרְבָּצוּ (yirbāṣū) translates to "they lie down," describing the animals’ retreat.
The thread — The pattern of animals entering dens appears in Job 37:8, the contrast between light and rebellion is noted in Job 24:13, and the settling behavior is compared to locusts in Nahum 3:17.
Why it lands — The text records a fixed daily transition in creation, requiring the reader to recognize the structural order that separates animal rest from human work.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
Cross-references
- Job 37:8 The wild animals enter their lairs; they settle down in their dens.
- Job 24:13 Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
- Nahum 3:17 Your 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 where.
- John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.