Bible Strands
Psalms 104:23
Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist observes the daily rhythm of creation, contrasting the sun-driven withdrawal of wild animals with the human work cycle, immediately before shifting to praise God’s wisdom in the following verse.
The words — אָדָם ('a.Dam) = a person and עָרֶב ('A.rev) = evening anchor the verse’s focus on human labor bounded by daylight.
The thread — This bounded labor pattern echoes the post-Fall decree in Genesis 3:19, the restorative work ethic in Ephesians 4:28, and the promised rest for the worker in Ecclesiastes 5:12.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to treat daily labor as a created, time-bound duty rather than a personal pursuit, framing work as a functional part of the created order that ends when the light fades.
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
Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
Cross-references
- Genesis 3:19 By 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.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
- Ephesians 4:28 He 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.
- Judges 19:16 That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.