It is vain for you to rise early, come home late, and work so hard for your food. Yes, he can provide for those whom he loves even when they sleep.

你们清晨早起，夜晚安歇，吃劳碌得来的饭，本是枉然；惟有耶和华所亲爱的，必叫他安然睡觉。

你们清晨早起，夜晚安歇，吃劳碌得来的饭，本是枉然；惟有耶和华所亲爱的，必叫他安然睡觉。

你们清晨早起，夜晚安歇，吃劳碌得来的饭，本是枉然；惟有耶和华所亲爱的，必叫他安然睡觉。

你早起晚睡，为生活操劳也是徒然，唯有耶和华所爱的人才能安眠。

你们清早起来，很晚才歇息，吃劳碌得来的饭，都是徒然；因为主必使他所爱的安睡。

你们早早起来，迟迟安歇，吃劳苦得来的饭，也是枉然；要知道，耶和华必使他所爱的人安睡。

你們清晨早起，夜晚安歇，吃勞碌得來的飯，本是枉然；惟有耶和華所親愛的，必叫他安然睡覺。

你們清晨早起，夜晚安歇，吃勞碌得來的飯，本是枉然；惟有耶和華所親愛的，必叫他安然睡覺。

你們清晨早起，夜晚安歇，吃勞碌得來的飯，本是枉然；惟有耶和華所親愛的，必叫他安然睡覺。

你早起晚睡，為生活操勞也是徒然，唯有耶和華所愛的人才能安眠。

你們清早起來，很晚才歇息，吃勞碌得來的飯，都是徒然；因為主必使他所愛的安睡。

你們早早就起來，晚晚才歇息，喫勤勞得來的飯，盡是枉然；因為主在所愛的人睡覺時，已賜給他了。

你們早早起來，遲遲安歇，吃勞苦得來的飯，也是枉然；要知道，耶和華必使他所愛的人安睡。

爾曹夙興晏寢、勞苦謀食、俱係徒然、上帝所愛者、偃息之時、錫以綏安兮、

由是觀之、縱夙興夜寐、心緒紛紜、以謀餬口、亦係徒勞、上帝所愛者、必得安寢兮。

爾曹早起遲眠、辛苦求食、亦屬徒勞、惟主所喜愛者、主必使之安然寢寐、

擾擾復攘攘。孜孜度晨昏。究竟何所得。愁苦供盤飱。小人長戚戚。君子坦蕩蕩。心安身亦泰。美睡主所賞。

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.

It’s useless for you to work from early morning until late at night just to get food to eat. God provides for those he loves even while they sleep.

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food— yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.

It is futile for you to rise up early, To stay up late, To eat the bread of painful labor; This is how He gives to His beloved sleep.

It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.

It is vain for you to rise up early, To take rest late, To eat the bread of toil; For so he giveth unto his beloved sleep.

In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food— yes, He gives sleep to the one He loves.

[ It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows:[ for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.

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.

The sleep of the laborer is pleasant– whether he eats little or much– but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep.

I will lie down and sleep peacefully, for you, LORD, make me safe and secure.

I rested and slept; I awoke, for the LORD protects me.

Then they will say,‘ Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep when I wake up and look around.’”

And you will be secure, because there is hope; you will be protected and will take your rest in safety.

So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!

“‘ I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods.

So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly praying to God for him.On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison.

She also gets up while it is still night, and provides food for her household and a portion to her female servants.She considers a field and buys it; from her own income she plants a vineyard.She begins her work vigorously, and she strengthens her arms.She knows that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out in the night.

I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!

I thought to myself,“ Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is futile.I said of partying,“ It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure,“ It accomplishes nothing!”I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine( all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom) and the effects of behaving foolishly, so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.I increased my possessions: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself.I designed royal gardens and parks for myself, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.I constructed pools of water for myself, to irrigate my grove of flourishing trees.I purchased male and female slaves, and I owned slaves who were born in my house; I also possessed more livestock– both herds and flocks– than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem.I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces. I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight– a harem of beautiful concubines!So I was far wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem, yet I maintained my objectivity:I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort.Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“ All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”

A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“ For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!

But to Adam he said,“ Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,‘ You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground thanks to you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field.By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

Deliver by your power and answer me, so that the ones you love may be safe.

Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!