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

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12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

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In peace I will both (A)lie down and sleep;
    for you alone, O Lord, make me (B)dwell in safety.

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I (A)lay down and slept;
    I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

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18 And you will feel secure, because there is hope;
    you will look around and (A)take your rest in security.

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26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

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20 So I (A)turned about and gave my heart up to despair (B)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from (C)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For (D)all his days are full of sorrow, and his (E)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

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So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest (A)prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Peter Is Rescued

Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, (B)bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

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The Lord's Covenant of Peace

25 (A)“I will make with them a covenant of peace and (B)banish wild beasts from the land, (C)so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

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The Vanity of Self-Indulgence

I (A)said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.[a] I (B)said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I (C)searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on (D)folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. I made great works. I (E)built houses and planted (F)vineyards for myself. I made myself (G)gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had (H)slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of (I)herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and (J)gold and the treasure of (K)kings and (L)provinces. I got (M)singers, both men and women, and many (N)concubines,[b] the delight of the sons of man.

So I became great and (O)surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my (P)wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart (Q)found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my (R)reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was (S)vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing (T)to be gained under the sun.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:1 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 26 (see note on 1:2)
  2. Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain

14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is (A)vanity[a] and a striving after wind.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:14 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:14 Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (also in Ecclesiastes 1:17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9)

15 She (A)rises while it is yet night
    and (B)provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She (C)dresses herself[a] with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 31:17 Hebrew She girds her loins

one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his (A)eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, (B)“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy (C)business.

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(A)That your (B)beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer us!

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Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and (A)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely (B)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
    Surely a man (C)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing[a] they are in turmoil;
    man (D)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath

17 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
(A)of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
(B)cursed is the ground because of you;
    (C)in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
(D)for you are dust,
    and (E)to dust you shall return.”

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(A)All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 6:7 Hebrew filled

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