...and on the ungodly too

Posted by Baceseras on August 31, 2007

In Reply to: ...and on the ungodly too posted by Lewis on August 31, 2007

: : Does anyone know who first wrote/said the phrase "the sun always shines on the righteous"?

: Well, I cannot be authoritative as to who first said the words, but I suspect it was some Jewish guy 3,000 years or so ago

: Psalm 97 v 11

: "the sun will shine on the righteous"

: (some Psalms were attributed to King David, but he may have just had the publishing rights)

: On the other hand, the original question is not necessarily a direct quote - "will" and "always" are not an exact match, although in Aramaic or whatever, the phrase will have more than one acceptable translation, so it could be interpreted as either quoting the psalm or referring to it.

: I've heard the expression throughout my life - both my grandmother and mother used to sometimes say it when it was sunny.

: there is an addendum that they sometimes expected as a retort - "...and on the ungodly too"

:
: for example:
: person 1 looks out window and says "the sun shines on the righteous"
: person 2 replies "and on the ungodly too"

: I think that goes back to a tradition in some forms of church worship, where Psalms were said out loud by different people each taking one line alternately.

: L

Paired with the retort, the thought is found in the words of Jesus, in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew:

43: Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

(The rain, by the way, in this last example, is not, I think, a type of misfortune, but like the sun it is a blessing from heaven.)