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Psalm 127
New King James Version

Laboring and Prospering with the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless (A)the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To (B)eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

3 Behold, (C)children are a heritage from the Lord,
(D)The fruit of the womb is a (E)reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 (F)Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
(G)They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

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Psalm 127
Good News Translation

In Praise of God's Goodness[a]

127 If the Lord does not build the house,
    the work of the builders is useless;
if the Lord does not protect the city,
    it does no good for the sentries to stand guard.
2 It is useless to work so hard for a living,
    getting up early and going to bed late.
For the Lord provides for those he loves,
    while they are asleep.

3 Children are a gift from the Lord;
    they are a real blessing.
4 The sons a man has when he is young
    are like arrows in a soldier's hand.
5 Happy is the man who has many such arrows.
He will never be defeated
    when he meets his enemies in the place of judgment.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 127:1 HEBREW TITLE: By Solomon.
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Psalm 127
English Standard Version

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of (A)Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord (B)watches over the city,
    the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious (C)toil;
    for he gives to his (D)beloved (E)sleep.

3 Behold, (F)children are a heritage from the Lord,
    (G)the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of (H)a warrior
    are the children[a] of one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man
    who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
    when he speaks with his enemies (I)in the gate.[b]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 127:4 Or sons
  2. Psalm 127:5 Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate
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New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Good News Translation (GNT)

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.

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English Standard Version (ESV)

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.

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