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.
²It 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.

³Behold, ^(F)children are a heritage from the Lord,
    ^(G)the fruit of the womb a reward.
⁴Like arrows in the hand of ^(H)a warrior
    are the children^[a] of one's youth.
⁵Blessed 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

Psalm 127:4 Or sons
Psalm 127:5 Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate

Psalm 127

New International Version

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

¹Unless the Lord builds^(A) the house,
    the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches^(B) over the city,
    the guards stand watch in vain.
²In vain you rise early
    and stay up late,
toiling for food^(C) to eat—
    for he grants sleep^(D) to^[a] those he loves.^(E)

³Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward^(F) from him.
⁴Like arrows^(G) in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
⁵Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.^(H)
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents^(I) in court.^(J)

Footnotes

Psalm 127:2 Or eat— / for while they sleep he provides for

Psalm 130-133

English Standard Version

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

130 Out of ^(B)the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
² O Lord, hear my voice!
^(C)Let your ears be attentive
to ^(D)the voice of my pleas for mercy!

³If you, O Lord, should ^(E)mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could ^(F)stand?
⁴But with you there is ^(G)forgiveness,
^(H)that you may be feared.

⁵I ^(I)wait for the Lord, ^(J)my soul waits,
    and ^(K)in his word I hope;
⁶my soul ^(L)waits for the Lord
    more than ^(M)watchmen for ^(N)the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷O Israel, ^(O)hope in the Lord!
    For ^(P)with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸And he will ^(Q)redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities.

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of ^(R)Ascents. Of David.

131 O Lord, my heart is not ^(S)lifted up;
    my eyes are not ^(T)raised too high;
I do not ^(U)occupy myself with things
    too great and ^(V)too marvelous for me.
²But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned ^(W)child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³^(X)O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of ^(Y)Ascents.

132 Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,
    all ^(Z)the hardships he endured,
²how he swore to the Lord
    and ^(AA)vowed to ^(AB)the Mighty One of Jacob,
³“I will not enter my house
    or get into my bed,
⁴I will not ^(AC)give sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵until I ^(AD)find a place for the Lord,
    a dwelling place for ^(AE)the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶Behold, we heard of it in ^(AF)Ephrathah;
we found it in ^(AG)the fields of Jaar.
⁷“Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us ^(AH)worship at his ^(AI)footstool!”

⁸^(AJ)Arise, O Lord, and go to your ^(AK)resting place,
    you and the ark of your ^(AL)might.
⁹Let your ^(AM)priests be ^(AN)clothed with righteousness,
    and let your ^(AO)saints shout for joy.
¹⁰For the sake of your servant David,
    ^(AP)do not turn away the face of ^(AQ)your anointed one.

¹¹^(AR)The Lord swore to David a sure oath
    ^(AS)from which he will not turn back:
^(AT)“One of the sons of your body^[a]
    I will set on your throne.
¹²If your sons keep my covenant
    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
    shall ^(AU)sit on your throne.”

¹³For the Lord has ^(AV)chosen Zion;
    he has ^(AW)desired it for his dwelling place:
¹⁴“This is my ^(AX)resting place forever;
    here I will ^(AY)dwell, for I have desired it.
¹⁵I will abundantly ^(AZ)bless her provisions;
    I will ^(BA)satisfy her poor with bread.
¹⁶Her ^(BB)priests I will clothe with salvation,
    and her ^(BC)saints will shout for joy.
¹⁷There I will make ^(BD)a horn to sprout for David;
    I have prepared ^(BE)a lamp for ^(BF)my anointed.
¹⁸His enemies I will ^(BG)clothe with shame,
    but on him his crown will shine.”

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of ^(BH)Ascents. Of David.

133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when ^(BI)brothers dwell in unity!^[b]
²It is like the precious ^(BJ)oil on ^(BK)the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on ^(BL)the collar of his robes!
³It is like ^(BM)the dew of ^(BN)Hermon,
    which falls on ^(BO)the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord ^(BP)has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

Footnotes

Psalm 132:11 Hebrew of your fruit of the womb
Psalm 133:1 Or dwell together

Psalm 130-133

New International Version

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

¹Out of the depths^(A) I cry to you,^(B) Lord;
² Lord, hear my voice.^(C)
Let your ears be attentive^(D)
to my cry for mercy.^(E)

³If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?^(F)
⁴But with you there is forgiveness,^(G)
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.^(H)

⁵I wait for the Lord,^(I) my whole being waits,^(J)
    and in his word^(K) I put my hope.
⁶I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen^(L) wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.^(M)

⁷Israel, put your hope^(N) in the Lord,
    for with the Lord is unfailing love^(O)
    and with him is full redemption.^(P)
⁸He himself will redeem^(Q) Israel
    from all their sins.^(R)

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹My heart is not proud,^(S) Lord,
    my eyes are not haughty;^(T)
I do not concern myself with great matters^(U)
    or things too wonderful for me.^(V)
²But I have calmed and quieted myself,^(W)
    I am like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child I am content.^(X)

³Israel, put your hope^(Y) in the Lord
both now and forevermore.^(Z)

Psalm 132^(AA)

A song of ascents.

¹Lord, remember David
and all his self-denial.^(AB)

²He swore an oath to the Lord,
    he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:^(AC)
³“I will not enter my house^(AD)
    or go to my bed,
⁴I will allow no sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵till I find a place^(AE) for the Lord,
    a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶We heard it in Ephrathah,^(AF)
    we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:^[a]^(AG)
⁷“Let us go to his dwelling place,^(AH)
    let us worship at his footstool,^(AI) saying,
⁸‘Arise, Lord,^(AJ) and come to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
⁹May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;^(AK)
    may your faithful people^(AL) sing for joy.’”

¹⁰For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.

¹¹The Lord swore an oath to David,^(AM)
    a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants^(AN)
    I will place on your throne.
¹²If your sons keep my covenant^(AO)
    and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
    on your throne^(AP) for ever and ever.”

¹³For the Lord has chosen Zion,^(AQ)
    he has desired it for his dwelling,^(AR) saying,
¹⁴“This is my resting place for ever and ever;^(AS)
    here I will sit enthroned,^(AT) for I have desired it.
¹⁵I will bless her with abundant provisions;
    her poor I will satisfy with food.^(AU)
¹⁶I will clothe her priests^(AV) with salvation,
    and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.^(AW)

¹⁷“Here I will make a horn^[b] grow^(AX) for David
and set up a lamp^(AY) for my anointed one.^(AZ)
¹⁸I will clothe his enemies with shame,^(BA)
but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”^(BB)

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together^(BC) in unity!^(BD)

²It is like precious oil poured on the head,^(BE)
    running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
    down on the collar of his robe.
³It is as if the dew^(BF) of Hermon^(BG)
    were falling on Mount Zion.^(BH)
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,^(BI)
    even life forevermore.^(BJ)

Footnotes

Psalm 132:6 Or heard of it in Ephrathah, / we found it in the fields of Jearim. (See 1 Chron. 13:5,6) (And no quotation marks around verses 7-9)
Psalm 132:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one, that is, king.

English Standard Version (ESV)

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 127

English Standard Version

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of Solomon.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 127

New International Version

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 130-133

English Standard Version

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of ^(R)Ascents. Of David.

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of ^(Y)Ascents.

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of ^(BH)Ascents. Of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 130-133

New International Version

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

Psalm 132^(AA)

A song of ascents.

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Psalm 127 English Standard Version

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of (A)Ascents. Of Solomon.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 127 New International Version

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 130-133 English Standard Version

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of (A)Ascents.

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of (R)Ascents. Of David.

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of (Y)Ascents.

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of (BH)Ascents. Of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 130-133 New International Version

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

Psalm 132(AA)

A song of ascents.

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Psalm 127

English Standard Version

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of Solomon.

Psalm 127

New International Version

Psalm 130-133

English Standard Version

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

A Song of ^(R)Ascents. Of David.

A Song of ^(Y)Ascents.

A Song of ^(BH)Ascents. Of David.

Psalm 130-133

New International Version

Psalm 132^(AA)