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.
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.

Behold, (C)children are a heritage from the Lord,
(D)The fruit of the womb is a (E)reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
(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.

A Prayer for Protection and Prosperity

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.[a]

127 Unless Yahweh builds a house,
its builders labor at it in vain.
Unless Yahweh guards a city,
a guard watches in vain.
It is in vain for you who rise early and sit late,
eating the bread of anxious toil,
when thus he[b] provides[c] for his beloved in his sleep.[d]
Look, children[e] are the heritage[f] of Yahweh;
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are the children[g] of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.[h]
They shall not be put to shame
when they speak with enemies at the gate.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 127:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
  2. Psalm 127:2 That is, Yahweh
  3. Psalm 127:2 Hebrew “gives”
  4. Psalm 127:2 Or “so he gives sleep to his beloved”
  5. Psalm 127:3 Hebrew “sons”
  6. Psalm 127:3 That is, gift
  7. Psalm 127:4 Hebrew “sons”
  8. Psalm 127:5 Or “whose quiver he Yahweh fills with them”