The Bible – Old Testament
Psalms
Index
Int. 1. 2. … 126. 127. 128. … 149. 150.
Chapter 127
1
1 A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD build the house, they labor in vain who build. Unless the LORD guard the city, in vain does the guard keep watch.
2
It is vain for you to rise early and put off your rest at night, To eat bread earned by hard toil – all this God gives to his beloved in sleep.
3
Children too are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward.
4
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one’s youth.
5
2 Blessed are they whose quivers are full. They will never be shamed contending with foes at the gate.
1 [Psalm 127] The psalm puts together two proverbs (⇒ Psalm 127:1-2, ⇒ 3-5) on God establishing “houses” or families. The prosperity of human groups is not the work of humans but the gift of God.
2 [5] At the gate: the reference is not to enemies besieging the walls of a city but to adversaries in litigation. Lawcourts functioned in the open area near the main city gate. The more adult sons a man had, the more forceful he would appear in disputes. Cf ⇒ Proverb 31:23.