Monday with the New Psalms: Psalm 127

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 Certainly sons are a gift from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb, a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons born in one’s youth.

5 Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
He will never be shamed
for he will destroy his foes at the gate.
--NABRE


1 A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

If the LORD does not build the house,
in vain do its builders labor;
if the LORD does not guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch.

2 In vain is your earlier rising,
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat,
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.

3 Yes, children are a gift from the LORD,
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
4 Indeed, the sons of youth
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

5 Blessed is the warrior
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame,
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.
--Revised Grail Psalms


NABRE Notes:
[Psalm 127] The Psalm puts together two proverbs (Ps 127:1–2, 3–5) on God establishing “houses” or families. The prosperity of human groups is not the work of human beings but the gift of God.


[127:5] At the gate: the reference is not to enemies besieging the walls of a city but to adversaries in litigation. Law courts 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. Prv 31:23.