Monday, May 21, 2012

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.

3 comments:

  1. Grail wins this round for being more poetic.

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  2. I'll still go with the NABRE, it flows better (especially during Liturgy of the Hours at 5:15 am when my tongue is stuck in my mouth and I can talk!)

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  3. Not to sound like a broken record, but - once again - I prefer the Grail version. Maybe I'm prejudice, because I've been using 63 Grail for years in the Office. But the NABRE renderings usually seem bland to me. It's almost like they were trying to translate songs, as if they were prose.

    Regards,
    John

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