Psalm 127

¹If the Lord does not build a house,[#sn The expression build a house may have a double meaning here. It may refer on the surface level to a literal physical structure in which a family lives, but at a deeper, metaphorical level it refers to building, perpetuating, and maintaining a family line. See Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; 1 Sam 2:35; 2 Sam 7:27; 1 Kgs 11:38; 1 Chr 17:10, 25. Having a family line provided security in ancient Israel.]

then those who build it work in vain.

If the Lord does not guard a city,

then the watchman stands guard in vain.

²It is vain for you to rise early, come home late,

and work so hard for your food.

Yes, he can provide for those whom he loves even when they sleep.

³Yes, sons are a gift from the Lord ,[#tn or “look.”; #tn Some prefer to translate this term with the gender neutral “children,” but “sons” are plainly in view here, as the following verses make clear. Daughters are certainly wonderful additions to a family, but in ancient Israelite culture sons were the “arrows” that gave a man security in his old age, for they could defend the family interests at the city gate, where the legal and economic issues of the community were settled.]

the fruit of the womb is a reward.

⁴Sons born during one’s youth

are like arrows in a warrior’s hand.

⁵How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

They will not be put to shame when they confront enemies at the city gate.