1 Unless the Lord builds the house,

the builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the guards stand watch in vain.

2 In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—

for he grants sleep to those he loves.

3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,

offspring a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are children born in one’s youth.

5 Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

when they contend with their opponents in court.

1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:

Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,

To eat the bread of sorrows:

For so he giveth his beloved sleep.

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:

And the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;

So are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:

They shall not be ashamed,

But they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

1 Unless the Lord builds a house,

the work of the builders is wasted.

Unless the Lord protects a city,

guarding it with sentries will do no good.

2 It is useless for you to work so hard

from early morning until late at night,

anxiously working for food to eat;

for God gives rest to his loved ones.

3 Children are a gift from the Lord;

they are a reward from him.

4 Children born to a young man

are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.

5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!

He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman stays awake in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early,

To sit up late,

To eat the bread of sorrows;

For so He gives His beloved sleep.

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one’s youth.

5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;

They shall not be ashamed,

But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

1 If the Lord doesn’t build the house,

the builders are working for nothing.

If the Lord doesn’t guard the city,

the guards are watching for nothing.

2 It is no use for you to get up early

and stay up late,

working for a living.

The Lord gives sleep to those he loves.

3 Children are a gift from the Lord;

babies are a reward.

4 Children who are born to a young man

are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

5 Happy is the man

who has his bag full of arrows.

They will not be defeated

when they fight their enemies at the city gate.

1 Except Jehovah build the house,

They labor in vain that build it:

Except Jehovah keep the city,

The watchman waketh but in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early,

To take rest late,

To eat the bread of toil;

For so he giveth unto his beloved sleep.

3 Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah;

And the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,

So are the children of youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:

They shall not be put to shame,

When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

1 Unless Jehovah build the house, in vain do its builders labour in it; unless Jehovah keep the city, the keeper watcheth in vain: 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to lie down late, to eat the bread of sorrows: so to his beloved one he giveth sleep. 3 Lo, children are an inheritance from Jehovah, and the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath filled his quiver with them. They shall not be ashamed when they speak with enemies in the gate.

1 If the Lord does not build the house, 

it is useless for the builders to work on it. 

If the Lord does not protect a city, 

it is useless for the guard to stay alert. 

2 It is useless to work hard for the food you eat 

by getting up early and going to bed late. 

The Lord gives ⸤food⸥ to those he loves while they sleep. 

3 Children are an inheritance from the Lord. 

They are a reward from him. 

4 The children born to a man when he is young 

are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. 

5 Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them. 

He will not be put to shame 

when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate. 

1 Unless the Lord builds a house,

its builders labor over it in vain;

unless the Lord watches over a city,

the watchman stays alert in vain.

2 In vain you get up early and stay up late,

working hard to have enough food—

yes, He gives sleep to the one He loves.

3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,

children, a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the sons born in one’s youth.

5 Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.

Such men will never be put to shame

when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord guards the city,

the guard keeps watch in vain.

2 It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for he gives sleep to his beloved.

3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the sons of one’s youth.

5 Happy is the man who has

his quiver full of them.

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

1 Unless Yahweh builds a house,

its builders labor at it in vain.

Unless Yahweh guards a city,

a guard watches in vain.

2 It is in vain for you who rise early and sit late,

eating the bread of anxious toil,

when thus he provides for his beloved in his sleep.

3 Look, children are the heritage of Yahweh;

the fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

so are the children of one’s youth.

5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.

They shall not be put to shame

when they speak with enemies at the gate.

1 If the Lord doesn’t build a house,

the work of its builders is useless.

If the Lord doesn’t watch over a city,

it’s useless for those on guard duty to stand watch over it.

2 It’s useless for you to work from early morning

until late at night

just to get food to eat.

God provides for those he loves even while they sleep.

3 Children are a gift from the Lord.

They are a reward from him.

4 Children who are born to people when they are young

are like arrows in the hands of a soldier.

5 Blessed are those

who have many children.

They won’t be put to shame

when they go up against their enemies in court.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early,

To retire late,

To eat the bread of painful labors;

For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one’s youth.

5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;

They will not be ashamed

When they speak with their enemies in the gate.