Psalm 126:1–127:5

A Prayer for Deliverance

126When the Lord brought us back to Jerusalem,^g

it was like a dream!

²How we laughed, how we sang for joy!

Then the other nations said about us,

“The Lord did great things for them.”

³Indeed he did great things for us;

how happy we were!

⁴Lord, make us prosperous again,^h

just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds.

⁵Let those who wept as they sowed their seed,

gather the harvest with joy!

⁶Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed

will come back singing for joy,

as they bring in the harvest.

In Praise of God’s Goodnessⁱ

127 If the Lord does not build the house,

the work of the builders is useless;

if the Lord does not protect the city,

it is useless for the sentries to stand guard.

²It is useless to work so hard for a living,

getting up early and going to bed late.

For the Lord provides for those he loves,

while they are asleep.

³Children are a gift from the Lord;

they are a real blessing.

⁴The sons a man has when he is young

are like arrows in a soldier’s hand.

⁵Happy is the man who has many such arrows.

He will never be defeated

when he meets his enemies in the place of judgement.