Psalm 127:1–5
1 Unless the Lord builds a house,
its builders labor over it in vain; q
unless the Lord watches over a city,
the watchman stays alert in vain. r
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. s t
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,
children, a reward. u
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons born in one’s youth. v
5 Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them. w
Such men will never be put to shame
Psalm 127:1–5 — The New International Version (NIV)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — English Standard Version (ESV)
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake 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 to his beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:1–5 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — New Living Translation (NLT)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — New Century Version (NCV)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
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.
Psalm 127:1–5 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
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.