Psalms 127 KJV
Unless the Lord Builds the House
About This Psalm
Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Children are a heritage from the LORD. Rest in God's sovereignty.
1xcept 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.
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Did You Know?
Though attributed to Solomon the temple-builder, the psalm's opening verse implicitly critiques royal building projects by framing all human labor as vain apart from divine initiative, creating a theological tension with the Davidic dynasty's architectural ambitions.
The Hebrew wordplay on 'house' (bayit) shifts seamlessly from literal building and city-watch in verses 1-2 to household and lineage in verses 3-5, reflecting ancient Israelite conceptions where physical house and family line were inseparable realities under covenant blessing.
Verse 2's promise that God 'giveth his beloved sleep' draws on creation-rest theology, positioning the psalm as a counter to anxious toil by echoing Genesis 2:2-3 and anticipating Sabbath motifs later developed in Hebrews 4.
As one of only two Solomonic Songs of Ascents, Psalm 127 uniquely pairs the pilgrimage collection's upward journey motif with domestic stability, suggesting that ascent to Zion requires prior trust in God's guardianship of the pilgrim's distant household.
The 'arrows in the hand of a mighty man' metaphor evokes not merely protection but legal advocacy at the city gate, where adult sons could serve as witnesses or defenders in clan disputes, a detail rooted in ancient Near Eastern customary law rather than generic family imagery.