Psalms 127:3-5

127:3 Yes, ¹  sons ²  are a gift from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb is a reward.

127:4 Sons born during one’s youth

are like arrows in a warrior’s hand. ³ 

127:5 How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

They will not be put to shame ⁴  when they confront ⁵  enemies at the city gate.

Psalms 128:3-6

128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine ⁶ 

in the inner rooms of your house;

your children ⁷  will be like olive branches,

as they sit all around your table.

128:4 Yes indeed, the man who fears the Lord

will be blessed in this way. ⁸ 

128:5 May the Lord bless you ⁹  from Zion,

that you might see ¹⁰  Jerusalem ¹¹  prosper

all the days of your life,

128:6 and that you might see ¹²  your grandchildren. ¹³ 

May Israel experience peace! ¹⁴ 

[127:3]  ¹ tn or “look.”

[127:3]  ² 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.

[127:4]  ³ tn Heb “like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so [are] sons of youth.” Arrows are used in combat to defend oneself against enemies; sons are viewed here as providing social security and protection (see v. 5). The phrase “sons of youth” is elliptical, meaning “sons [born during the father’s] youth.” Such sons will have grown up to be mature adults and will have children of their own by the time the father reaches old age and becomes vulnerable to enemies. Contrast the phrase “son of old age” in Gen 37:3 (see also 44:20), which refers to Jacob’s age when Joseph was born.

[127:5]  ⁴ tn Being “put to shame” is here metonymic for being defeated, probably in a legal context, as the reference to the city gate suggests. One could be humiliated (Ps 69:12) or deprived of justice (Amos 5:12) at the gate, but with strong sons to defend the family interests this was less likely to happen.

[127:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “speak with.”

[128:3]  ⁶ sn The metaphor of the fruitful vine pictures the wife as fertile; she will give her husband numerous children (see the next line).

[128:3]  ⁷ tn One could translate “sons” (see Ps 127:3 and the note on the word “sons” there), but here the term seems to refer more generally to children of both genders.

[128:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “look, indeed thus will the man, the fearer of the Lord, be blessed.”

[128:5]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the imperatives that are subordinated to this clause in vv. 5b-6a). Having described the blessings that typically come to the godly, the psalmist concludes by praying that this ideal may become reality for the representative godly man being addressed.

[128:5]  ¹⁰ tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding jussive.

[128:5]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[128:6]  ¹² tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the jussive in v. 5a.

[128:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “sons to your sons.”

[128:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 125:5).