Psalms 127:1

Psalm 127 ¹ 

A song of ascents, ²  by Solomon.

127:1 If the Lord does not build a house, ³ 

then those who build it work in vain.

If the Lord does not guard a city, ⁴ 

then the watchman stands guard in vain.

Psalms 127:3

127:3 Yes, ⁵  sons ⁶  are a gift from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb is a reward.

[127:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 127. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist teaches that one does not find security by one’s own efforts, for God alone gives stability and security.

[127:1]  ² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[127:1]  ³ sn The expression build a house may have a double meaning here. It may refer on the surface level to a literal physical structure in which a family lives, but at a deeper, metaphorical level it refers to building, perpetuating, and maintaining a family line. See Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; 1 Sam 2:35; 2 Sam 7:27; 1 Kgs 11:38; 1 Chr 17:10, 25. Having a family line provided security in ancient Israel.

[127:1]  ⁴ sn The city symbolizes community security, which is the necessary framework for family security.

[127:3]  ⁵ tn or “look.”

[127:3]  ⁶ 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.