1 Unless the Lord builds a house,

They who build it labor in vain;

Unless the Lord guards a city,

The watchman stays awake in vain.

2 It is futile for you to rise up early,

To *stay up late,

To eat the bread of painful labor;

This is how He gives to His beloved 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 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;

They will not be ashamed

When they speak with their enemies in the gate.