Chapter Text
127:1 Except Jehovah build the house, They labor in vain that build it: Except Jehovah keep the city, The watchman waketh but in vain.
127:2 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.
127:3 Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah; [And] the fruit of the womb is [his] reward.
127:4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, So are the children of youth.
127:5 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 128 A Song of Ascents.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "except", "jehovah", "build", "house", "labor", and "vain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "except" and "jehovah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The local ASV text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "except" and "jehovah" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "except" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.