1If יהוה does not build the house, Its builders have laboured in vain. If יהוה does not guard the city, The watchman has stayed awake in vain.

2In vain do you rise up early, To sit up late, to eat the bread of toil; So He gives His beloved sleep.

3Look, children are an inheritance from יהוה, The fruit of the womb is the reward.

4As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, So are the children of one’s youth.

5Blessed is the man Who has filled his quiver with them. They are not ashamed, When they speak with their enemies in the gate.