# Psalms 127.1

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [Psalms](/codex/psalms/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> **1. <sup>A Song of Ascents; of Solomon.</sup> Except Jehova build the house, They labor in vain that build it: Except Jehovah keep the city, The watchman waketh but in vain.**
>
> 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. 3. Lo, children are a heritage of Jehovah; And the fruit of the womb is his reward. (Psalms 127:1-3, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> **1. <b>A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. </b> Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.**
>
> 2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil; for he gives sleep to his loved ones. 3. Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh. The fruit of the womb is his reward. (Psalms 127:1-3, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> **1. A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. <sup>for: or, of Solomon</sup> <sup>that: Heb. that are builders of it in it</sup>**
>
> 2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. (Psalms 127:1-3, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> **1. A Song of the Ascents, by Solomon. If Jehovah doth not build the house, In vain have its builders laboured at it, If Jehovah doth not watch a city, In vain hath a watchman waked.**
>
> 2. Vain for you who are rising early, Who delay sitting, eating the bread of griefs, So He giveth to His beloved one sleep. 3. Lo, an inheritance of Jehovah [are] sons, A reward [is] the fruit of the womb. (Psalms 127:1-3, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
- **Audience:** worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
- **Location:** Israel, various periods
- **Time period:** composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC

## Theological reading

## Key words

- [H3068 - YHWH](/codex/h3068-yhwh/), *YHWH* (Strong's H3068). Also appears in: [Genesis 2.4](/codex/genesis-2-4/), [Genesis 2.7](/codex/genesis-2-7/), [Genesis 2.16-17](/codex/genesis-2-16-17/).

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.