ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Psalms 127.1

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

1. A Song of Ascents; of Solomon. Except Jehova build the house, They labor in vain that build it: Except Jehovah keep the city, The watchman waketh but in vain.

  1. 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)

1. A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.

  1. 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)

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. for: or, of Solomon that: Heb. that are builders of it in it

  1. 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)

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.

  1. 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)

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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

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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • 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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.