1 Unless Yahweh builds a house, its builders labor at it in vain. Unless Yahweh guards a city, a guard watches in vain. 2 [It is] in vain for you who rise early [and] sit late, eating the bread of anxious toil, [when] thus he provides for his beloved in [his] sleep.
3 Look, children [are] the heritage of Yahweh; 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 who fills his quiver with them. They shall not be put to shame when they speak with enemies at the gate.