127  Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord ^xwatches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

2  It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious ^ytoil;

for he gives to his ^zbeloved ^asleep.

3  Behold, ^bchildren are a heritage from the Lord,

^cthe fruit of the womb a reward.

4  Like arrows in the hand of ^da warrior

are the children¹ of one’s youth.

5  Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies ^ein the gate.²

128  ^fBlessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

who ^gwalks in his ways!

2  You ^hshall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

3  Your wife will be like ⁱa fruitful vine

within your house;

your children will be like ^jolive shoots

around your table.

4  Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

who fears the Lord.

5  ^kThe Lord bless you ^lfrom Zion!

May you see ^mthe prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life!

6  May you see your ⁿchildren’s children!

^oPeace be upon Israel!

129  “Greatly¹ have they ^pafflicted me ^qfrom my youth”—

^rlet Israel now say—

2  “Greatly have they ^pafflicted me ^qfrom my youth,

^syet they have not prevailed against me.

3  ^tThe plowers plowed ^uupon my back;

they made long their furrows.”

4  The Lord is righteous;

he has cut ^vthe cords of the wicked.

5  May all who hate Zion

be ^wput to shame and turned backward!

6  Let them be like ^xthe grass on the housetops,

which ^ywithers before it grows up,

7  with which the reaper does not fill his hand

nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

8  nor do those who pass by say,

^a“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

We ^bbless you in the name of the Lord!”

130  Out of ^cthe depths I cry to you, O Lord!

2  O Lord, hear my voice!

^dLet your ears be attentive

to ^ethe voice of my pleas for mercy!

3  If you, O Lord, should ^fmark iniquities,

O Lord, who could ^gstand?

4  But with you there is ^hforgiveness,

ⁱthat you may be feared.

5  I ^jwait for the Lord, ^kmy soul waits,

and ^lin his word I hope;

6  my soul ^mwaits for the Lord

more than ⁿwatchmen for ^othe morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

7  O Israel, ^phope in the Lord!

For ^qwith the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

8  And he will ^rredeem Israel

from all his iniquities.

131  O Lord, my heart is not ^slifted up;

my eyes are not ^traised too high;

I do not ^uoccupy myself with things

too great and ^vtoo marvelous for me.

2  But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned ^wchild with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3  ^xO Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.