Psalm 127 is the 127th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Except the Lord build the house". In Latin, it is known by a two-word incipit, .Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 126 (127) medievalist.net It is one of 15 "Songs of Ascents" and the only one among them attributed to Solomon rather than David.
In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 126.
The text is divided into five verses. The first two express the notion that "without God, all is in vain", popularly summarized in Latin in the motto . The remaining three verses describe progeny as God's blessing.
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. The Vulgate text was set to music numerous times during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, often as part of vespers, including Claudio Monteverdi's ten-part setting as part of his 1610 , Marc-Antoine Charpentier, (3 sets), H 150, H 160, H 231, Handel's (1707) and two settings by Antonio Vivaldi. Composers such as Adam Gumpelzhaimer and Heinrich Schütz set the German .
Authorship According to Jewish tradition, Psalm 127 was written by David and dedicated to his son Solomon, who would build the First Temple. According to Radak, verses 3–5, which reference "sons", express David's feelings about his son Solomon; according to Rashi, these verses refer to the students of a Torah scholar, who are called his "sons".
The psalm's superscription calls it "of Solomon",See for example in the New International Version but Christian theologian Albert Barnes noted that "in the Syriac Version, the title is, "From the Psalms of the Ascent; spoken by David concerning Solomon; it was spoken also of Haggai and Zechariah, who urged the rebuilding of the Temple". The Authorized Version describes the psalm as "a Song of degrees for Solomon", and Wycliffe's translators recognised both options.Noble, T. P. (2001), Psalm 127:1 Isaac Gottlieb of Bar Ilan University suggests that the reference in verse 2 to "his beloved" () "recalls Solomon's other name, Yedidiah".
Themes Charles Spurgeon calls Psalm 127 "The Builder's Psalm", noting the similarity between the Hebrew words for sons () and builders (). He writes:We are here taught that builders of houses and cities, systems and fortunes, empires and churches all labour in vain without the Lord; but under the divine favour they enjoy perfect rest. Sons, who are in the Hebrew called "builders", are set forth as building up families under the same divine blessing, to the great honour and happiness of their parents.
Spurgeon also quotes the English preacher Henry Smith (1560–1591): "Well doth David call children 'arrows' [v. 4]; for if they be well bred, they shoot at their parents' enemies; and if they be evil bred, they shoot at their parents".
The Midrash Tehillim interprets the opening verses of the psalm as referring to teachers and students of Torah. On the watchmen of the city mentioned in verse 1, Rabbi Hiyya, Rabbi Yosi, and Rabbi Ammi said, "The [true] watchmen of the city are the teachers of Scripture and instructors of Oral Law". On "the Lord gives" in verse 2, the Midrash explains that God "gives" life in the world to come to the wives of Torah scholars because they deprive themselves of sleep to support their husbands. (password: www.matsati.com)
As part of the structure of the Psalms of Ascents One Bible scholar, Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg, made the following observations of how Psalm 127 is the center of a delicate structure in the Psalms of Ascents, Psalms 120 to 134.The Flow of the Psalms, O Palmer Robertson, P&R Publishing, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62995-133-1, p 213
The whole is grouped around Psalm 127, which was composed by Solomon, which stands in the middle between the first and the last of the pilgrim psalms. On each side there stands a group of seven Pilgrim psalms, consisting of two by David and five anonymous ones. Each group of seven contains the name Yahweh 24 times. Earnst Wilhelm Hengstenberg, Commentary on the Psalms, Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1954, 3:409
Translation
The translation of the psalm offers difficulties, especially in verses 2 and 4. Jerome, in a letter to Marcella (dated 384 AD), laments that Origen's notes on this psalm were no longer extant, and discusses the various possible translations of (KJV "bread of sorrows", after the of Vulgata Clementina; Jerome's own translation was , "bread of idols", following the Septuagint (LXX), and of (KJV "children of the youth", translated in LXX as "children of the outcast").Ph. Schaff, H. Wace, The Principal Works of St. Jerome (1892), Letter xxxiv. To Marcella "The Hebrew phrase 'bread of sorrow' is rendered by the LXX. 'bread of idols'; by Aquila, 'bread of troubles'; by Symmachus, 'bread of misery'. Theodotion follows the LXX. So does Origen's Fifth Version. The Sixth renders 'bread of error.' In support of the LXX, the word used here is in Ps. cxv.4, translated 'idols.' Either the troubles of life are meant or else the tenets of heresy."
There are two possible interpretations of the phrase (KJV: "for so he giveth his beloved sleep"): The word "sleep" may either be the direct object (as in KJV, following LXX and Vulgate), or an accusative used adverbially, "in sleep", i.e. "while they are asleep". The latter interpretation fits the context of the verse much better, contrasting the "beloved of the Lord" who receive success without effort, as it were "while they sleep" with the sorrowful and fruitless toil of those not so blessed, a sentiment paralleled by Proverbs 10:22 (KJV "The blessing of the , it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it."). Keil and Delitzsch (1883) accept the reading of the accusative as adverbial, paraphrasing "God gives to His beloved in sleep, i.e., without restless self-activity, in a state of self-forgetful renunciation, and modest, calm surrender to Him"."God gives to His beloved (Psalm 60:7; Deuteronomy 33:12) שׁנא (equals שׁנה), in sleep (an adverbial accusative like לילה בּּקר, ערב), i.e., without restless self-activity, in a state of self-forgetful renunciation, and modest, calm surrender to Him: 'God bestows His gifts during the night,' says a German proverb, and a Greek proverb even says: εὕδοντι κύρτος αἱρεῖ [the fish-trap catches while they sleep]. Bücher takes כּן in the sense of 'so equals without anything further', and כן certainly has this meaning sometimes (vid., introduction to Psalm 110:1-7), but not in this passage, where, as referring back, it stands at the head of the clause, and where what this mimic כן would import lies in the word שׁנא." Carl Friedrich Keil, Franz Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament (Biblischer Kommentar über das Alte Testament vol. 8, 1883), English edition by T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh (1892–94).
However, Alexander Kirkpatrick in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (1906) argues that while the reading "So he giveth unto his beloved in sleep" fits the context, the natural translation of the Hebrew text is still the one given by the ancient translators, suggesting that the Hebrew text as transmitted has been corrupted (which would make the LXX and Vulgate readings not so much "mistranslations" as correct translations of an already corrupted reading)."Most commentators however adopt the rendering, So he giveth unto his beloved in sleep. This rendering is certainly not the natural rendering of the Heb. text. Wellhausen condemns it as "quite inadmissible". It requires the supplement of an object to the verb, and שֵׁנָא must be taken as accus. of manner. If it were not for the exegetical difficulty, no one would hesitate to take 'sleep,' as the Ancient Versions take it, as the object of the verb 'giveth.' Some word however seems to be needed to correspond to the results of anxious toil, and though the Ancient Versions already had the present reading, the text may be corrupt. The anomalous form of the word for sleep (שנא for שנה) may point in this direction."
English translations have been reluctant to emend the translation, due to the long-standing association of this verse with sleep being the gift of God.Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1897). Modern translations which do emend the passage include Brenton (1844), New American Standard Bible (1968), Complete Jewish Bible (1998), New English Translation (2005); Luther (1545) already has ("as to his friends he grants while [they are] asleep"). Abraham Cronbach (1933) refers to this as "one of those glorious mistranslations, a mistranslation which enabled Mrs. Browning to write one of the tenderest poems in the English language",Abraham Cronbach, Religion and Its Social Setting: Together with Other Essays (1933), p. 193. referring to Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem The Sleep, which uses "He giveth his beloved Sleep" as the last line of each stanza.
Keil and Delitzsch (1883) take , "to sit up", as confirmation for the assumption, also suggested by 1 Samuel 20:24, that the custom of the Hebrews before the Hellenistic period was to take their meals sitting up, and not reclining as was the Greco-Roman custom.Carl Friedrich Keil, Franz Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament (Biblischer Kommentar über das Alte Testament vol. 8, 1883), English edition by T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh (1892–94).
Uses Judaism In Judaism, Psalm 127 is recited in some communities as part of the series of psalms read after the Shabbat afternoon service between Sukkot and Shabbat HaGadol.
It is also recited as a prayer for protection of a newborn infant.
Catholic Church Since the early Middle Ages, this psalm was traditionally recited or sung at the Office of None during the week, specifically from Tuesday until Saturday between Psalm 126 and Psalm 128, following the Rule of St. Benedict.Prosper Guéranger, Règle de saint Benoît, (Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, réimpression 2007) p46. In the current texts of the Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 127 is recited at Vespers on the third Wednesday of the four-week liturgical cycle. It is also used at Second Vespers in the Common texts for the feasts of both the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all Holy Women.
Coptic Orthodox Church In the Agpeya, the Coptic Church's book of hours, this psalm is prayed in the office of Vespers and the second watch of the Midnight office.
Protestantism The pro-natalist Quiverfull movement invokes the less quoted latter part of the psalm, verses 3–5 concerning the blessings and advantages of numerous offspring, as one of the foundations for their stance and takes its name from the last verse ("Happy is the man that hath his of them [i.e. sons]").
Musical settings In Latin The Vulgate text of the psalm, , has been set to music many times, often as part of vespers services. Settings from the classical period use the text of the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate of 1592, which groups ("as he gives sleep to those in whom he delights") with verse 3 rather than verse 2 (as opposed to Jerome's text, and most modern translations, grouping the phrase with verse 2). Notable compositions include:See Psalm 127 at Choral Public Domain Library for a detailed list.
Orlando di Lasso, a capella motet for five voices, (published in 1562).Sacrae cantiones quinque vocum, Nuremberg, 1562), no. 15. Lasso's version predates the Vulgata Clementina, but his text already follows its reading Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum, ecce hæreditas Domini filii, merces fructus ventris. which is derived from revised editions of the Vulgate published in the first half of the 16th century, notably those by Stephanus. Hans Leo Hassler, a capella motet, published in , 1591. Giovanni Matteo Asola, a capella setting published in 1599. Monteverdi's for a ten-part choir, part of (1610). Giovanni Simone Mayr, motet for bass soloist and chorus. Alessandro Grandi, motet with trombones and basso continuo, published in 1630