A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.

     1Unless the LORD builds the house,
            They labor in vain who build it;
            Unless the LORD guards the city,
            The watchman keeps awake in vain.

     2It is vain for you to rise up early,
            To retire late,
            To eat the bread of painful labors;
            For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

     3Behold, children are a gift of the LORD;
            The fruit of the womb is a reward.

     4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
            So are the children of one’s youth.

     5How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
            They shall not be ashamed,
            When they speak with their enemies in the gate.