¹ Unless the Eternal builds the house,
    those who labor to raise it will have worked for nothing.
Unless the Eternal stands watch over the city,
    those who guard it have wasted their time.
² God provides for His own.
    It is pointless to get up early,
    work hard, and go to bed late
Anxiously laboring for food to eat;
    for God provides for those He loves, even while they are sleeping.

³ Know this: children are a gift from the Eternal;
    the fruit of the womb is His reward.
⁴ Your sons born in your youth are a protection,
    like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
⁵ Happy is the man who has
    his quiver full, for they will help and protect him when he is old.
He will not be humiliated when he is accused at the gate,
    for his sons will stand with him against his enemies.