Psalm 126
Ψαλμοί
Psalm 127 in the Hebrew numbering, which most Western Bibles follow.
1 ᾨδὴ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν. ΕΑΝ μὴ Κύριος οἰκοδομήσῃ οἶκον, εἰς μάτην ἐκοπίασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες· ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος φυλάξῃ πόλιν, εἰς μάτην ἠγρύπνησεν ὁ φυλάσσων.
(127) A Song of Degrees. Except the Lord build the house, they that build labour in vain: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watches in vain.
2 εἰς μάτην ὑμῖν ἐστι τὸ ὀρθρίζειν, ἐγείρεσθαι μετὰ τὸ καθῆσθαι, οἱ ἐσθίοντες ἄρτον ὀδύνης, ὅταν δῷ τοῖς ἀγαπητοῖς αὐτοῦ ὕπνον.
It is vain for you to rise early: you⌃ rise up after resting, you⌃ that eat the bread of grief; while he gives sleep to his beloved.
3 ἰδοὺ ἡ κληρονομία Κυρίου υἱοί, ὁ μισθὸς τοῦ καρποῦ τῆς γαστρός.
Behold, the inheritance of the Lord, children, the reward of the fruit of the womb.
4 ὡσεὶ βέλη ἐν χειρὶ δυνατοῦ, οὕτως οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν ἐκτετιναγμένων.
As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of those who were outcasts.
5 μακάριος ὃς πληρώσει τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοῦ ἐξ αὐτῶν· οὐ καταισχυνθήσονται, ὅταν λαλῶσι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς αὐτῶν ἐν πύλαις.
Blessed is the man who shall satisfy his desire with them: they shall not be ashamed when they shall speak to their enemies in the gates.
Greek: the Septuagint as the Orthodox Media Network published it (Mount Athos); 2 Maccabees and the Prayer of Manasseh from Brenton's edition (1851). English: Brenton's translation (1851), its spelling updated by Michael Paul Johnson; public domain. About these texts.