God’s Word Translation
Psalms 127:3
3Children are an inheritance from the Lord. They are a reward from him.
Psalms 127:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
- New International Version (NIV)Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Context of Psalms 127:3
1If the Lord does not build the house, it is useless for the builders to work on it. If the Lord does not protect a city, it is useless for the guard to stay alert. 2It is useless to work hard for the food you eat by getting up early and going to bed late. The Lord gives ⌞food⌟ to those he loves while they sleep. Children are an inheritance from the Lord. They are a reward from him. 4The children born to a man when he is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. 5Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them. He will not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.
Read all of Psalms 127Psalms 127:3 word by word
הִנֵּ֤ה נַחֲלַ֣ת יְהוָ֣ה בָּנִ֑ים שָׂ֝כָ֗ר פְּרִ֣י הַבָּֽטֶן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 127:3
- Psalms 128:3Your wife will be like a fruitful vine inside your home. Your children will be like young olive trees around your table.
- Genesis 1:28God blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the earth, and be its master. Rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”
- Genesis 15:4Suddenly, the Lord spoke his word to Abram again. He said, “This man will not be your heir. Your own son will be your heir.”
- Genesis 24:60They gave Rebekah a blessing: “May you, our sister, become the mother of many thousands of children. May your descendants take possession of their enemies’ cities.”
- Genesis 30:1Rachel saw that she could not have children for Jacob, and she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
- Genesis 33:5When he saw the women and children, Esau asked, “Who are these people here with you?” “The children God has graciously given me, sir,” Jacob answered.
- Genesis 41:51Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh [He Helps Me Forget], because God helped him forget all his troubles and all about his father’s family.
- Genesis 48:4He said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and increase the number of your descendants so that you will become a community of people. I will give this land to your descendants as a permanent possession.’
- Deuteronomy 28:4You will be blessed. You will have children. Your land will have crops. Your animals will have offspring. Your cattle will have calves, and your flocks will have lambs and kids.
- Joshua 24:3But I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River. I led him through all of Canaan and gave him many descendants. I also gave him Isaac.
- 1 Samuel 1:19Early in the morning Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped in front of the Lord. Then they returned home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.
- 1 Samuel 2:20Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.
- 1 Chronicles 28:5And of all my sons (the Lord has given me many sons) he chose my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom to rule Israel.
- Isaiah 8:18I am here with the children that the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord of Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
Commentaries on Psalms 127:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord - That is, To many God gives children in place of temporal good. To many others he gives houses, lands, and thousands of gold and silver, and with them the womb that beareth not; and these are their inheritance. The poor man has from God a number of children, without lands or money; these are his inheritance; and God shows himself their father, feeding and supporting them by a chain of miraculous providences. Where…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord - They are an inheritance derived from the Lord. They are bestowed by him as really as success is in building a house, or in guarding a city. The idea is, that everything which we value, or which we desire, is a gift from God, and is to be received as from him, and to be acknowledged as his gift. The general idea here, as in the previous verses, is that of entire dependence on God. And the fruit of the womb is his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-5Children are one of God’s blessings. In Hebrew, the word for children (banim) sounds like the word for builders (bonim; Psalm 127:1). This wordplay shows that having children helps build a family.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-53-5. Posterity is often represented as a blessing from God (Ge 30:2, 18; 1Sa 1:19, 20). Children are represented as the defenders (arrows) of their parents in war, and in litigation.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 127:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 127
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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