A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

PSALMS 127:1KJV
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Psalms 127:1 (KJV)

What does Psalms 127:1 mean?

Psalms 127:1 teaches that unless the LORD is the one guiding and supporting a project or protecting a place, all human effort is ultimately pointless. The verse uses the images of building a house and guarding a city to show that success and safety depend on God’s involvement, not just on people’s hard work.

This psalm is described as a “Song of degrees for Solomon,” likely written by Solomon or for him, and is part of a collection sung by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. The verse addresses anyone working to build or protect something valuable, reminding them that human skill and vigilance are not enough without God’s blessing. The message is practical: no matter how much effort people put in, true security and success come from relying on God.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 127:1

  • LORD (יְהוָה, Yahweh): This is the personal name for God in the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing that it is not just any deity but Israel’s covenant God who must be involved for efforts to succeed.
  • vain (שָׁוְא, shav): This word means “emptiness” or “futility.” It stresses that without God, all the work and watching amount to nothing lasting or meaningful.
  • build (בָּנָה, banah): This verb means “to build” in a literal or figurative sense. Here, it covers both constructing a physical house and establishing a family or legacy, showing the broad reach of the verse’s warning.
  • keep (שָׁמַר, shamar): This word means “to guard” or “to watch over.” The verse uses it to show that even the most alert guard cannot truly protect a city without God’s oversight.

Why Psalms 127:1 matters

  • Psalms 127:1 corrects the common misunderstanding that success is only about hard work or careful planning, highlighting the need for God’s involvement.
  • The verse sets the tone for the rest of the psalm, which continues to explore the theme that blessings and security ultimately come from God, not from human effort alone.
  • By connecting building a house and guarding a city, the verse shows that both personal and community projects need God’s help, making the message relevant for all areas of life.

Where else these words appear

“labour” Hebrew H5998 · used in 11 verses

  • Proverbs 16:26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.
  • Ecclesiastes 2:19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
  • Ecclesiastes 5:16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

“waketh” Hebrew H8245 · used in 11 verses

  • Ezra 8:29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.
  • Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
  • Jeremiah 5:6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

“degrees” Hebrew H4609 · used in 39 verses

  • Exodus 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
  • Nehemiah 12:37 And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
  • Psalms 133:1 A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

“vain” Hebrew H7723 · used in 48 verses

  • Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
  • Psalms 89:47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
  • Jeremiah 46:11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.