Psalms 127:1 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Psalms 127:1 reads: "A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain." — from the Old Testament, Psalms (Hebrew poetry). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Psalms 127:1 is in the book of Psalms, traditionally attributed to David (73 psalms), Asaph, Sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses, others and written around c. 1410–430 BC (compiled over a millennium). Psalms is hebrew poetry in the Old Testament, originally addressed to All of Israel's worshipping community — and the church. Best known for Psalm 23 ("The LORD is my shepherd") and Psalm 51.

Psalms 127:1 is primarily a Bible verse about Family. Within Psalms, The Psalms are 150 inspired songs and prayers covering every emotion the human heart knows — praise, lament, confession, thanksgiving, anger, longing. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Psalms 127:1 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "A Song of Ascents. By Solomon. Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "A Song7892 of degrees4609 for Solomon8010. Except the LORD3068 build1129 the house1004, they labour5998 in vain7723 that build1129 it: except the LORD3068 keep8104 the city5892, the watchman8104 waketh8245 but in vain7723. for: or, of Solomon that: Heb. that are builders of it in it". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Psalms 127:1 is 30 words in the WEB translation (164 characters), broken into 6 clauses. It is a longer verse, often broken into smaller phrases for memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 9 seconds.

To memorise Psalms 127:1, split it into its 6 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

The Psalms are 150 inspired songs and prayers covering every emotion the human heart knows — praise, lament, confession, thanksgiving, anger, longing. About half are attributed to David. The book is divided into five "books," each ending with a doxology. The Psalms shape Christian prayer more than any other Old Testament book and are quoted in the New Testament more than any other. Psalms 127:1 sits within this larger story — Psalms as a whole emphasises worship, lament, trust.

Many readers use Psalms 127:1 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Psalms 127:1 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.