서론
Psalm 127 Introduction
英文原文
This psalm is entitled "A Song of Degrees for Solomon;" in the margin, "Of Solomon." In the Syriac Version the title is, "From the Psalms of the Ascent; spoken by David concerning Solomon; it was spoken also of Haggai and Zechariah, who urged the rebuilding of the Temple." The meaning of the title may be either "for Solomon," or of Solomon; that is, it may have been either composed by him, or with reference to him. Many have supposed that it was written by David near the close of his life, and was designed to be a guide to Solomon, his successor, in regard to the principles which should govern him in his reign. There is nothing, however, in the title in the Hebrew which would indicate that it was composed by David; and there is nothing in the psalm which would seem to be especially appropriate to address to a young monarch just entering on his reign, unless it was the mere filet of dependence on God. The allusion to children Psalm 127:3-5, beautiful and proper as it is, would seem to have no particular pertinency to an entrance on the administration of a government, and would not be the topic which Would most naturally be suggested in such circumstances. The probability, therefore, is, that the psalm was composed by Solomon. On what occasion, however, it was written, it is now impossible to determine. The sentiments and style are such as agree well with the idea that Solomon was the author, and the whole psalm might have been introduced into the Book of Proverbs without any manifest discrepancy with the general character and style of that book. From the psalm itself it would seem that it was composed mainly with reference to one who was entering on domestic life, and that it was intended to set before such a one the views which ought to guide him, or the thoughts which ought to occur to him. Nothing could be more appropriate in such circumstances than the sentiments of the psalm:
I. The entire dependence on God for success, Psalm 127:1.
II. The vanity of all efforts - rising early, and sitting up late - without the divine blessing, Psalm 127:2.
III. The fact that children belong to God, and are to be regarded as his, Psalm 127:3.
IV. The aid which children might be expected to render to a father in supporting or defending him, Psalm 127:4.
V. The comfort which he might expect to derive from them, and the honor which, being properly trained, they would reflect on him and on the family, Psalm 127:5.
1
Psalm 127:1
若不是耶和华建造房屋——或更确切地说，“一座房屋”。“房屋”一词既可以指普通的居所；可以指作为敬拜之所的圣殿；也可以指一个家族，就其昌盛发达而言——正如这个词现今常用的意思那样。这句话是普遍性的，旨在表明人的一切事业都普遍地倚靠神；不过本篇写成之时，也可能暗指某座正被筹划或已动工的建筑。若本篇为大卫或所罗门所作，这暗指可能就是即将建造的圣殿。然而这话的用语如此笼统，可适用于任何同类的事业。
建造的人就枉然劳力——字面意思是“建造的人在它上面枉然劳碌”。这里的思想是：他们完全倚靠神。无论他们的技巧、力量、勤勉如何——除非神帮助他们，一切都归徒然。他们的生命、健康、力量、实用的智慧、持续工作的意愿，以及工作的成功，都倚靠祂。他们的工作可能毁于火灾、风暴、地震，或敌人的侵袭；因此，就结果而言，他们完全倚靠神。
若不是耶和华看守城池——同一倚靠的观念在此以另一种形式重复。一座城池的保全全然在于神，无论人使用怎样的谨慎或防备。
看守的人就枉然警醒——字面意思是“看守者枉然警醒”。译作“警醒”的词意为不眠；进而指守望。这里暗指受派看守城池的守望者或卫兵；其思想是：无论受派守城之人的殷勤、谨慎、忠心如何，城的安全保全唯有倚靠神。火灾可能无视看守者而发生；风暴可能扫过全城；成群的武装之徒可能攻击它；瘟疫也可能突然进入城中，把荒凉散布在它的住处之间。本篇写成之时，这话可能暗指当时保卫耶路撒冷的某种具体安排；但这话如此笼统，不必把它限于那件事。人在为自己的保全用尽一切可能的措施之后，其安全仍全然倚靠神——这是普遍真实的。
英文原文
Except the Lord build the house - Or rather, "a house." The word "house" may refer either to an ordinary dwelling; to the temple, as a place of worship; or to a family, with reference to its success and prosperity, as the word house is often used now. The statement is universal, and is designed to indicate a universal dependence on God in human undertakings, though it is not improbable that there may have been an allusion, when the psalm was composed, to some building which was contemplated or commenced. If the psalm was a composition of David or Solomon, the allusion way have been to the temple about to be erected. The language, however, is so general as to be applicable to any enterprise of that kind.
They labor in vain that build it - literally, "In vain toil its builders in it." The idea is, that they are entirely dependent on God. No matter what their skill, their strength, their industry may be - all will be in vain unless God shall assist them. They are dependent on Him for life, for health, for strength, for practical wisdom, for a disposition to continue their work, and for success in it. Their work might be destroyed by fire, by a tempest, by an earthquake, or by an irruption of enemies; and for the result, therefore, they are entirely dependent on God.
Except the Lord keep the city - The same idea of dependence is here repeated in another form. The preservation of a city depends wholly on God, whatever care or precaution may be used.
The watchman waketh but in vain - literally, "In vain waketh the keeper." The word rendered waketh means to be sleepless; and then, to watch. The allusion is to the watch or guard appointed to keep a city, and the idea is, that, whatever may be the diligence, the care, the fidelity of one thus appointed to guard a city, its safe-keeping must depend on God alone. Fires may break out in spite of the watchmen; a tempest may sweep over it; bands of armed people may assail it; or the pestilence may suddenly come into it, and spread desolation through its dwellings. There may have been an allusion in this to some immediate arrangement for guarding Jerusalem when the psalm was composed; but the remark is so general that it is not necessary to confine it to that. It is universally true that, after all the care for their own preservation which people can employ, their safety depends wholly on God.
2
Psalm 127:2
你们清晨早起，这本是枉然——诗人在此并不是说早起不合适，也不是说早起没有益处，更不是说人不早起反倒更容易在事业上成功；而是说，即便人这样行，他们仍完全要倚靠神。单凭早起，没有祂的赐福，并不能保证他们所盼望成就的事，因为一切仍在神手中。健康、力气、清醒的头脑和成功，都在祂的掌管之下；虽然早起或许有助于产生这一切——事实上也的确如此——然而人对神的倚靠并未因此稍减，成功仍在于祂。
夜晚安歇——即为了劳碌或研读。正如在前一种情形中诗人对早起是否合宜并未表达任何意见一样，对此也是如此。他只是说，即便人这样行，这事本身并不能成就所求的目标；人虽然这样行，成功仍需倚靠神。然而事实上，迟睡对促进人生成功的助益不如早起；但无论哪种情形，对神的倚靠都是一样的。
吃劳碌得来的饭——即忧虑、挂心或愁烦之饼；也就是借辛劳之苦挣得或换来的饼。这里可能暗指当初加于人的判决（Genesis 3:17）。其意思是：你们辛苦劳碌、耗尽力气，为要得饼吃，若神不赐福你们，这也是枉然。你们劳碌之余，结果乃在祂手中。
惟有耶和华所亲爱的，必叫他安然睡觉——“因为”一词原文中没有。这句子在它所处的上下文中非常晦涩。七十士译本和拉丁文武加大译本译作：“你们这些吃忧虑之饼的人哪——歇息之后再起来吧——等祂叫祂所亲爱的入睡之后。”有人认为它的意思是，神使祂的子民无需劳碌便得安息，或者说，当别人劳碌时，祂“所亲爱的”——祂的朋友们——却安然睡觉；但这解释并非希伯来文所必需，而且与圣经的总论相悖。另有人认为其观念是，神在劳碌之后赐祂所亲爱的安息；这话虽然属实，却并非特别地或唯独对他们如此。还有人以为——其可能性同样不大——其意思是：别人希望（却徒然希望）借劳碌得着的东西，主在睡眠中赐给祂的子民，他们自己也不知道是怎样得的。
其意思显然是：神以某种不同于赐予别人的意义，把“睡眠”赐给祂的子民；或者说，就他们的情形而言，有某种使他们与那些如此焦虑愁烦的人——为利这样早起来的人、这样晚劳碌的人、吃忧虑之饼的人——有别的东西。其观念似乎是：他们必享平静、安宁，免于焦虑或牵挂。神使祂的子民——祂所亲爱的——心思安宁平静，而周围的世界却充满焦虑不安——忙碌、扰攘、忧烦。由于这种心境的平静，以及他们对祂的信靠，他们夜间得享不受搅扰的安息。他们不像别人那样为世事彻夜清醒、忧心忡忡，因为他们把一切交托给神，这样，祂就“赐祂所亲爱的睡眠”。“如此”这小品词——כן kên——据我看，所指的乃是对上文所说之事的大意，而不是紧接在前的字句；即指这样的事实：一切成功都在于神（Psalm 127:1），人得享平静、成功、安息，向来都是借着祂的介入，而不是人的技巧、劳碌或疲乏的结果。惟有靠着神的恩宠，并承认自己对祂的倚靠，他们才能得着安息、成功与免于忧虑。
英文原文
It is vain for you to rise up early - The psalmist does not here say that it is improper to rise early; or that there could be no advantage in it; or that people would be more likely to be successful in their undertakings if they did not rise early; but that, although this was done, they would be still altogether dependent on God. Mere early rising, without his blessing, would not secure what they hoped to accomplish, for everything is still in the hand of God. Health, strength, clearness of mind, and success, are all under his control; and though early rising may tend to produce all these - as it does in fact - yet still people are not the less dependent on God for success.
To sit up late - That you may labor or study. As in the former case the psalmist does not express any opinion about the propriety or impropriety of early rising, so it is in respect to this. He merely says that if it is done, this, of itself, will not accomplish the object; people are still dependent on God for success though they do it. As a matter of fact, however, sitting up late has less tendency to promote success in life than early rising; but in either ease there is the same dependence on God.
To eat the bread of sorrows - Bread of care, anxiety, or trouble; that is, bread earned or procured by the severity of toil. There may be an allusion here to the original sentence pronounced on man, Genesis 3:17. The meaning is, that it is in vain that you labor hard, that you exhaust your strength, in order to get bread to eat, unless God shall bless you. After all your toil the result is with him.
For so he giveth his beloved sleep - The word "for" is not in the original, The sentence is very obscure in the connection in which it stands. The Septuagint and Latin Vulgate render it, "Ye who eat the bread of care - rise when you have rested - when he hath given his beloved sleep." Some have supposed it to mean that God gives his people rest without toil, or that, while others labor, his "beloved" - his friends - sleep; but this interpretation is not necessarily demanded by the Hebrew, and is inconsistent with the general doctrine of the Bible. Others have supposed the idea to be, that God gives his beloved rest after labor; but though this is true, it is not true of them especially or exclusively. Some suppose, with as little probability, that the meaning is, that what others hope (but hope in vain) to get by labor, the Lord bestows upon his people in sleep, they know not how.
The meaning evidently is, that God bestows "sleep" upon his people in some sense in which it is not bestowed on others, or that there is, in regard to their case, something in which they differ from those who are so anxious and troubled - who rise so early for the sake of gain - who toil so late - who eat the bread of care. The idea seems to be that there would be calmness, repose, freedom from anxiety or solicitude. God makes the mind of his people - his beloved - calm and tranquil, while the world around is filled with anxiety and restlessness - busy, bustling, worried. As a consequence of this calmness of mind, and of their confidence in him, they enjoy undisturbed repose at night. They are not kept wakeful and anxious about their worldly affairs as other men are, for they leave all with God, and thus he "giveth his beloved sleep." The particle "so" - כן kên - or "thus," I apprehend, refers to the general sense of what had been said, rather than to what immediately precedes it; to the fact that all success depends on God Psalm 127:1, and that it is always by his interposition, and not as the result of human skill, toil, or fatigue, that people find calmness, success, repose. It is only by the favor of God, and by their recognizing their dependence on him, that they find repose, success, and freedom from care.
3
Psalm 127:3
“儿女是耶和华所赐的产业”——儿女是从耶和华而来的产业。他们为神所赐，正如建造房屋的成功、看守城池的稳妥同样为祂所赐一样。其观念是：我们一切所珍视、所渴望的，都是神的恩赐，都当视为从祂而领受，并当承认是祂的礼物。与前面几节一样，这里的总体观念是完全倚靠神。
“所怀的胎是他所给的赏赐”——更恰当的译法是“一个赏赐”；即儿女具有神赏赐那献身于祂之生命的性质；他们属于神所应许的福分，是祂恩眷的凭据。我们的译本插入“是他”二字，反而模糊了文意，仿佛其意思是说：他们属于神，是祂为我们行事所当得的“报偿”。其实恰恰相反——他们是神用来赏赐、恩待祂子民的福分。当然，这并非在所有人身上都如此；这应许是一般性的，与圣经中关于敬虔之果的一般应许相符。儿女当算在神所赐给我们的恩眷之中；论到他们的生命、健康、德行，以及从他们而得的快乐，我们都与其他事物一样倚靠神——正如在建造房屋、看守城池，或在劳碌后所得的安息与安慰上一样。
英文原文
Lo, 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 reward - Or rather, "a reward;" that is, they are of the nature of a reward for a life of devotion to God; they are among the blessings which God promises, and are evidences of his favor. Our translation by inserting the words "is his" obscures the sense, as if the meaning were that they belong to God as his "reward" for what he does for us. The reverse of this is the true idea - that they are a blessing with which he rewards or favors his people. Of course, this is not universally true, but the promise is a general one, in accordance with the usual promises in the Bible in regard to the result of piety. Children are to be reckoned among the divine favors bestowed on us, and for their lives, their health, their virtues, and the happiness derived from them, we are, as in other things, dependent on him - as in building a house, in guarding a city, or in the rest and comfort derived from toil.
4
Psalm 127:4
好像勇士手中的箭——儿女乃是父母在危险中可以倚靠的保障，在为自己和家人谋取供给时也能施以援手——正如战士或猎人倚靠他的箭。
少年时所生的儿女——指年轻时所生的儿子，正当盛年与精力旺盛之时。将儿子比作箭或矛，在阿拉伯诗歌中十分常见。参 Rosenmuller, Com. in loc.；亦参 Morgenland, in loc.
英文原文
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man - They are what a parent may rely on for defense in danger, or for help in securing provision for himself and family - as the warrior or the hunter relies on his arrows.
So are children of the youth - Sons in their youth; in their prime and vigor. The comparison of sons with arrows or spears is common in Arabic poetry. See Rosenmuller, Com. in loc. Also Morgenland, in loc.
5
Psalm 127:5
便为有福——希伯来文作“那人的福啊”。见 Psalm 1:1 的注释。
箭袋充满的人——箭袋是盛箭携带的匣子。正如猎人或战士箭袋满时便觉安稳，人的福气也与儿子的数目成正比。这与圣经中常呈现的观念、并常作出的应许相符——众多的后裔乃是神恩眷的明证。
必不至于羞愧——他们必不致败退受挫、羞愧迷乱地垂头而返。见 Job 6:20 的注释。
他们在城门口和仇敌说话——页边注作“必制伏或毁灭”。但希伯来文的词意思是“说话”；其含义是，他们要在争战之地向仇敌“说话”——因为城门或城之入口的占据，对攻城者和守城者都极为重要，战斗常发生在城门口。其观念是：他们说话必有权柄功效；他们必显扬自己；他们必使人知道他们的存在。按上下文，这不能理解为法庭上的争讼或商业上的交易，尽管这些通常在城门口进行。其含义是：他们必借守卫自己城池家园、或攻击本国仇敌之城的勇毅，为家族增光，使父亲的心喜乐。本篇的目的，是要教训人在一切事上倚靠神才能成功。
英文原文
Happy is the man - Hebrew, The happiness of the man. See the notes at Psalm 1:1.
That hath his quiver full of them - The quiver is a case in which arrows are carried; and as a man - a hunter or warrior - feels secure when he has his quiver full of arrows, so a man is blessed in proportion to the number of his sons. This is in accordance with the idea often presented in the Bible, and the promise often made there of a numerous posterity as a proof of the divine favor.
They shall not be ashamed - They shall not turn back discomfited, hanging their heads with shame and confusion. See the notes at Job 6:20.
But they shall speak with the enemies in the gate - Margin, "shall subdue, or destroy." The Hebrew word, however, means "to speak;" and the meaning is, that they would "speak" to their foes in the place of conflict - for a battle occurred often in the gate of a city, as the possession of a gate, or an entrance to a city was of so much importance to those who attacked, and those who defended it. The idea is, that they would speak with effect; they would distinguish themselves; they would let their presence be known. The connection does not allow us to understand this of forensic controversy, or of transactions in business, though these were usually performed at the gates of cities. The meaning is, that they would do honor to the family, and gratify the heart of the parent, by their valor in defending their city and home, or in attacking the cities of the enemies of their country. The psalm is designed to inculcate the lesson of dependence on God for success in everything.
本诗题为“所罗门上行之诗”；页边注作“所罗门的诗”。叙利亚文译本的标题是：“出自上行之诗篇；大卫论所罗门而说；也是论哈该和撒迦利亚说的，他们曾力促重建圣殿。”这标题的意思可以是“为所罗门”，也可以是“所罗门的”；也就是说，它或是由他所作，或是指他而作。许多人认为它写于大卫临近离世之时，目的是为他的继任者所罗门作一指引，指明他作王执政当遵循的原则。然而，希伯来文的标题中并没有任何内容表明它出于大卫；诗中也没有什么内容显得特别适合对一位刚刚登基的年轻君王讲说——除非只是倚靠神这一单纯的事实。对儿女的暗指（Psalm 127:3-5），尽管美好而得体，对一个即将开始执掌政务的人来说似乎没有特别的贴切性，也不会是在这种境况下最自然被提起的话题。因此，更可能的是，本诗为所罗门所作。然而它写于何时，如今已无法确定。其情感与风格都与所罗门为作者的想法十分吻合；全诗尽可收入箴言书之中，而与该书整体的性质和风格没有任何明显的不合。从本诗本身看来，它主要是为一位正进入家庭生活的人而写，为要把应当引导他的观念、或应当临到他的思想摆在他面前。在这种境况中，再没有什么比本诗所陈的观念更贴切的了：
一、完全倚靠神方得成功（Psalm 127:1）。
二、没有神的赐福，一切劳碌——早起的、深夜不眠的——尽属虚空（Psalm 127:2）。
三、儿女是耶和华所赐的产业，当视为属祂的（Psalm 127:3）。
四、儿女可以预期在扶持或护卫父亲上所给予的帮助（Psalm 127:4）。
五、他可望从儿女所得的安慰，以及儿女若受适当栽培，将反射给他和家族的尊荣（Psalm 127:5）。