Nissi dominus

~ Psalm 127

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.

It is vain for you to rise up early,
to sit up late,
to eat the bread of sorrows:
for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man
that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

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Hebrew poetry is my favorite — I love the parallelism.

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Interesting architectural and historical note — the first verse of this Psalm (in Latin) is written in stone lettering, forming the parapet of Castle Ashby, which has been the possession of the same family since the 1500s.



(Click picture for larger image, which you can then zoom in on by clicking again. [N.B. I've just reposted this from my old dead blog where it was originally posted, and I can't figure out how to get the zoomable picture, so those instructions won't work until I come up with something. Kelly. 21 August 2011])

Architecture is my favorite art form, and this is my favorite building. Well, favorite house. Favorite big house.
:-p