Mazmur 113:9

113:9 He makes the barren woman of the family ¹ 

a happy mother of children. ² 

Praise the Lord!

Mazmur 127:3

127:3 Yes, ³  sons ⁴  are a gift from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb is a reward.

[113:9]  ¹ tn Heb “of the house.”

[113:9]  ² tn Heb “sons.”

[127:3]  ³ tn or “look.”

[127:3]  ⁴ tn Some prefer to translate this term with the gender neutral “children,” but “sons” are plainly in view here, as the following verses make clear. Daughters are certainly wonderful additions to a family, but in ancient Israelite culture sons were the “arrows” that gave a man security in his old age, for they could defend the family interests at the city gate, where the legal and economic issues of the community were settled.