Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth.
Parallel translations
- WEB As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth.
- KJV As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
- NKJV Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
- NASB Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
- NLT Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Children born in one's youth are like arrows in a warrior's hand. It pictures children as a strength and provision for the family's future.
Overview
Continuing the theme, the psalm compares children to arrows, useful instruments of strength and defense for a parent who launches them well into life. The image suggests both the value of children and the parental task of directing them. Raised in the fear of the Lord, they become a heritage that serves God's purposes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Prov 17:6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of a son is his father.
- Prov 31:28Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well:
- Jer 50:9For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. They will line up against her; from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.
- Ps 120:4Sharp arrows will come from the warrior, with burning coals of the broom tree!
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 127:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.