page_title: Psalm 127
section_title: Nisi Dominus Frustra
hierarchical_section_title: Psalm 127 / Nisi Dominus Frustra
caption_attribution_description: English: Inscribed stone. On the building seen in 1437225. The text loosely translates as "Without God, all is in vain". This is an allusion to Psalm 127, verse 1 - Unless the lord the city keep, the watchman waketh but in vain. The original Vulgate Latin text has Dominus, not Deus. The sharpness of the carving indicates that this is probably a modern 'restoration' of the original stone.
context_page_description: Psalm 127 is the 127th psalm of the Book of Psalms, generally known in English by its first verse, in the King James Version, "Except the Lord build the house". The Book of Psalms is the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is known as Psalm 126 in a slightly different numbering system. In Latin, it is known by the incipit of its first 2 words, "Nisi Dominus". It is one of 15 "Songs of Ascents" and the only one among them attributed to Solomon rather than David.
  The text is divided into five verses. The first two express the notion that "without God, all is in vain", popularly summarized in Latin in the motto Nisi Dominus Frustra. The remaining three verses describe progeny as God's blessing.
  The psalm is a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant liturgies.
context_section_description: Nisi Dominus Frustra (Without God, [it is] in vain) is a popular motto derived from verse 1. As an abbreviation of "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it". It is often inscribed on buildings. It has been the motto in the coat of arms of the City of Edinburgh since 1647 and was the motto of the former Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea. It was similarly the motto of the King's Own Scottish Borderers.
  It has been adopted as the motto for numerous schools in Great Britain, including King Edward VI High School, Stafford, Melbourn Village College, London, and as the insignia of Glenlola Collegiate School in Northern Ireland. Other schools with this motto are St Joseph's College, Dumfries, Villa Maria Academy (Malvern, Pennsylvania), Rickmansworth School (Nisi Dominus Aedificaverit), The Park School, Yeovil, Bukit Bintang Girls' School, St Thomas School, Kolkata, Kirkbie Kendal School, Richmond College, Galle and Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Dublin, Ireland.
  The Aquitanian city of Agen takes as its motto the second verse of the psalm, "Nisi dominus custodierit civitatem frustra vigilat qui custodit eam": "Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain" (verse 1a, NIV version).
  Edinburgh Napier University, established in 1964, has "secularized" the city's motto to "Nisi sapientia frustra" (i.e. "without knowledge/wisdom, all is in vain").
caption: NISI DEVS / FRVSTRA / 1648+, inscription on a house in Castle Donington, Leicestershire
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