Logos Bible Study

Psalm 137:1–6

The NET BibleOther versions

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137:1By the rivers of Babylon

we sit down and weep1

when we remember Zion.

137:2On the poplars in her midst

we hang our harps,

137:3for there our captors ask us to compose songs;2

those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:3

“Sing for us a song about Zion!”4

137:4How can we sing a song to the Lord

in a foreign land?

137:5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

may my right hand be crippled!5

137:6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

and do not give Jerusalem priority

over whatever gives me the most joy.6

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Heb “there we sit down, also we weep.”
  2. 2 Heb “ask us [for] the words of a song.”
  3. 3 Heb “our [?] joy.” The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew phrase תוֹלָלֵינוּ (tolalenu, “our [?]”) are uncertain. A derivation from תָּלַל (talal, “to mock”) fits contextually, but this root occurs only in the Hiphil stem. For a discussion of various proposals, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101–150 (), .
  4. 4 Heb “from a song of Zion.” Most modern translations read, “one of the songs of Zion,” taking the preposition מִן (min, “from”) as partitive and “song” as collective. The present translation assumes the mem (ם) is enclitic, being misunderstood later as the prefixed preposition.
  5. 5 Heb “may my right hand forget.” In this case one must supply an object, such as “how to move.” The elliptical nature of the text has prompted emendations (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101–150 [], ). The translation assumes an emendation to תִּכְשַׁח (tikhshakh), from an otherwise unattested root כשׁח, meaning “to be crippled; to be lame.” See כשׁח, which cites Arabic cognate evidence in support of the proposal. The corruption of the can be explained as an error of transposition facilitated by the use of שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”) just before this.
  6. 6 Heb “if I do not lift up Jerusalem over the top of my joy.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

By the waters of Babylon,

there we sat down and wept,

when we remembered Zion.

On the willows there

we hung up our lyres.

For there our captors

required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How shall we sing the Lord’s song

in a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget its skill!

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy!

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

when we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars

we hung our harps,

for there our captors asked us for songs,

our tormentors demanded songs of joy;

they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How can we sing the songs of the Lord

while in a foreign land?

If I forget you, Jerusalem,

may my right hand forget its skill.

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you,

if I do not consider Jerusalem

my highest joy.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

By the rivers of Babylon—

there we sat down and wept

when we remembered Zion.

There we hung up our lyres

on the poplar trees,

for our captors there asked us for songs,

and our tormentors, for rejoicing:

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

How can we sing the Lord’s song

on foreign soil?

If I forget you, Jerusalem,

may my right hand forget its skill.

May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you,

if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept

as we thought of Jerusalem.

We put away our harps,

hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.

For our captors demanded a song from us.

Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:

“Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”

But how can we sing the songs of the Lord

while in a pagan land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget how to play the harp.

May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I fail to remember you,

if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

By the rivers of Babylon,

there we sat, yes, we wept,

when we remembered Zion.

On the willows in her midst,

we hung up our lyres.

For there our captors asked of us

words of a song,

and our tormentors asked of us jubilation,

“Sing for us from a song of Zion.”

How could we sing the song of Yahweh

in a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget.

Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if do not I exalt Jerusalem

above my highest joy.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept,

When we remembered Zion.

We hanged our harps

Upon the willows in the midst thereof.

For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song;

And they that wasted us required of us mirth,

Saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the Lord’s song

In a strange land?

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,

Let my right hand forget her cunning.

If I do not remember thee,

Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth;

If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

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