Amplified Bible
Psalms 137:5
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget [her skill with the harp].
Psalms 137:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
- New International Version (NIV)If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!
- New King James Version (NKJV)If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!
Context of Psalms 137:5
3For there they who took us captive demanded of us a song with words, And our tormentors [who made a mockery of us demanded] amusement, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” 4How can we sing the Lord’s song In a strange and foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget [her skill with the harp]. 6Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not prefer Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, The day of [the fall of] Jerusalem, Who said “Down, down [with her] To her very foundation.”
Read all of Psalms 137Psalms 137:5 word by word
אִֽם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח יְמִינִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 137:5
- Psalms 84:1How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts!
- Psalms 102:13You will arise and have compassion on Zion, For it is time to be gracious and show favor to her; Yes, the appointed time [the moment designated] has come.
- Psalms 122:5For there the thrones of judgment were set, The thrones of the house of David.
- Nehemiah 1:2Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 2:2So the king said to me, “Why do you look sad when you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very frightened,
- Isaiah 62:1For Zion’s sake I (Isaiah) will not be silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness and vindication go forth as brightness, And her salvation goes forth like a burning torch.
- Jeremiah 51:50You who have escaped the sword, Go away! Do not stay! Remember the Lord from far away, And let [desolate] Jerusalem come into your mind.
- Daniel 6:10Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he went into his house (now in his roof chamber his windows were open toward Jerusalem); he continued to get down on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
- Zechariah 11:17Woe (judgment is coming) to the worthless and foolish shepherd Who deserts the flock! The sword will strike his arm And his right eye! His arm shall be totally withered And his right eye completely blinded.”
Commentaries on Psalms 137:5
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem - The meaning here is, that to sing in such circumstances would seem to imply that they had forgotten Jerusalem; that they were unmindful of its sorrows, and cared not that it was desolate. The remembrance of its calamities pressed hard upon them, and they could not do anything which would seem to imply that they had become unmindful of the sufferings that had come upon their nation. One will not make merry when a wife or…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-9Verses 5-9 What we love, we love to think of. Those that rejoice in God, for his sake make Jerusalem their joy. They stedfastly resolved to keep up this affection. When suffering, we should recollect with godly sorrow our forfeited mercies, and our sins by which we lost them. If temporal advantages ever render a profession, the worst calamity has befallen him. Far be it from us to avenge ourselves; we will leave it to Him who has said, Vengeance is mine…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6The psalmist pledges his loyalty to Jerusalem, the city at the center of God’s reign and the location of fellowship with him.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-65-6. For joyful songs would imply forgetfulness of their desolated homes and fallen Church. The solemn imprecations on the hand and tongue, if thus forgetful, relate to the cunning or skill in playing, and the power of singing.Read the comment
- Rashi on Tanakh · v. 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem The congregation of Israel says this.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 137:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 137
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
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