Psalms 137:3

Psalms 137:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
• New King James Version (NKJV)For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

Context of Psalms 137:3

1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2There on the willows we hung our harps, for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.” 4How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land? 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.

Psalms 137:3 word by word

כִּ֤י שָׁ֨ם שְֽׁאֵל֪וּנוּ שׁוֹבֵ֡ינוּ דִּבְרֵי־שִׁ֭יר וְתוֹלָלֵ֣ינוּ שִׂמְחָ֑ה שִׁ֥ירוּ לָ֝֗נוּ מִשִּׁ֥יר צִיּֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear

• forכִּיkîy · forH3588
• thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
• our captorsשָׁבָהshâbâh · to take captiveH7617
• our captorsדָּבָרdâbâr · word: becauseH1697
• requestedשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• a songשִׁירshîyr shîyrâh · songH7892
• our tormentors demandedתּוֹלָלtôlâl · tormentorH8437
• songs of joyשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057
• Singשִׁירshîyr shûr · to singH7891
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726

Cross-references for Psalms 137:3

• Psalms 123:3Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.
• Lamentations 2:15All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”
• Psalms 79:1The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
• Nehemiah 4:2before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”
• Jeremiah 9:11“And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
• Jeremiah 26:18“Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and told all the people of Judah that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.’
• Micah 3:12Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.
• Luke 21:6“As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
• Psalms 9:14that I may declare all Your praises— that within the gates of Daughter Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.
• Psalms 65:1Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion; to You our vows will be fulfilled.
• 1 Chronicles 15:27Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the director of music for the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.
• 1 Chronicles 16:7On that day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this song of thanksgiving to the LORD:
• Isaiah 35:10So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
• Isaiah 51:11So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
• Jeremiah 31:12They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD— the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.
• Revelation 14:1Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Commentaries on Psalms 137:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For there they that carried us away captive - The Babylonians. Required of us a song - Asked of us a song. The word does not express the idea of compulsion or force. Margin, as in Hebrew, words of a song. Perhaps the idea is that they did not merely ask music, but they wished to hear the words - the songs themselves - in which they were accustomed to praise God. This may have been a taunt, and the request may have been in derision; or it may have been…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-4Because the music of Jerusalem was connected to the joy of life in the promised land, the exile took away any reason to sing joyful songs. The Babylonians asked the Judeans to sing and dance for them, but the people were so full of grief that they could not do it. The songs about the Lord celebrate his power and goodness, but his people were now filled with doubt and questions. They hung their harps in the trees, which may show that their joy had come to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-43-4. Whether the request was in curiosity or derision, the answer intimates that a compliance was incongruous with their mournful feelings (Pr 25:20).Read the comment
• Rashi on Tanakh · v. 3and our tormentors mirth Heb. ותוללינו, kinds of musical instruments that they hang up. This is how Menachem interpreted it (p. 184): וְתוֹלָלֵינוּ שמחה, and our musical instruments of joy. וְתוֹלָלֵינוּ can also be interpreted as: our enemies who would scorn and mock and joke with us, an expression of (102: 9): “those who scorn me (מהוללי) swear by me.”Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 137:3

• Church
• Country
• Jerusalem
• Music
• Patriotism

In the dictionaries

• Cleave
• Cunning
• Music
• Prefer
• Roof
• Willows
• Haggai
• Psalms, Book of
• Passover

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