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 — there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. 2There 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.” 4How can we sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil? 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.

Psalms 137:3 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• For there they that carried us away captiveשָׁבָהshâbâh · to take captiveH7617
• requiredשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• of us a songשִׁירshîyr shîyrâh · songH7892
• of us a songדָּבָרdâbâr · word: becauseH1697
• and they that wastedתּוֹלָלtôlâl · tormentorH8437
• mirthשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057
• Singשִׁירshîyr shûr · to singH7891
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726

Cross-references for Psalms 137:3

• Psalms 123:3Show us favor, Lord, show us favor, for we’ve had more than enough contempt.
• Lamentations 2:15All who pass by scornfully clap their hands at you. They hiss and shake their heads at Daughter Jerusalem: Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?
• Psalms 79:1God, the nations have invaded your inheritance, desecrated your holy temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins.
• Nehemiah 4:2before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”
• Jeremiah 9:11I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a jackals’ den. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, an uninhabited place.
• Jeremiah 26:18“Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah and said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become ruins, and the temple’s mountain will be a high thicket.’
• Micah 3:12Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become ruins, and the temple’s mountain will be a high thicket.
• Luke 21:6“These things that you see — the days will come when not one stone will be left on another that will not be thrown down.”
• Psalms 9:14so that I may declare all your praises. I will rejoice in your salvation within the gates of Daughter Zion.
• Psalms 65:1Praise is rightfully yours, God, in Zion; vows to you 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 music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.
• 1 Chronicles 16:7On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the Lord by Asaph and his relatives:
• Isaiah 35:10and the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
• Isaiah 51:11And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness 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 with joy because of the Lord’s goodness, because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, and because of the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.
• Revelation 14:1Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 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