Psalms 137:6

Psalms 137:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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!
• New King James Version (NKJV)If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

Context of Psalms 137:6

4How can we sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil? 5If 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! 7Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said that day at Jerusalem: “Destroy it! Destroy it down to its foundations!” 8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who pays you back what you have done to us.

Psalms 137:6 word by word

תִּדְבַּ֥ק־לְשׁוֹנִ֨י׀ לְחִכִּי֮ אִם־לֹ֪א אֶ֫זְכְּרֵ֥כִי אִם־לֹ֣א אַ֭עֲלֶה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֑ם עַ֝֗ל רֹ֣אשׁ שִׂמְחָתִֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If I do not rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• thee, let my tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
• cleaveדָּבַקdâbaq · to cleaveH1692
• to the roof of my mouthחֵךְchêk · palateH2441
• if I preferעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
• not Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• above my chiefרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
• joyשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057

Cross-references for Psalms 137:6

• Psalms 22:15My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death.
• Isaiah 41:17The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I will answer them. I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them.
• Lamentations 4:4The nursing baby’s tongue clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst. Infants beg for food, but no one gives them any.
• Ezekiel 3:26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be mute and unable to be a mediator for them, for they are a rebellious house.
• Psalms 84:10Better a day in your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than live in the tents of wicked people.
• Matthew 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
• Acts 20:24But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
• Philippians 1:20My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
• 1 Thessalonians 3:7Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and affliction, we were encouraged about you through your faith.

Commentaries on Psalms 137:6

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6If I do not remember thee - Equivalent to, “If I forget thee.” If I ever fail to remember thee; if I shall ever act as if I had forgotten thee. Singing in a strange land, among those who had perpetrated such wrongs in thee - appearing to be happy, cheerful, joyous, happy, merry there - would be understood to imply that I had ceased to remember thee, and cared nothing for thee. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth - Compare Ezekiel 3:26. Let me be…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. 6If I do not bring up Jerusalem The remembrance of the mourning of its destruction I shall bring up to mention at the head of every joyous occasion of mine.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 137:6

• Church
• Country
• Jerusalem
• Music
• Patriotism

In the dictionaries

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

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