Darby Bible
Psalms 137:4
4How should we sing a song of Jehovah's upon a foreign soil?
Psalms 137:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
- New International Version (NIV)How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?
- English Standard Version (ESV)How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
- New King James Version (NKJV)How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land?
Context of Psalms 137:4
2We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that made us wail [required] mirth, [saying,] Sing us [one] of the songs of Zion. How should we sing a song of Jehovah's upon a foreign soil? 5If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its skill]; 6If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to my palate: if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
Read all of Psalms 137Psalms 137:4 word by word
אֵ֗יךְ נָשִׁ֥יר אֶת־שִׁיר־יְהוָ֑ה עַ֝֗ל אַדְמַ֥ת נֵכָֽר׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Psalms 137:4
- Ecclesiastes 3:4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
- Isaiah 22:12And in that day did the Lord Jehovah of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth;
- Lamentations 5:14The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music.
- Hosea 9:4They shall pour out no [offerings of] wine to Jehovah, neither shall their sacrifices be pleasing unto him: they shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be defiled: for their bread shall be for themselves; it shall not come into the house of Jehovah.
- Amos 8:3And the songs of the palace shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah. The dead bodies shall be many; in every place they shall be cast forth. Silence!
- Isaiah 49:21And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, an exile, and driven about? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?
Commentaries on Psalms 137:4
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4How shall we sing the Lord‘s song - The song designed to celebrate his praise; that is, appropriate to the worship of Yahweh. In a strange land - Far from our home; far from the temple; exiles; captives: how can we find spirit in such circumstances to sing? How can we do that which would be indicative of what we do not feel, and cannot feel - joy and happiness! The idea is not that those psalms or songs would be profaned by being sung there, or that there…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
Topics related to Psalms 137:4
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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