EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Psalms 137:3
3Our enemies asked us to sing songs for them there. They laughed at us as their prisoners. They asked for a song to make them happy. They shouted, ‘Sing us a song about Zion!’
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
1When we sat down beside the rivers in Babylon, we were very upset. We thought about Zion city that we had left behind, and we wept. 2We hung up our harps there on the branches of the willow trees. Our enemies asked us to sing songs for them there. They laughed at us as their prisoners. They asked for a song to make them happy. They shouted, ‘Sing us a song about Zion!’ 4But we are in a foreign land, so we cannot sing a song to the Lord. 5Jerusalem, I never want to forget you. I would rather lose my right hand!
Read all of Psalms 137Psalms 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 123:3Please be kind to us, Lord. Please forgive us. People have insulted us more and more!
- Lamentations 2:15Everyone who goes by laughs at you. They are happy because you are sad. They see how the enemy has destroyed everything in Jerusalem. ‘Surely this cannot be the city that men called most beautiful,’ they say. ‘People have said that this city is the best city on earth.’
- Psalms 79:1God, foreign nations have attacked your own land. They have spoiled your holy temple. They have destroyed the buildings in Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 4:2His officers and Samaria's army were with him. He said to them, ‘Those Jews have great ideas, but they are weak. How will they ever repair the wall? Will they give sacrifices to their God? Will that help them to repair the wall in one day? They will never build anything from this heap of stones that fire has destroyed!’
- Jeremiah 9:11The Lord replied, ‘I will make Jerusalem a heap of stones. Only wild animals will live there. I will destroy the towns of Judah so that nobody can live in them.’
- Jeremiah 26:18They said, ‘Micah from Moresheth prophesied when Hezekiah was king of Judah. He gave this message to all the people of Judah: “The Lord Almighty says this: Zion will be like a field that a farmer has dug. Jerusalem will become a heap of stones. Trees will cover the hill where the temple is now.”
- Micah 3:12Because of how you live, Zion will be like a field that a farmer has dug. Jerusalem will become a heap of stones. Trees will cover the hill where the temple is now.
- Luke 21:6Jesus said to them, ‘You can see all these beautiful things now. But a day is coming when enemies will completely destroy it all. Not even one stone will remain on top of another stone.’
- Psalms 9:14Then I will praise you for everyone to hear! I will tell the people of Zion that you have saved me, and I will be very happy!
- Psalms 65:1God, it is right for us to praise you in Zion. There, we will offer to you the gifts that we have promised.
- 1 Chronicles 15:27David was wearing a robe that was made of good linen. All the Levites who were carrying the Covenant Box also wore linen clothes. So did the musicians and Kenaniah, their leader. David also wore a linen ephod over his robe.
- 1 Chronicles 16:7On that day, David first told Asaph and the other Levites to sing this song to thank the Lord:
- Isaiah 35:10He has paid the price to rescue them, and they will return home along it. They will be happy and they will sing, as they go into Zion city. They will be very happy for ever. They will never again be sad or upset. All the time they will be completely happy.
- Isaiah 51:11The people that the Lord has rescued will return from exile. They will sing with joy while they go into Zion city. Their joy will be like a crown that they wear on their heads for ever. They will continue to be very happy. They will never be sad or weep again.
- Jeremiah 31:12His people will come back to Mount Zion, and they will shout with joy. They will be very happy because of all the good things that the Lord gives to them. There will be grain to make bread, new wine and olive oil. There will be lambs and young cows. They will grow and be strong, like a garden that has plenty of water. They will not be weak or sad any more.
- Revelation 14:1Then I looked again and I saw the Lamb. He was standing on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. There were 144,000 people there with him. The Lamb's name and his Father's name were written on the front of those people's heads.
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
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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