God’s Word Translation
Psalms 137:4
4How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?
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 hung our lyres on willow trees. 3It was there that those who had captured us demanded that we sing. Those who guarded us wanted us to entertain them. ⌞They said,⌟ “Sing a song from Zion for us!” How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget ⌞how to play the lyre⌟. 6Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t remember you, if I don’t consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
Read all of Psalms 137Psalms 137:4 word by word
אֵ֗יךְ נָשִׁ֥יר אֶת־שִׁיר־יְהוָ֑ה עַ֝֗ל אַדְמַ֥ת נֵכָֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 137:4
- Ecclesiastes 3:4a time to cry and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
- Isaiah 22:12On that day the Almighty Lord of Armies will call for crying and for mourning, for shaving your heads and for wearing sackcloth.
- Lamentations 5:14⌞Our⌟ older leaders have stopped meeting at the city gate, and ⌞our⌟ young men no longer play their music.
- Hosea 9:4They won’t pour wine offerings to the Lord, and their sacrifices won’t please him. Their sacrifices will be like the food that mourners eat. All who eat this food will be unclean. Their food will only satisfy their hunger. It will not be brought ⌞as an offering⌟ to the Lord’s temple.
- Amos 8:3On that day the songs of the temple will become loud cries,” declares the Almighty Lord. “There will be dead bodies scattered everywhere. Hush!”
- Isaiah 49:21Then you will ask yourself, “Who has fathered these ⌞children⌟ for me? I was childless and unable to have children. I was exiled and rejected. Who raised these ⌞children for me⌟? I was left alone. Where have they come from?”
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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