Psalms 137:2

Psalms 137:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
• New International Version (NIV)There on the poplars we hung our harps,
• English Standard Version (ESV)On the willows there we hung up our lyres.
• New King James Version (NKJV)We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.

Context of Psalms 137:2

1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. 3For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” 4How can we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land?

Psalms 137:2 word by word

עַֽל־עֲרָבִ֥ים בְּתוֹכָ֑הּ תָּ֝לִ֗ינוּ כִּנֹּרוֹתֵֽינוּ׃Read the interlinear

• willowsעֲרָבָה‛ârâb · willowH6155
• in the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• hungתָּלָהtâlâh · to hangH8518
• harpsכִּנּוֹרkinnôr · lyreH3658

Cross-references for Psalms 137:2

• Psalms 33:2Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
• Psalms 81:2Raise a song, strike the timbrel, The sweet sounding lyre with the harp.
• Isaiah 24:8The gaiety of tambourines ceases, The noise of revelers stops, The gaiety of the harp ceases.
• Ezekiel 26:13So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more.
• Amos 8:10Then I will turn your festivals into mourning And all your songs into lamentation; And I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins And baldness on every head. And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, And the end of it will be like a bitter day.
• Revelation 18:22And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;

Commentaries on Psalms 137:2

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2We hanged our harps upon the willows - The harps once used to accompany the songs of praise and the service of God in the temple; the harps with which they had sought to beguile their weary hours, and to console their sad spirits in their captivity. The word rendered “willows” - ערבים ‛ărâbiym - used only in the plural, denotes the willow or osier, so called from its white, silvery leaves. Gesenius, Lexicon. Compare Isaiah 15:7. It is probable that the…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. 22. upon the willows--which may have grown there then, if not now; as the palm, which was once common, is now rare in Palestine.Read the comment
• Rashi on Tanakh · v. 2On willows Willows of the brook.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 137:2

• Church
• Country
• Harp
• Jerusalem
• Music
• Patriotism
• Willow

In the dictionaries

• Cleave
• Cunning
• Harp
• Music
• Prefer
• Roof
• Willows
• Haggai
• Hanging
• 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