Psalms 137:3

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

1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. 2Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors, jubilation, saying, “Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!” 4How can we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land? 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, May my right hand forget its skill.

Psalms 137:3 word by word

כִּ֤י שָׁ֨ם שְֽׁאֵל֪וּנוּ שׁוֹבֵ֡ינוּ דִּבְרֵי־שִׁ֭יר וְתוֹלָלֵ֣ינוּ שִׂמְחָ֑ה שִׁ֥ירוּ לָ֝֗נוּ מִשִּׁ֥יר צִיּֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear

• For thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
• our captorsשָׁבָהshâbâh · to take captiveH7617
• demandedשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• songsדָּבָרdâbâr · word: becauseH1697
• songsשִׁירshîyr shîyrâh · songH7892
• our tormentorsתּוֹלָלtôlâl · tormentorH8437
• jubilationשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057
• Singשִׁירshîyr shûr · to singH7891
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726

Cross-references for Psalms 137:3

• Psalms 123:3Be gracious to us, Lord, be gracious to us, For we have had much more than enough of contempt.
• Lamentations 2:15All who pass along the way Clap their hands in ridicule at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city of which they said, ‘Perfect in beauty, A joy to all the earth’?”
• Psalms 79:1God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; They have defiled Your holy temple; They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
• Nehemiah 4:2And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?”
• Jeremiah 9:11I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, A haunt of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”
• Jeremiah 26:18“Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies has said: “Zion will be plowed like a field, And Jerusalem will become heaps of ruins, And the mountain of the house like the high places of a forest.”’
• Micah 3:12Therefore on account of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, And the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.
• Luke 21:6“As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when there will not be left one stone upon another, which will not be torn down.”
• Psalms 9:14So that I may tell of all Your praises, That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.
• Psalms 65:1There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, God, And the vow will be fulfilled for You.
• 1 Chronicles 15:27Now David was clothed with a robe of fine linen with all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the leader of the singing with the singers. David also wore an ephod of linen.
• 1 Chronicles 16:7Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.
• Isaiah 35:10And the redeemed of the Lord will return And come to Zion with joyful shouting, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
• Isaiah 51:11And the redeemed of the Lord will return And come to Zion with joyful shouting, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
• Jeremiah 31:12“They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, And they will be radiant over the bounty of the Lord-- Over the grain, the new wine, the oil, And over the young of the flock and the herd. And their life will be like a watered garden, And they will never languish again.
• Revelation 14:1Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

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

• Church
• Country
• Jerusalem
• Music
• Patriotism

In the dictionaries

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

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