New American Standard Bible 2020
Psalms 137:5
Psalms 137:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
- New International Version (NIV)If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!
- New King James Version (NKJV)If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!
Context of Psalms 137:5
3For 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? If I forget you, Jerusalem, May my right hand forget its skill. 6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7Remember, Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Those who said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare To its foundation!”
Read all of Psalms 137Psalms 137:5 word by word
אִֽם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח יְמִינִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Psalms 137:5
- Psalms 84:1How lovely are Your dwelling places, Lord of armies!
- Psalms 102:13You will arise and have compassion on Zion; For it is time to be gracious to her, For the appointed time has come.
- Psalms 122:5For thrones were set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
- Nehemiah 1:2that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 2:2So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
- Isaiah 62:1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
- Jeremiah 51:50You who have escaped the sword, Go! Do not stay! Remember the Lord from far away, And let Jerusalem come to your mind.
- Daniel 6:10Now when Daniel learned that the document was signed, he entered his house (and in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and offering praise before his God, just as he had been doing previously.
- Zechariah 11:17Woe to the worthless shepherd Who abandons the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered, And his right eye will be blind.”
Commentaries on Psalms 137:5
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem - The meaning here is, that to sing in such circumstances would seem to imply that they had forgotten Jerusalem; that they were unmindful of its sorrows, and cared not that it was desolate. The remembrance of its calamities pressed hard upon them, and they could not do anything which would seem to imply that they had become unmindful of the sufferings that had come upon their nation. One will not make merry when a wife or…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-9Verses 5-9 What we love, we love to think of. Those that rejoice in God, for his sake make Jerusalem their joy. They stedfastly resolved to keep up this affection. When suffering, we should recollect with godly sorrow our forfeited mercies, and our sins by which we lost them. If temporal advantages ever render a profession, the worst calamity has befallen him. Far be it from us to avenge ourselves; we will leave it to Him who has said, Vengeance is mine…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6The psalmist pledges his loyalty to Jerusalem, the city at the center of God’s reign and the location of fellowship with him.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-65-6. For joyful songs would imply forgetfulness of their desolated homes and fallen Church. The solemn imprecations on the hand and tongue, if thus forgetful, relate to the cunning or skill in playing, and the power of singing.Read the comment
- Rashi on Tanakh · v. 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem The congregation of Israel says this.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 137:5
In the dictionaries
Notes
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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