Psalms 137:6

Psalms 137:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
• New International Version (NIV)May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!
• New King James Version (NKJV)If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

Context of Psalms 137:6

4How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy. 7Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!” 8O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! How blessed will be the one who repays you for what you dished out to us!

Psalms 137:6 word by word

תִּדְבַּ֥ק־לְשׁוֹנִ֨י׀ לְחִכִּי֮ אִם־לֹ֪א אֶ֫זְכְּרֵ֥כִי אִם־לֹ֣א אַ֭עֲלֶה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֑ם עַ֝֗ל רֹ֣אשׁ שִׂמְחָתִֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If I do not rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• thee, let my tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
• cleaveדָּבַקdâbaq · to cleaveH1692
• to the roof of my mouthחֵךְchêk · palateH2441
• if I preferעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
• not Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• above my chiefרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
• joyשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057

Cross-references for Psalms 137:6

• Psalms 22:15The roof of my mouth is as dry as a piece of pottery; my tongue sticks to my gums. You set me in the dust of death.
• Isaiah 41:17The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
• Lamentations 4:4The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel. ה (He)
• Ezekiel 3:26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house.
• Psalms 84:10Certainly spending just one day in your temple courts is better than spending a thousand elsewhere. I would rather stand at the entrance to the temple of my God than live in the tents of the wicked.
• Matthew 6:33But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
• Acts 20:24But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my task and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
• Philippians 1:20My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die.
• 1 Thessalonians 3:7So in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters, through your faith.

Commentaries on Psalms 137:6

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6If I do not remember thee - Equivalent to, “If I forget thee.” If I ever fail to remember thee; if I shall ever act as if I had forgotten thee. Singing in a strange land, among those who had perpetrated such wrongs in thee - appearing to be happy, cheerful, joyous, happy, merry there - would be understood to imply that I had ceased to remember thee, and cared nothing for thee. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth - Compare Ezekiel 3:26. Let me be…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. 6If I do not bring up Jerusalem The remembrance of the mourning of its destruction I shall bring up to mention at the head of every joyous occasion of mine.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 137:6

• Church
• Country
• Jerusalem
• Music
• Patriotism

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Cleave
• Cunning
• Music
• Prefer
• Roof
• Willows
• Haggai
• Mouth
• 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