New King James Version
Psalms 137:5
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!
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 Living Translation (NLT)If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
Context of Psalms 137:5
3For 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!” 4How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill! 6If 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. 7Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!”
Read all of Psalms 137Psalms 137:5 word by word
אִֽם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח יְמִינִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 137:5
- Psalms 84:1How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!
- Psalms 102:13You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come.
- Psalms 122:5For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
- Nehemiah 1:2that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 2:2Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid,
- Isaiah 62:1For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
- Jeremiah 51:50You who have escaped the sword, Get away! Do not stand still! Remember the Lord afar off, And let Jerusalem come to your mind.
- Daniel 6:10Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.
- Zechariah 11:17“Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”
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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries