Psalms 137

KJ3 Literal Translation — Chapter 137 of 150

¹ There by the rivers of Babylon we sat down; also we wept when we remembered Zion.

² We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst.

³ For there our captors asked us the words of a song; yea, our plunderers asked joy, saying, Sing to us a song of Zion.

⁴ How shall we sing the song of Jehovah on a foreign land?

Chapter Summary

The constancy of the Jews in captivity. The prophet curses Edom and Babylon.

בָּכָה wept H1058 · TWOT 243

זָכַר remember H2142 · TWOT 551

שָׁכַח forget H7911 · TWOT 2383

שִׁירָה song H7892 · TWOT 2378b

גְּמוּל recompense H1576 · TWOT 360a

שָׁבָה take captive H7617 · TWOT 2311

Sons of Edom

The Edomites whom the psalmist asks Jehovah to remember for crying 'Lay it bare!' on the day of Jerusalem (v. 7).

Weeping by the Rivers of Babylon

Exiles sit and weep by the rivers of Babylon, hanging their lyres on willows while captors demand a song of Zion.

Psalms 137:1-3

Edom Demands Jerusalem's Destruction

The sons of Edom urge the Babylonians to lay Jerusalem bare to its foundations.

Psalms 137:7

Word-for-word literal translation with Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and audio.