Psalm 137
Expanded Bible
Israelites in Captivity
137 By the rivers in Babylon we sat and ·cried [wept; C during the Babylonian exile]
when we remembered ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
2 On the ·poplar [or willow] trees nearby
we hung our harps.
3 ·Those who captured us [Our captors] asked us to sing;
our ·enemies [oppressors] wanted happy songs.
They said, “Sing us a song about ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]!”
4 But we cannot sing songs about the Lord
while we are in this foreign ·country [land]!
5 Jerusalem, if I forget you,
let my right hand ·lose its skill [L forget; C its skill of playing a musical instrument].
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not ·think about Jerusalem
as my greatest joy [or go up to Jerusalem with joy on my head].
7 Lord, remember ·what the Edomites did [L the sons of Edom]
on the day ·Jerusalem fell [L of Jerusalem; Lam. 4:21; Ezek. 25:12–14; 35:5–15; Obad. 11–14].
They said, “Tear it down!
Tear it down to its foundations!”
8 ·People [L Daughter] of Babylon, you will be destroyed.
The people who pay you back for what you did to us will be ·happy [blessed].
9 They will grab your ·babies [little ones]
and throw them against the rocks.
Psalm 137
King James Version
137 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 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.
4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 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.
7 Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
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