Psalm 137
New American Standard Bible
An Experience of the Captivity.
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our [b]harps.
3 For there our captors [c](E)demanded of us [d]songs,
And (F)our tormentors, jubilation, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing (G)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget its skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [f](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Those who said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare
(L)To its foundation!”
8 Daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
Blessed will be one who (N)repays you
With [h]the retribution with which you have repaid us.
9 Blessed will be one who seizes and (O)dashes your children
Against the rock.
Notas al pie
- Psalm 137:2 Or poplars
- Psalm 137:2 Lit lyres
- Psalm 137:3 Lit asked
- Psalm 137:3 Lit words of song
- Psalm 137:5 I.e., become useless
- Psalm 137:6 Lit cause to ascend
- Psalm 137:8 Or devastator
- Psalm 137:8 Lit your requital
Psalm 137
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 137
Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem
1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down, and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.(A)
2 On the willows[a] there
we hung up our harps.
3 For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”(B)
4 How could we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.(C)
7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem’s fall,
how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
Down to its foundations!”(D)
8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator![b]
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!(E)
9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!(F)
Psalm 137
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
137 I will praise thee, O lord, with my whole heart: for thou hast heard the words of my mouth. I will sing praise to thee in the sight of his angels:
2 I will worship towards thy holy temple, and I will give glory to thy name. For thy mercy, and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all.
3 In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me: thou shall multiply strength in my soul.
4 May all the kings of the earth give glory to thee: for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.
5 And let them sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For the Lord is high, and looketh on the low: and the high he knoweth afar off.
7 If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, thou wilt quicken me: and thou hast stretched forth thy hand against the wrath of my enemies: and thy right hand hath saved me.
8 The Lord will repay for me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: O despise not the work of thy hands.
Psalm 137
The Message
137 1-3 Alongside Babylon’s rivers
we sat on the banks; we cried and cried,
remembering the good old days in Zion.
Alongside the quaking aspens
we stacked our unplayed harps;
That’s where our captors demanded songs,
sarcastic and mocking:
“Sing us a happy Zion song!”
4-6 Oh, how could we ever sing God’s song
in this wasteland?
If I ever forget you, Jerusalem,
let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves.
Let my tongue swell and turn black
if I fail to remember you,
If I fail, O dear Jerusalem,
to honor you as my greatest.
7-9 God, remember those Edomites,
and remember the ruin of Jerusalem,
That day they yelled out,
“Wreck it, smash it to bits!”
And you, Babylonians—ravagers!
A reward to whoever gets back at you
for all you’ve done to us;
Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies
and smashes their heads on the rocks!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson