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Psalm 137 - Lexham English Bible (LEB)

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Lament During the Babylonian Exile

137 By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat, yes, we wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows[a] in her midst,
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors asked of us
words of a song,
and our tormentors[b] asked of us jubilation,
“Sing for us from a song of Zion.”
4 How could we sing the song of Yahweh
in a foreign land?[c]
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget.[d]
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if do not I exalt Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
7 Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of Edom
the day of Jerusalem,
the ones who said, “Lay it bare! Lay it bare
to its foundation!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, about to be devastated,
happy shall be he who pays back to you
what you paid out to us.[e]
9 Happy shall be he who seizes
and smashes your children
against the rock.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 137:2 Species of tree uncertain
  2. Psalm 137:3 Only occurring once in the MT, this interpretation is uncertain. The LXX’s “carried us captive” is a guess. If related to the Hebrew root yll it might have the idea of “mockers/yammerers”
  3. Psalm 137:4 Literally “a land of a foreigner”
  4. Psalm 137:5 That is, how to play a musical instrument
  5. Psalm 137:8 Literally “with what you treated us”

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Psalm 137 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

137 By rivers of Babylon -- There we did sit, Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On willows in its midst we hung our harps. 3 For there our captors asked us the words of a song, And our spoilers -- joy: `Sing ye to us of a song of Zion.' 4 How do we sing the song of Jehovah, On the land of a st...
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Psalm 137 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

137 On the floods of Babylon, there we sat, and wept; while we bethought on Zion. (By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, and wept; when we thought about Zion.) 2 In sallows in the midst thereof; we hanged up our organs. (On the willows nearby; we hung up our harps.) 3 For they that led us pri...
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Psalm 137 - World English Bible (WEB)

137 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.2 On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps.3 For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”4 How can we sing Yahw...
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Psalm 137 - The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 137Psalm 137 is a lament written either during or shortly after the exile. It provides a vivid image of what life in exile must have been like.1 By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept when we thought of Zion, our home, so far away.2 On the branches of the willow trees, we hung our harps and...
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Psalm 137 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

By the Rivers of BabylonPsalm 1371 By the rivers of Babylon,we sat down and wept,when we remembered Zion.2 On the willows therewe hung up our harps.3 For there our captors demanded songsand our tormentors asked for joy:“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”4 How can we sing a song of Adonai in a foreig...
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Psalm 137 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem137 [a]By the waters[b] of Babylon,there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.2 On the willows[c] there we hung up our lyres.3 For there our captors required of us songs,and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How shal...
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Psalm 137 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem137 By the waters[a] of Babylon,there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.2 On the willows[b] there we hung up our lyres.3 For there our captors required of us songs,and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How shall w...
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Psalm 137 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Psalm 137Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem1 By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.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 ...
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Psalm 137 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Psalm 137Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem1 By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.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 ...
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Psalm 137 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Psalm 137Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem1 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...
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Psalm 137 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 1371 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem.[a]2 We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.3 For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”4 But how can we...
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Psalm 137 - New Life Version (NLV)

Israel in a Strange Land137 We sat down and cried by the rivers of Babylon when we remembered Zion. 2 There upon the trees we put our harps. 3 For those who held us there made us sing. And those who made it hard for us asked for joy. They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” 4 How can we sing...
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Psalm 137 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land137 By the rivers of Babylon,There we sat down, yea, we weptWhen we remembered Zion.2 We hung our harpsUpon the willows in the midst of it.3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,And those who (A)plundered us requested mirth,Saying, “Sing us...
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Psalm 137 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Psalm 1371 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.2 There on the poplars we hung our harps,3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ 4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a for...
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Psalm 137 - New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 1371 By the rivers of Babylon(A) we sat and wept(B) when we remembered Zion.(C)2 There on the poplars(D) we hung our harps,(E)3 for there our captors(F) asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded(G) songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”(H) 4 How can we sing the songs of...
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Psalm 137 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Psalm 1371 We were sitting by the rivers of Babylon. We wept when we remembered what had happened to Zion.2 On the nearby poplar trees we hung up our harps.3 Those who held us as prisoners asked us to sing. Those who enjoyed hurting us ordered us to sing joyful songs. They said, “Sing one of the son...
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Psalm 137 - New English Translation (NET)

Psalm 137[a]137 By the rivers of Babylonwe sit down and weep[b]when we remember Zion.2 On the poplars in her midstwe hang our harps,3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs;[c]those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:[d]“Sing for us a song about Zion!”[e]4 How can we sing a song to t...
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