Passage

Psalms 137.1-9

Book: Psalms · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. 2. Upon the willows in the midst thereof We hanged up our harps. 3. For there they that led us captive required of us songs, And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 4. How shall we sing Jehovah's song In a foreign land? 5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her skill. 6. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; If I prefer not Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7. Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom The day of Jerusalem; Who said, Rase it, rase it, Even to the foundation thereof. 8. O daughter of Babylon, that 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 rock." (Psalms 137:1-9, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. 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 Yahweh’s song in a foreign land? 5. If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. 6. Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t remember you; if I don’t prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy. 7. Remember, Yahweh, against the children of Edom, the day of Jerusalem; who said, “Raze it! Raze it even to its foundation!” 8. Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who rewards you, as you have served us. 9. Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock." (Psalms 137:1-9, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. 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. ^{a song: Heb. the words of a song} ^{wasted: Heb. laid us on heaps} 4. How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land? ^{strange: Heb. land of a stranger?} 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. ^{my chief: Heb. the head of my 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. ^{Rase it: Heb. Make bare} 8. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. ^{destroyed: Heb. wasted} ^{rewardeth: Heb. recompenseth unto thee thy deed which thou didst to us} 9. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. ^{the stones: Heb. the rock}" (Psalms 137:1-9, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. 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 stranger? 5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, my right hand forgetteth! 6. My tongue doth cleave to my palate, If I do not remember thee, If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. 7. Remember, Jehovah, for the sons of Edom, The day of Jerusalem, Those saying, 'Rase, rase to its foundation!' 8. O daughter of Babylon, O destroyed one, O the happiness of him who repayeth to thee thy deed, That thou hast done to us. 9. O the happiness of him who doth seize, And hath dashed thy sucklings on the rock!" (Psalms 137:1-9, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Imprecatory Psalms Objection Defeater

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.