Psalms 137.1
type: passage created: 2026-05-06 updated: 2026-05-06 book: Psalms chapter: 137 verses: "1" translation_default: ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT tags: [scripture] citation_count: 2 enriched: false
Quoted in
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Psalms 137.1
Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
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." (Psalms 137:1-3, 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!”" (Psalms 137:1-3, 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" (Psalms 137:1-3, 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.'" (Psalms 137:1-3, YLT)
Setting
- Speaker: various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
- Audience: worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
- Location: Israel, various periods
- Time period: composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC
Theological reading
Key words
No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)
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.