Psalm 137
Free Bible Version
Chapter overview
Psalm 137 preserves exiles' grief, cultural pressure, fierce memory, and unresolved anger beside Babylonian rivers. Silenced harps embody refusal to turn sacred song into entertainment while Jerusalem lies lost and unforgotten.
ExileZionGriefMemory
1When we sat down by the rivers of Babylon we wept as we remembered Zion.
2We hung up our harps on the willow trees.
3For those who had taken us captive asked us for a song—our tormentors wanted us to sing a happy song from Jerusalem.
4But how could we sing a song dedicated to the Lord in a pagan land?
5If I forget Jerusalem, may my right hand forget how to play;
6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don't remember you—if I don't consider Jerusalem my greatest joy.
7Lord, please remember what the people of Edom did on the day Jerusalem fell, the ones who said “Tear it down! Destroy it down to its foundations!”
8Daughter of Babylon, you will be destroyed! Happy is the one who pays you back, who does to you what you did to us!
9Happy is the one who grabs your children and smashes them against the rocks!
Free Bible Version — CC BY-SA 4.0. Where these translations come from.
Copyright © 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Supplied unaltered through eBible.org. Text unchanged, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.