Psalms 137:5
3 for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!
7 Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.
- KJV
- If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
- WEB
- If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.
- ASV
- If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget [her skill].
- DARBY
- If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its skill];
- BLB
- If I should forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget.
- ÅB
- Glemmer jeg deg, Jerusalem, da glemme meg[^1] min høyre hånd!
- OTB
- Hvis jeg glemmer deg, Jerusalem,
Må min høyre hånd miste sin dyktighet. - B1930
- Glemmer jeg dig, Jerusalem, da glemme mig min høire hånd! / < nekte mig sin tjeneste.>
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Daniel 6:10–11
Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Read in contextJeremiah 51:50
You who have escaped the sword, depart and do not linger! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to mind.”
Read in contextPsalms 122:5–9
For there the thrones of judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David.
Read in contextPsalms 84:10
For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Read in contextZechariah 11:17
Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”
Read in contextIsaiah 62:1
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.
Read in contextNehemiah 2:2–3
so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear
Read in contextNehemiah 1:2–4
Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah. So I questioned them about the remnant of the Jews who had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
Read in context