📖 Psalms — Chapter 137 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Psalms 137:1 By Rthe rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Psalms 137:2 RWe hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
Psalms 137:3 RFor there they that carried us away captive required of us Ta song; and they that Twasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
Psalms 137:4 RHow shall we sing the LORD’s song in a Tstrange land?
Psalms 137:5 If RI forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
Psalms 137:6 If I do not remember thee, Rlet my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above Tmy chief joy.
Psalms 137:7 RRemember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, TRase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
Psalms 137:8 O Rdaughter of Babylon, who art to be Tdestroyed; happy shall he be, that Trewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Psalms 137:9 Happy shall he be, that taketh Rand dasheth thy little ones against Tthe stones.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 137:1–3 — Grief in exile
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Captives weep by Babylon’s rivers while their captors demand songs. Silent harps express grief that cannot be forced into cheerful performance.
Key Truth: Allow truthful lament in loss.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “By the rivers of ____ , there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we …” (Psalms 137:1)
Find it in Psalms 137:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “… the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we ____ , when we remembered Zion.” (Psalms 137:1)
Find it in Psalms 137:1 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “We hanged our ____ upon the willows in the midst thereof.” (Psalms 137:2)
Find it in Psalms 137:2 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 137:4–6 — Refusing to forget Jerusalem
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The speaker struggles to sing in a strange land and vows to remember Jerusalem. Attachment to worship and home persists through displacement.
Key Truth: Remember faithfully amid displacement.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a ____ land?” (Psalms 137:4)
Find it in Psalms 137:4 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “If I forget thee, O ____ , let my right hand forget her cunning.” (Psalms 137:5)
Find it in Psalms 137:5 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief ____ .” (Psalms 137:6)
Find it in Psalms 137:6 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 137:7–9 — A disturbing cry for retribution
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The closing wish for violent repayment, including against children, voices exile’s fierce anger. It is preserved as lament, not a command to imitate violence; Christian response must also heed Jesus’ call to love enemies.
Key Truth: Bring anger to God without imitating violence.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Remember, O LORD, the children of ____ in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase …” (Psalms 137:7)
Find it in Psalms 137:7 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “O daughter of ____ , who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, …” (Psalms 137:8)
Find it in Psalms 137:8 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the ____ .” (Psalms 137:9)
Find it in Psalms 137:9 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Matthew 5:44 — Jesus commands love and prayer for enemies.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
How can you name grief and anger without passing harm onward?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How do tears and hanging harps answer forced entertainment?
2. What makes the captors’ requested song painful?
3. How does the strange-land question reflect displacement?
4. How do hand and tongue vows protect remembrance?
5. What does the closing wish state rather than narrate as an accomplished act?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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