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Psalm 137:2

On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps.

1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps.
3For 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!”
4How can we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?
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← Psalm 137:1Psalm 137:3 →
Notice

Harps hanging on Babylon’s willows make the captives’ grief visible, while the surrounding verses show how cruel a demand for joyful music can become.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What do the harps hanging on willows suggest about the captives’ loss?

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When, if ever, has an expectation of joyful singing felt hard to bear?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

7 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Ezekiel 26:13I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. The sound of your harps won’t be heard any more.Harps fall silent in both passages, though Ezekiel speaks of God silencing music and the psalm describes captives hanging up instruments.
Isaiah 24:8The mirth of tambourines ceases. The sound of those who rejoice ends. The joy of the harp ceases.The unused harps in Babylon match Isaiah’s picture of music and rejoicing coming to an end.
Revelation 18:22The voice of harpists, minstrels, flute players, and trumpeters will be heard no more at all in you. No craftsman of whatever craft will be found any more at …Both passages describe music falling silent, with Revelation naming harpists among the musicians who will no longer be heard.
Amos 8:10I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will make you wear sackcloth on all your bodies, and baldness on every head. …Both passages link music with mourning: the captives hang up their harps, while Amos describes songs becoming lamentation.
Psalm 33:2Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.The harp accompanies praise in Psalm 33; in Psalm 137, the captives hang their harps on willows.
Psalm 81:2Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant lyre with the harp.Psalm 81 asks for the harp to be brought into song; Psalm 137 shows harps hung up in captivity.
Daniel 6:18Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting. No musical instruments were brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.The captives’ unused harps and the king’s night without instruments both place an absence of music within distress.
Where this verse fits

Grief. loneliness.

What the Bible says about grief →What the Bible says about loneliness →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Spend two silent minutes with Psalm 137:2 open

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Encouragement

If songs of joy feel out of reach, these harps belong within Scripture too. God’s Word preserves the grief of captives whose tormentors demanded music.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 137:2. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 137 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).