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Psalm 137:3
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!”
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?
5If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.
Notice
Songs of Zion become a demand on the lips of captors, exposing the cruelty of asking wounded people to provide joy for those who hurt them.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
How does knowing who demands these songs change the way you hear their request?
Write on thisWhen have you felt pressure to sound joyful while carrying grief you needed someone to hear?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 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
Luke 21:6“As for these things which you see, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down.”The connection is broad: the psalm describes people taken captive, while Jesus predicts destruction; neither passage softens the devastation it describes.
Lamentations 2:15–16All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men called ‘The perfection …Both passages describe humiliation tied to Jerusalem: captors demand Zion’s songs, and passersby mock the city once known for joy.
Psalm 9:14that I may show all of your praise. I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion.Both associate Zion with joy, but Psalm 9 anticipates rejoicing in salvation while Psalm 137 records joy demanded by tormentors.
Micah 3:12Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, and the mountain of the temple like the high places of a …Zion links these passages: Micah announces its devastation, while the captives in Psalm 137 are ordered to sing its songs.
1 Chronicles 16:7Then on that day David first ordained giving of thanks to the LORD by the hand of Asaph and his brothers.The shared thread is worship: David appoints thanksgiving to the LORD, while the captors demand songs belonging to Zion.
Jeremiah 9:11“I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling place of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”Jerusalem connects the passages: Jeremiah announces its desolation, while Psalm 137 describes captives whose tormentors demand songs of Zion.
Psalm 65:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. A song. Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. Vows shall be performed to you.Both connect song with Zion: Psalm 65 addresses praise to God there, while Psalm 137 records captors demanding Zion’s songs.
Jeremiah 31:12–13They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of the LORD, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to the young of the …Both speak of singing and Zion, contrasting the captors’ demand for joy with Jeremiah’s promise of singing where sorrow ends.
Isaiah 35:10Then the LORD’s ransomed ones will return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and …Singing, joy, and Zion appear in both passages, with captive singers in the psalm and returning, ransomed people in Isaiah.
Jeremiah 26:18“Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘The LORD of Armies says: “‘Zion will …Zion is the shared place: Jeremiah recounts Micah’s warning of its destruction, while the captors demand songs associated with it.
Nehemiah 4:2He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they …Both passages record hostile speech toward the Jewish people: demands for joyful songs in captivity and scorn for rebuilding from rubble.
Psalm 80:6You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves.Both describe humiliation at enemies’ hands: Psalm 80 names their laughter, while Psalm 137 records tormentors demanding songs of joy.
Where this verse fits
Grief. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
When others expect cheer from you in sorrow, this psalm offers honest company: Scripture records the captives’ torment without supplying the joyful song their captors demand.
Now put it in your words.
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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).