Psalms 137 (ESV)

9 verses · English Standard Version · Essentially literal

The ESV balances word-for-word accuracy with modern English readability. Favored by scholars and pastors for study and preaching, it preserves the structure of the original Hebrew and Greek while using clear, contemporary language.

Psalms Chapter 137 contains 9 verses and is presented here in the English Standard Version (ESV), which uses a essentially literal approach. Read the full text below, compare with other translations, or navigate to any of the 150 chapters in Psalms.

NIVKJVNLTMSGNASB
← Chapter 136Chapter 138 →

1By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.

2On the willows there we hung up our lyres.

3For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?

5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!

6Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!

7Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!”

8O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us!

9Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!

← Chapter 136Read in NIVChapter 138 →

About This Translation

What is Psalms 137 in the ESV?

Psalms 137 in the English Standard Version (ESV) contains 9 verses. The ESV uses a essentially literal approach, first published in 2001 (rev. 2016).

How does the ESV translate Psalms 137 differently?

The English Standard Version uses essentially literal, balancing accuracy with modern readability. Compare this with the NIV (dynamic equivalence) version of Psalms 137 for a different perspective.

How many verses are in Psalms 137 (ESV)?

Psalms Chapter 137 contains 9 verses in the English Standard Version. The book of Psalms has 150 chapters total.

Psalms (ESV) — All 150 Chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150