Psalms 137:3 · Bible study
Psalms 137:3 Commentary: The Bitter Request for Sacred Songs
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine the hostile or possibly curious demand for songs of Zion in Psalm 137:3, and what it reveals about the agony of worship amid oppression.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Babylonian captors demand the exiles sing sacred songs; the request silences them because it treats holy worship as entertainment or mockery.
- Key words: sham (there) locates the moment; sha’al (asked) can be a genuine request or a taunt; tōlāl (tormentor/waster) is a rare word with uncertain nuance.
- Main debate: Whether the captors’ demand was malicious (most commentators) or benign curiosity (Barnes).
- Theological theme: The holiness of worship is tied to place and community; forced performance corrupts the act of praise.
- Best use: Comfort for those whose faith is marginalized; a model of lament that refuses to cheapen worship.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
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!”
KJV King James Version 1769
For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
For there they that led us captive required of us songs, And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
For there our captors asked us the words of a song, And our spoilers--joy: `Sing ye to us of a song of Zion.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that made us wail [required] mirth, [saying,] Sing us [one] of the songs of Zion.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me: thou shalt multiply strength in my soul.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y los que allí nos habían llevado cautivos nos pedían que cantásemos|strong="H7892, H1697", y los que nos habían desolado nos pedían alegría, diciendo:
Porque ali os que tinham nos capturado nos pediam letras de canções, e os que nos destruíram, que os alegrássemos, dizendo : Cantai para nós algumas das canções de Sião.
Là, nos vainqueurs nous demandaient des chants,
Denn dort hießen uns singen, die uns gefangen hielten, und in unserm Heulen fröhlich sein: “ Singet uns ein Lied von Zion!”
Als zij, die ons aldaar gevangen hielden, de woorden eens lieds van ons begeerden, en zij, die ons overhoop geworpen hadden, vreugd, zeggende: Zingt ons een van de liederen Sions;
Poiché là quelli che ci avevan menati in cattività ci chiedevano dei canti, quelli che ci predavano, delle canzoni d’allegrezza, dicendo: Cantateci delle canzoni di Sion!
A gdy nas tam pytali ci, którzy nas zawiedli w niewolę, o słowa pieśni,( chociażeśmy byli zawiesili pieśni radości,) mówiąc: Śpiewajcie nam pieśń z pieśni Syońskich,
В день, когда я воззвал, Ты услышал меня, вселил в душу мою бодрость.
因為 在那裡，擄掠我們的 要我們 唱歌，搶奪我們的 要我們作樂，說：給我們 唱 一首錫安 歌吧！
For there those who had taken us prisoners made request for a song; and those who had taken away all we had gave us orders to be glad, saying, Give us one of the songs of Zion.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 137:3
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this verse captures a moment of deep anguish. The exiles, who had hung their harps on willows (v.2), are now asked by their Babylonian captors for a song. Most see this as cruel mockery. Clarke calls it both unreasonable and insulting: the captors knew the exiles had lost everything, yet demanded the sacred music of Zion. Gill describes the request as jeering at the Jews in their misery, a taunt that made singing impossible.
Barnes offers a contrasting view: the captors may have been curious, wanting to hear the beautiful songs they had heard about, with no malice intended. He argues that good motives should not be assumed absent evidence. Yet the verse itself records that the exiles could not comply. The shared pain across all readings is that the songs of Zion, the hymns of temple worship, became a source of grief rather than joy.
On the meaning of “they that wasted us” (Hebrew tōlālēnū), the Cambridge Bible notes the exact sense is uncertain, with marginal readings like “our tormentors” or “our spoilers.” The word likely describes those who inflicted suffering, whether by plunder or by taunts.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Malicious mockery: Most commentators (Clarke, Gill, Calvin, Cambridge) see a taunt: the captors knew the exiles’ grief and demanded songs as a way to humiliate them, supported by similar taunts in Nehemiah 4:2 and Psalm 80:6.
- Genuine curiosity: Barnes argues the request may have been kindly or admirably curious, based on the absence of clear evidence for malice and the fact that the text only records the exiles’ inability to sing, not the captors’ character.
What is clear: The exiles refused to sing the Lord's song, considering it inappropriate to perform sacred worship for captors and in a foreign land.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Intent of the captors' request | The request placed the exiles in an agonizing position, causing them to refuse to sing. | Most commentators (Clarke, Gill, Calvin, Cambridge) interpret the request as taunting and insulting; Barnes suggests it may have been an expression of genuine curiosity or admiration for the exiles' music. |
| Meaning of 'they that wasted us' | The Hebrew word is rare and difficult, carrying the idea of causing pain or torment. | The Septuagint and Vulgate render it simply as 'they who led us away,' while the Masoretic text and many modern translations see it as more active tormentors or mockers (e.g., 'our tormentors' in the RSV). Some editors propose emending the text to read 'our spoilers.' |
| Whether the refusal to sing was an act of faithfulness or excessive grief | The exiles considered that singing the Lord's song under such circumstances was inappropriate. | Some emphasize the profanation of sacred music for an idolatrous audience (Cambridge Bible; Matthew Henry), while others see the refusal as a symptom of deep depression and a raw expression of pain (Keil & Delitzsch). |
Historical & Cultural Context
The year is 586 BC. Jerusalem lies in ruins. The temple, the center of Israel’s worship, has been burned. The elite, priests, musicians, craftsmen, have been marched to Babylon. Psalm 137 opens “By the rivers of Babylon.” These are not only the Euphrates and Tigris but also the canals that crisscrossed the Babylonian plain (Keil & Delitzsch). The exiles sat there, weeping, remembering Zion. The rivers, places of solitude, allowed tears to flow freely away from the eyes of their captors.
The “harps” hung on willows were not mere instruments. The Levites who served in the temple were trained musicians (1 Chronicles 15:27; 16:7). Their harps, used to sing the Lord’s praise, now hung silent. When the captors demanded “one of the songs of Zion,” they were asking for the sacred hymns of the temple, songs of God’s mighty acts, of His covenant love, of Zion’s beauty (Psalm 9:14; 65:1). To sing these for the amusement of their conquerors would have been profane, an act comparable to Belshazzar’s use of the temple vessels at his feast (Cambridge Bible; see Daniel 5:2-4).
The phrase “they that wasted us” uses a rare Hebrew word (tōlāl) that the Septuagint and Vulgate render simply as “they who led us away.” But its root suggests torment or causing to howl (Gill). The scene is one of psychological oppression: the conquerors not only hold power over bodies, they taunt the soul by demanding the exiles’ most treasured expressions of faith.
This verse sits in a broader lament. The psalm moves from sitting and weeping (v.1), to hanging harps (v.2), to refusing to sing (v.4), to fierce imprecations on Edom and Babylon (vv.7-9). The emotional arc is from sorrow to anger. The request in verse 3 is the catalyst that turns grief into a cry for justice.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of Psalm 137:3 is stable, but one phrase is uncertain. The word tōlālēnū (translated “they that wasted us” in the WEB) occurs only here in the Bible. The Masoretic vocalization and the context suggest a meaning related to torment or plunder. The Septuagint and Latin Vulgate read it as simply “they who led us away” (αἰχμαλωτεύσαντες, qui duxerunt nos). The marginal reading in some English Bibles, “laid us on heaps,” is based on a doubtful derivation (Cambridge Bible). Keil & Delitzsch propose emending tōlālēnū to sholalenu (“our spoilers”) by changing a single letter, a reading adopted by several modern translations.
The verbal form she’elunu (“they asked us”) is a standard Qal perfect with suffix; no variant is noted.
Reception History
Psalm 137 has echoed through the centuries as the quintessential song of exile. In Jewish tradition, it is recited before the grace after meals on Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning for the destructions of the temple. The verse’s raw emotion has been a comfort to displaced peoples, African Americans enslaved in the Americas found resonance in the line “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” No specific hymn or work is universally tied to this verse, but the entire psalm has been set to music by many composers, including the popular “By the Rivers of Babylon” (reggae adaptation). In Christian tradition, the verse often illustrates the tension between holy worship and worldly coercion, and the refusal to sing is seen as an act of prophetic resistance. Some medieval commentators allegorized the captors as demons demanding praise from souls in spiritual exile.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The pain of being asked to perform faith for oppressors. The captors want a show, something entertaining from their captives. The demand strips worship of its sacred context and reduces it to a commodity.
- The silence of the harps as an act of integrity. The exiles could have sung, but they chose not to. Their refusal was a stand against profaning what is holy. There are times when silence is more faithful than a forced song.
- The memory of Zion as both wound and anchor. The request reveals that the exiles still remember; that memory causes tears but also preserves identity. They will not sing “the Lord’s song in a strange land” (v.4) because the song belongs to God and to His people in covenant, not to a pagan audience.
Five-point outline
- The setting: grief by the rivers, memories that flood the heart.
- The demand: captors ask for songs, but they do not understand what they ask.
- The crisis: can sacred music be performed without a sacred community?
- The refusal: “How shall we sing…”, not a question of ability but of conscience.
- The consequence: a vow of remembrance and a plea for justice.
Illustration hooks
- A musician whose faith is mocked on social media, asked to sing a Christian song for laughs at a party.
- An immigrant community whose worship style is treated as exotic entertainment in their new country, while they grieve a homeland they cannot return to.
- A person facing chronic illness who is told by well-meaning friends to just praise God more, and who feels their lament is not heard.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it wrong to laugh at the enemies of God? How do we reconcile the imprecatory tone later in the psalm with Jesus’ command to love our enemies?
- When is silence in worship more faithful than singing?
- How do we keep our faith authentic when we are under pressure from skeptics or opponents to perform or explain it?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 137:3 brings us into the raw reality of the exile. The people of God are not at home. Their captors ask for sacred songs. This small group discussion helps a group explore the tension between faith and oppression, between worship and witness.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What do you notice about the words used for the captors: “those who led us captive,” “those who tormented us”? How do these descriptions shape your understanding of the request?
- Observation: Compare verse 3 with verse 4. Why do the exiles say they cannot sing “the Lord’s song in a strange land”? What makes the land “strange”?
- Interpretation: Some commentators (like Barnes) think the captors might have been genuinely curious about the music of Zion. Others see clear mockery. What evidence in the text supports each reading? Why does it matter which interpretation we adopt?
- Interpretation: The captors ask for “words of a song” (Hebrew divrei shir). The word davar can mean “word” or “thing.” How might the request to hear the words themselves, not just the music, add another layer of pain?
- Interpretation: Look at cross-references like Nehemiah 4:2 and Psalm 80:6. How do other passages in Scripture reflect similar taunts against God’s people?
- Application: Have you ever been in a situation where someone demanded that you express your faith in a way that felt disrespectful or coerced? How did you respond?
- Application: How can we honor the sacredness of worship without becoming exclusive or bitter toward those who do not share our faith? What does it look like to guard the songs of Zion while also engaging the world?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Chronicles 15:27 | David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the choir master with the singers; and David had an ephod of linen on him. |
| I Chronicles 16:7 | Then on that day David first ordained giving of thanks to Yahweh by the hand of Asaph and his brothers. |
| Nehemiah 4:2 | He 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 finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burned?” |
| Psalms 9:14 | that I may show all of your praise. I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion. |
| Psalms 65:1 | For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. A song. Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. Vows shall be performed to you. |
| Psalms 79:1 | A Psalm by Asaph. God, the nations have come into your inheritance. They have defiled your holy temple. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. |
| Psalms 80:6 | You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves. |
| Psalms 123:3 | Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights the deep cruelty and insult in the captors' demand for a song. It was absurd, he argues, to expect a sacred hymn from people they had enslaved and stripped of everything, as if joy could be commanded from the depths of misery and oppression.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes argues that the Babylonians' request for a song may not have been a taunt. He suggests it could have been a genuine, even kind, wish to hear the famous hymns of Zion, cautioning readers not to assume bad motives without evidence.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin corrects a common assumption: David did not write this Psalm as a prophecy of future captivity. Instead, the language describes the exile as an actual, present experience, not a distant event foretold in advance.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator argues that the exiles did not refuse song out of mere grief. Their captors demanded sacred temple hymns for entertainment, which would have been a profanation they could not commit, comparable to Belshazzar using consecrated vessels at his feast. The requested songs were not secular but the sacred hymns of Zion.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Then they that ledde vs captiues, required of vs songs and mirth, when wee had hanged vp our harpes, saying, Sing vs one of the songs of Zion.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the Babylonian captors demanded songs not from curiosity but as mockery and insult, jeering at the Jews in their misery much like the Philistines made sport of Samson. The spiritual songs of Zion, he adds, celebrate saving grace, which natural men cannot understand and only despise.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB observes that Jesus' refusal to comply with the request shows it was incompatible with the mourners' grief. Whether the questioners acted from curiosity or derision, granting their wish would have been incongruous, as Proverbs 25:20 indicates.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange insists the psalm records a genuine, personal experience of exile, not a later literary device. He rejects theories that connect it to the Second Temple dedication or the Maccabean era. For him, the tears and the suspended harps are the actual grief of captives, and the fierce imprecations flow from that living memory.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that the captives were deliberately settled by the rivers of Babylon, a place chosen for melancholy solitude or to keep them working in galleys. Their sitting there was not restless but a resigned acceptance of God's will. This exile, he observes, was a new house of bondage for Israel.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley identifies the song mentioned here as the same type of sacred music once sung in the temple of Zion. For him, this connects the psalm directly to the worship practices of ancient Israel's sanctuary.