The Meaning of Psalms 137:4 Explained

Psalms 137:4

KJV: How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?

YLT: How do we sing the song of Jehovah, On the land of a stranger?

Darby: How should we sing a song of Jehovah's upon a foreign soil?

ASV: How shall we sing Jehovah's song In a foreign land?

Discover Psalms 137:4

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Psalms 137:4?

MEANING: What does Psalms 137:4 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Psalms 137:4 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Psalms 137:4?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

How shall we sing  the LORD'S  song  in a strange  land? 

What does Psalms 137:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 137:1-9 - Loyalty In Adversity
It seems as if the exiles had withdrawn from the city, with its distractions, to some natural retreat beside the Euphrates. They had brought their harps with them, but had not the heart to touch their chords. Songs were choked by sobs. Suddenly a band of insolent revelers broke in on the scene, demanding one of those Temple songs for which Hebrew minstrelsy was famed.
But the Lord's song was possible only in the Lord's house. To be separated from the Temple seemed to the Jews like separation from God. When we have been led captive by our sins and have lost the sense of God's presence, we, too, lose the spring of holy joy. Let us make not Jerusalem, but the glory and interests of Christ's kingdom, our chief joy. The closing imprecation on Edom reminds one of Jeremiah 49:7-22; Lamentations 4:2; Lamentations 4:22; Ezekiel 25:12-14. We can understand it, but we must remember that we belong to another covenant. See Luke 9:54, r.v., margin; Romans 12:20. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 137

1  The constancy of the Jews in captivity
7  The prophet curses Edom and Babel

What do the individual words in Psalms 137:4 mean?

How shall we sing - the song of Yahweh in a land foreign
אֵ֗יךְ נָשִׁ֥יר אֶת־ שִׁיר־ יְהוָ֑ה עַ֝֗ל אַדְמַ֥ת ؟ נֵכָֽר

אֵ֗יךְ  How 
Parse: Interjection
Root: אֵיךְ 
Sense: how? interj.
נָשִׁ֥יר  shall  we  sing 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: שִׁיר  
Sense: to sing.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שִׁיר־  the  song 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שִׁיר 
Sense: song.
יְהוָ֑ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אַדְמַ֥ת  a  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֲדָמָה 
Sense: ground, land.
؟ נֵכָֽר  foreign 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נֵכָר  
Sense: foreign, alien, foreignness, that which is foreign.

What are the major concepts related to Psalms 137:4?

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Similar Scriptures for Psalms 137:4

Lamentations 5:14-15 [2]
Ecclesiastes 3:4 [2]
Isaiah 22:12 [2]
Amos 8:3 [2]
Hosea 9:4 [2]
Isaiah 49:21 [2]