The Meaning of Psalms 137:5 Explained

Psalms 137:5

KJV: If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

YLT: If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, my right hand forgetteth!

Darby: If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill;

ASV: If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her skill .

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If I forget  thee, O Jerusalem,  let my right hand  forget  [her cunning]. 

What does Psalms 137:5 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It seems as if the exiles had withdrawn from the city, with its distractions, to some natural retreat beside the Euphrates.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 137:5 mean?

if I forget you Jerusalem let forget [its skill] my right hand
אִֽם־ אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח יְמִינִֽי

אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ  I  forget  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular, second person feminine singular
Root: כָּשַׁח 
Sense: to forget, ignore, wither.
יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח  let  forget  [its  skill] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: כָּשַׁח 
Sense: to forget, ignore, wither.
יְמִינִֽי  my  right  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יָמִין  
Sense: right, right hand, right side.