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Psalms 137:1 — King James Version← Study notes

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.


Psalms 137:1Hebrew Interlinear

Hebrew · Psalms 137:110 words
HebrewMeaning
עַ֥לʿal
atpronH5921
according to · after · against · among ···
נַהֲר֨וֹתnahărwōt
the rivers ofnounH5104
river
בָּבֶ֗לbābel
BabylonnounH894
Babylon
שָׁ֣םšām
thereadvH8033
thence · there (-in · of · out) ···
יָ֭שַׁבְנוּyāšabənw
we satverbH3427
continue · (cause to · make to) dwell · ease self ···
גַּםgam
alsoparticleH1571
alike · also · as · both ...and ···
בָּכִ֑ינוּbākiynw
we weptverbH1058
at all · complain · make lamentation · more ···
בְּ֝/זָכְרֵ֗/נוּbəzākərēnw
when remembered wepronH2142
burn · earnestly · mention · be mindful ···
אֶתʾet
(as such unrepresented in English)particleH853
צִיּֽוֹןṣiywōn
ZionnounH6726
Words are listed top to bottom following the original right-to-left reading order. אֵת (ʾēṯ) is a direct object marker with no English equivalent, shown faded.

Church Fathers on Psalms 137:1

1. ...But today we have sung, “By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered Sion” Psalm 136:1.... 2. Observe “the waters of Babylon.” “The waters of Babylon” are all things which here are loved, and pass away. One man, for example, loves to practise husbandry, to grow rich thereby, to employ his mind therein, thence to gain pleasure: let him observe the issue, and see that what he has loved is not a foundation of Jerusalem, but a stream of Babylon.…

Augustine · 4th century · Exposition on Psalm 137
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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Yuki TanakaNote4mo ago
By the Rivers of Babylon We Sat Down and Wept
The Israelites are in exile, captives in a foreign land. And the Babylonians mock them: 'Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.' But how can you sing when everything is taken from you? How can you perf...
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Chiara RussoNote3mo ago
Remembering Home in Exile
Sitting by the rivers of Babylon, the exiles remember Zion and weep. They can't sing the songs of their home in a foreign land because it would break them. There's something so tender in that image. T...
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