Psalms 137:3

for there our captors ask us to compose songs; ¹  those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: ²  “Sing for us a song about Zion!” ³ 

biblegateway Psa 137:3

for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

biblegateway Psa 137:3

For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion."

biblegateway Psa 137:3

For there our captors demanded a song of us. Our tormentors requested a joyful hymn: "Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!"

biblegateway Psa 137:3

That's where our captors demanded songs, sarcastic and mocking: "Sing us a happy Zion song!"

SABDAweb Psa 137:3

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.

bibleoremus Psa 137:3

For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

biblegateway Psa 137:3

For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying , "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

biblegateway Psa 137:3

for there our captors ask us to compose songs; ¹  those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: ²  “Sing for us a song about Zion!” ³ 

¹ tn Heb “ask us [for] the words of a song.”

² tn Heb “our [?] joy.” The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew phrase תוֹלָלֵינוּ (tolalenu, “our [?]”) are uncertain. A derivation from תָּלַל (talal, “to mock”) fits contextually, but this root occurs only in the Hiphil stem. For a discussion of various proposals, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 236.

³ tn Heb “from a song of Zion.” Most modern translations read, “one of the songs of Zion,” taking the preposition מִן (min, “from”) as partitive and “song” as collective. The present translation assumes the mem (ם) is enclitic, being misunderstood later as the prefixed preposition.