Psalms 137:3-4

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 

137:4 How can we sing a song to the Lord

in a foreign land?

Ecclesiastes 3:4

3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Daniel 6:18

6:18 Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions ⁴  were brought to him. He was unable to sleep. ⁵ 

Romans 12:15

12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

James 5:15

5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ⁶ 

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.

⁴ tn The meaning of Aramaic דַּחֲוָה (dakhavah) is a crux interpretum. Suggestions include “music,” “dancing girls,” “concubines,” “table,” “food” – all of which are uncertain. The translation employed here, suggested by earlier scholars, is deliberately vague. A number of recent English versions follow a similar approach with “entertainment” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On this word see further, HALOT 1849-50 s.v.; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 37.

⁵ tn Aram “his sleep fled from him.”

⁶ tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”