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Psalm 137 · a question people ask

Did the captives sing for the people who asked them to?

In the text

The psalm doesn't say. It says they hung up their harps: "On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps" (137:2). The next verse opens with For and gives the demand: "For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”" (137:3). Then comes a question, not an answer: "How can we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?" (137:4). From there the psalm turns to Jerusalem (137:5-6) and never says whether anyone sang. These notes don't say more than the psalm does.

The verses

“On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps. For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t remember you, if I don’t prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy.”
Psalm 137:2-6 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 137

Psalm 137: By the rivers of Babylon

Psalm 137 turns on remember: the captives remembered Zion and wept (137:1), the psalmist vows to remember Jerusalem above his chief joy (137:6), and he asks the LORD to remember what Edom said (137:7). And the song he was asked for as "one of the songs of Zion" (137:3), he calls "the LORD’s song" (137:4).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions