If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.
Parallel translations
- KJV If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
- BSB If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.
- NKJV If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!
- NASB If I forget you, Jerusalem, May my right hand forget its skill.
- NLT If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The psalmist vows that if he forgets Jerusalem, may his right hand lose its skill.
Overview
With a solemn self-curse, the psalmist binds himself to remember the holy city no matter what. Jerusalem represented God's covenant presence and promises, never to be abandoned. This fierce loyalty models the devotion God's people owe to His kingdom, the heavenly city toward which Christ leads us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Dan 6:10–11When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before.
- Jer 51:50You who have escaped the sword, go! Don’t stand still! Remember Yahweh from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.”
- Ps 84:10For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
- Isa 62:1For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning lamp.
- Zech 11:17Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will be on his arm, and on his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!”
- Ps 122:5–9For there are set thrones for judgment, the thrones of David’s house.
- Ps 102:13–14You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come.
- Ps 84:1–2For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. How lovely are your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies!
- Isa 62:6–7I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. They will never be silent day nor night. You who call on Yahweh, take no rest,
- Neh 1:2–4Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
- Neh 2:2–3The king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 137:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.