Psalms 137:6

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; If I prefer not Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

תִּדְבַּֽק־לְשׁוֹנִ֨י ׀ לְחִכִּי֮ אִם־לֹ֢א אֶזְכְּ֫רֵ֥כִי אִם־לֹ֣א אַ֭עֲלֶה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלַ֑͏ִם עַ֝֗ל רֹ֣אשׁ שִׂמְחָתֽ͏ִי׃

Transliteration

tidbaq-lᵉšōnī to ḥikkī if not ʾezkᵉrēkī if not ʾaʿăleh ʾet-Yᵉrūšālaim upon rōʾš śimḥātī

Grammar Details

*tidbaq*: Qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular - it will cling
*lᵉšōnī*: feminine singular noun with 1st person singular suffix - my tongue
*ḥikkī*: masculine singular noun with 1st person singular suffix - my palate/roof of mouth
*ʾezkᵉrēkī*: Qal imperfect, 1st person singular with 2nd person feminine singular suffix - I remember you
*ʾaʿăleh*: Hiphil imperfect, 1st person singular - I cause to ascend/I exalt
*Yᵉrūšālaim*: proper noun - Jerusalem
*rōʾš*: masculine singular construct - head of/top of
*śimḥātī*: feminine singular noun with 1st person singular suffix - my joy

Word Meanings

*tidbaq*-*lᵉšōnī*: let my tongue cling/may my tongue cleave
*ḥikkī*: my palate/roof of my mouth
*ʾezkᵉrēkī*: I remember you/if I do not remember you
*ʾaʿăleh*: I exalt/I set/I raise up
*rōʾš* *śimḥātī*: chief of my joy/height of my happiness/foremost of my joy

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

🔄 Compare with

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Ezek 3:26 : 26 and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house.
Ps 22:15 : 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Ps 84:10 : 10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Isa 41:17 : 17 The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
Lam 4:4 : 4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.
Matt 6:33 : 33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Acts 20:24 : 24 But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Phil 1:20 : 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing shall I be put to shame, but [that] with all boldness, as always, [so] now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether by life, or by death.
1 Thess 3:7-9 : 7 for this cause, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith: 8 for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we render again unto God for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;
Job 29:10 : 10 The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Ps 137:4-5
2 verses
89%
4How shall we sing Jehovah's song In a foreign land?
5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget [her skill].
Ps 137:7
81%
7Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom The day of Jerusalem; Who said, Rase it, rase it, Even to the foundation thereof.
Jer 6:8
74%
8Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.
Isa 62:6-7
2 verses
72%
6I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are Jehovah's remembrancers, take ye no rest,
7and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Ps 122:6
72%
6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee.
Ps 122:2-3
2 verses
71%
2Our feet are standing Within thy gates, O Jerusalem,
3Jerusalem, that art builded As a city that is compact together;
Ps 137:1
71%
1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion.
Ps 13:1
71%
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
Lam 1:7
70%
7Jerusalem remembereth in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that were from the days of old: When her people fell into the hand of the adversary, and none did help her, The adversaries saw her, they did mock at her desolations.
Ps 116:19
70%
19In the courts of Jehovah's house, In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye Jehovah.
Ps 147:12
70%
12Praise Jehovah, O Jerusalem; Praise thy God, O Zion.
Ps 119:139
70%
139My zeal hath consumed me, Because mine adversaries have forgotten thy words.
Isa 49:14-15
2 verses
70%
14But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.
15Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee.
Ps 51:18
70%
18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Ps 143:6
70%
6I spread forth my hands unto thee: My soul [thirsteth] after thee, as a weary land. {H5542}
Jonah 2:7
70%
7When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Jehovah; And my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple.
Jer 51:50
70%
50Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
Ps 63:6
69%
6When I remember thee upon my bed, [And] meditate on thee in the night-watches.
Isa 3:8
69%
8For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
Ps 42:6
69%
6O my God, my soul is cast down within me: Therefore do I remember thee from the land of the Jordan, And the Hermons, from the hill Mizar.
Lam 3:20
69%
20My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is bowed down within me.
Ps 132:1
69%
1A Song of Ascents. Jehovah, remember for David All his affliction;
Ps 135:21
69%
21Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion, Who dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye Jehovah.
Dan 9:16
69%
16O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, let thine anger and thy wrath, I pray thee, be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are round about us.
Jer 15:5
69%
5For who will have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who will bemoan thee? or who will turn aside to ask of thy welfare?
Jer 13:9
69%
9Thus saith Jehovah, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
Ps 106:4
69%
4Remember me, O Jehovah, with the favor that thou bearest unto thy people; Oh visit me with thy salvation,
Ps 119:16
69%
16I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
Lam 3:17
68%
17And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace; I forgat prosperity.
Ps 102:4-5
2 verses
68%
4My heart is smitten like grass, and withered; For I forget to eat my bread.
5By reason of the voice of my groaning My bones cleave to my flesh.
Ps 42:4
68%
4These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, How I went with the throng, and led them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping holyday.
Ps 22:15
68%
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Jer 14:2
68%
2Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Jer 49:25
68%
25How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?
Jer 23:39-40
2 verses
68%
39therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, and the city that I gave unto you and to your fathers, away from my presence:
40and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
Isa 64:10
68%
10Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
Jer 15:15
68%
15O Jehovah, thou knowest; remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered reproach.
Isa 62:1
68%
1For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth.
Neh 13:14
68%
14Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the observances thereof.
Ps 31:22
68%
22As for me, I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications When I cried unto thee.
Jer 2:32
68%
32Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
Jer 20:9
68%
9And if I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I cannot [contain].
Jer 13:17
68%
17But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock is taken captive.
Jer 2:2
68%
2Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.