Bible Strands
Psalms 137:6
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist pronounces a self-curse, vowing that his tongue will permanently attach to his palate if he fails to remember Jerusalem or treat it as his supreme joy. This declaration occurs during the Babylonian exile, positioned between a vow concerning his right hand and a plea for God to remember Edom's role in Jerusalem's destruction.
The words — The Hebrew verb תִּדְבַּק (tidbak) translates literally as "may it cleave," applied to the speaker's לְשׁוֹנִי (leshoni, "my tongue") and לְחִכִּי (lekhiki, "my palate"). The structure hinges on the repeated אִם־לֹא (im-lo, "if not") paired with אֶזְכְּרֵךְ (ezkerekh, "I will remember you"), establishing a conditional oath tied to active remembrance and exaltation.
The thread — The image of a tongue adhering to the palate appears in Ezekiel 3:26 as a divinely imposed sign of prophetic silence, in Psalm 22:15 to describe physical exhaustion, and in Job 29:10 to mark the sudden quiet of nobles. The psalmist repurposes this motif into a voluntary, perpetual curse rather than a temporary physical or divine condition.
Why it lands — The verse demands a concrete, unbreakable commitment to remember Jerusalem and prioritize it above all other joy. It frames forgetfulness as a catastrophic failure that warrants a self-curse, requiring the reader to evaluate the permanence and priority of their own spiritual commitments.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 3:26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.
- Psalms 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.
- Job 29:10 The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
- Psalms 84:10 For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
- Isaiah 41:17 The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Lamentations 4:4 The nursing infant’s tongue clings in thirst to the roof of his mouth. Little children beg for bread, but no one gives them any.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:7 For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.
- Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Acts 20:24 But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
- Philippians 1:20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.