Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Babylon » Grief of the jews in
By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps, for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" read more.
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
Church » Love for
By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps, for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" read more.
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
Indeed, your servants take delight in her stones, and feel compassion for the dust of her ruins.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May those who love her prosper!
May the Lord bless you from Zion, that you might see Jerusalem prosper all the days of your life, and that you might see your grandchildren. May Israel experience peace!
So I say: "Don't look at me! I am weeping bitterly. Don't try to console me concerning the destruction of my defenseless people."
Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; you will reestablish the ancient foundations. You will be called, 'The one who repairs broken walls, the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.'
"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines brightly and her deliverance burns like a torch."
I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don't be silent! Don't allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.
Be happy for Jerusalem and rejoice with her, all you who love her! Share in her great joy, all you who have mourned over her!
As a mother consoles a child, so I will console you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem." When you see this, you will be happy, and you will be revived. The Lord will reveal his power to his servants and his anger to his enemies.
I wish that my head were a well full of water and my eyes were a fountain full of tears! If they were, I could cry day and night for those of my dear people who have been killed.
"Tell these people this, Jeremiah: 'My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound.
You who have escaped the sword, go, do not delay. Remember the Lord in a faraway land. Think about Jerusalem. We are ashamed because we have been insulted. Our faces show our disgrace. For foreigners have invaded the holy rooms in the Lord's temple.'
(Kaf) My eyes are worn out from weeping; my stomach is in knots. My heart is poured out on the ground due to the destruction of my helpless people; children and infants faint in the town squares.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed. (Ayin) Tears flow from my eyes and will not stop; there will be no break until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees what has happened. read more.
What my eyes see grieves me -- all the suffering of the daughters in my city.
What my eyes see grieves me -- all the suffering of the daughters in my city.
Country » Love of
By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps, for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" read more.
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
Be strong! Let's fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!"
Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. There were those who said, "With our sons and daughters, we are many. We must obtain grain in order to eat and stay alive." There were others who said, "We are putting up our fields, our vineyards, and our houses as collateral in order to obtain grain during the famine." read more.
Then there were those who said, "We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king on our fields and our vineyards. And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, and our children are just like their children, still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people." I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. I considered these things carefully and then registered a complaint with the wealthy and the officials. I said to them, "Each one of you is seizing the collateral from your own countrymen!" Because of them I called for a great public assembly. I said to them, "To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen, so that we can then buy them back!" They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say. Then I said, "The thing that you are doing is wrong! Should you not conduct yourselves in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies? Even I and my relatives and my associates are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil." They replied, "We will return these things, and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say." Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials swear to do what had been promised. I also shook out my garment, and I said, "In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!" All the assembly replied, "So be it!" and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised. From the day that I was appointed governor in the land of Judah, that is, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes -- twelve years in all -- neither I nor my relatives ate the food allotted to the governor. But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God. I gave myself to the work on this wall, without even purchasing a field. All my associates were gathered there for the work. There were 150 Jews and officials who dined with me routinely, in addition to those who came to us from the nations all around us. Every day one ox, six select sheep, and some birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Despite all this I did not require the food allotted to the governor, for the work was demanding on this people.
Then there were those who said, "We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king on our fields and our vineyards. And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, and our children are just like their children, still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people." I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. I considered these things carefully and then registered a complaint with the wealthy and the officials. I said to them, "Each one of you is seizing the collateral from your own countrymen!" Because of them I called for a great public assembly. I said to them, "To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen, so that we can then buy them back!" They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say. Then I said, "The thing that you are doing is wrong! Should you not conduct yourselves in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies? Even I and my relatives and my associates are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil." They replied, "We will return these things, and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say." Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials swear to do what had been promised. I also shook out my garment, and I said, "In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!" All the assembly replied, "So be it!" and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised. From the day that I was appointed governor in the land of Judah, that is, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes -- twelve years in all -- neither I nor my relatives ate the food allotted to the governor. But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God. I gave myself to the work on this wall, without even purchasing a field. All my associates were gathered there for the work. There were 150 Jews and officials who dined with me routinely, in addition to those who came to us from the nations all around us. Every day one ox, six select sheep, and some birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Despite all this I did not require the food allotted to the governor, for the work was demanding on this people.
Harp » Hung on the willows by the captive jews
Home » Examples of love of » The jews in exile
By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps,
for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
Home » Love of » The jews in exile
By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps,
for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
Jerusalem » Beloved
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May those who love her prosper!
By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps, for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" read more.
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy. Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, "Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!"
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy. Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, "Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!"
"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines brightly and her deliverance burns like a torch." Nations will see your vindication, and all kings your splendor. You will be called by a new name that the Lord himself will give you. You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord, a royal turban in the hand of your God. read more.
You will no longer be called, "Abandoned," and your land will no longer be called "Desolate." Indeed, you will be called "My Delight is in Her," and your land "Married." For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married to him. As a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, so your God will rejoice over you. I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don't be silent! Don't allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.
You will no longer be called, "Abandoned," and your land will no longer be called "Desolate." Indeed, you will be called "My Delight is in Her," and your land "Married." For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married to him. As a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, so your God will rejoice over you. I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You who pray to the Lord, don't be silent! Don't allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.
Love » Of home » The jews in exile
By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps,
for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy.
Music » Instruments of » Harp
I will silence the noise of your songs; the sound of your harps will be heard no more.
Music » Generally put aside in times of affliction
Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions were brought to him. He was unable to sleep.
On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps, for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?
Trees » Varieties » Willows
On the first day you must take for yourselves branches from majestic trees -- palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook -- and you must rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.
For this reason what they have made and stored up, they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.
He took one of the seedlings of the land, placed it in a cultivated plot; a shoot by abundant water, like a willow he planted it.