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Psalm chapter 137

English Standard Version

1By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. 2On the willows there we hung up our lyres. 3For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 4 How shall we sing the Lord 's song in a foreign land? 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! 6Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! 7Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!" 8O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! 9Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
New International Version

1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2There on the poplars we hung our harps,
3for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 4How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. 7Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!" 8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. 9Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
New American Standard Bible

1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. 2Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. 3For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors, jubilation, saying, 'Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!' 4How can we sing the Lord’S song In a foreign land? 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, May my right hand forget its skill. 6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7Remember, Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Those who said, 'Lay it bare, lay it bare To its foundation!' 8Daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, Blessed will be one who repays you With the retribution with which you have repaid us. 9Blessed will be one who seizes and dashes your children Against the rock.
Christian Standard Bible

1By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. 2There we hung up our lyres on the poplar trees,
3for our captors there asked us for songs, and our tormentors, for rejoicing: "Sing us one of the songs of Zion." 4How can we sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil? 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy! 7Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said that day at Jerusalem: "Destroy it! Destroy it down to its foundations!" 8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who pays you back what you have done to us. 9Happy is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rocks.
New Living Translation

1Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. 2We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. 3For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: 'Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!' 4But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp. 6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.
7O Lord, remember what the Edomites did on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. 'Destroy it!' they yelled. 'Level it to the ground!' 8O Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done to us. 9Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!
King James Version

1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4How shall we sing the Lord'S song in a strange land?
5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
New King James Version

1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. 2We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. 3For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land? 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill! 6If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!” 8O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us! 9Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!

What does Psalm chapter 137 mean?

Psalm 137 contains one of the most infamous statements in Scripture (Psalm 137:9). This is often misunderstood as God's approval of infanticide. Instead, it is a painfully honest expression of bitterness. The writer hopes a hated invader will experience the same atrocities they inflicted on Israel (Psalm 137:8). This places it among the "imprecatory" psalms which call for tangible harm to an enemy. Examples include Psalms 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59, 69, 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, and 140.

In 536 BC, Jerusalem was wrecked by a Babylonian invasion (2 Chronicles 36:17–21). Atrocities were committed (2 Kings 25:5–7) and many people were captured (Daniel 1:1–3). The survivors are depicted sitting in misery near Babylon's extensive canal system. They are so distraught that they hang their instruments in tree branches—there is no point in playing them. Worse, Israel's abductors mock them by sarcastically asking to hear songs about the homeland which has been lost (Psalm 137:1–4).

Despite this misery, the psalmist is committed to seeing Jerusalem restored. He would rather be crippled and mute—or incapable of playing music and singing—rather than to forget this goal. That same attitude of intentional memory plays into the psalm's turn towards imprecatory prayer (Psalm 137:5–6).

Edom was a nation descended from Esau (Genesis 25:30; 36:1, 8), twin brother of Jacob (Genesis 25:24–26), who was the patriarch of Israel (Genesis 32:28). When Babylon sacked Jerusalem, it seems the Edomites helped to capture fleeing Jews and to destroy the city (Obadiah 1:10–11, 14). The psalmist prays that God would bring vengeance on the Edomites for this (Psalm 137:7).

Prophecies predicted that Israel would suffer in exile because of their sin (Deuteronomy 28:1, 64; Jeremiah 29:10–14). Prophets also indicated that their tormentor would suffer even greater consequences (Jeremiah 25:12; Isaiah 47:1–3; 50—51). These would correspond to the evils which Babylon committed on others (Jeremiah 25:14). Slaughter of women and children was unfortunately common in ancient warfare (2 Kings 8:12; Isaiah 13:16; Hosea 10:14). In a spirit of resentment and grief, the psalmist hopes that Babylon will experience the same atrocities that they inflicted on Israel (Psalm 137:8–9).
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