Psalm 137
Psalm 137 moves from the grief of exile to a vow of remembrance and a fierce demand for repayment.
Captives beside Babylon’s rivers weep for Zion while their tormentors demand songs of joy. The unnamed speaker recalls their silenced harps, then vows never to forget Jerusalem, even at the cost of speech and musical skill. The poem turns toward YHWH with a plea to remember Edom’s part in Jerusalem’s destruction. It ends by addressing Babylon and blessing those who repay its violence, including a dreadful image of children killed against a rock.
Isaiah and Jeremiah share Psalm 137’s theme of judgment against Babylon for its violence, while Revelation also portrays Babylon’s downfall as repayment. Lamentations shares its grief over Jerusalem’s devastation, and Ezekiel also names Edom’s hostility toward Judah as grounds for divine judgment.
After reading the whole chapter
What stands out to you about remembering Jerusalem when the captors demand songs of joy?
Write on thisHow does the final image affect your reading of the grief and demand for repayment that precede it?
Write on thisQuestions people ask about Psalm 137
Who wrote Psalm 137, and when was it written?
Psalm 137 does not name its author. Its speaker recalls captivity in Babylon and Jerusalem’s destruction, speaking first for a group and then as an individual. The past-tense recollection could come from exile or afterward; the poem does not establish an exact date or place of composition.
Why does Psalm 137:9 speak of killing babies?
The final verse blesses someone who would kill Babylon’s children. It follows the demand that Babylon receive the violence it inflicted on the captives. This is an imprecation, a poetic appeal for judgment, with horrifying wartime imagery. Its place within a lament does not make it a command for readers to harm children or take revenge.
Why does Psalm 137 mention Edom?
Verse 7 recalls Edom urging Jerusalem’s destruction down to its foundations. The speaker asks YHWH to remember that hostility and hold Edom accountable. Babylon carried the people captive, while Edom appears here as a participant through its encouragement of the city’s ruin.
Read it. Now write it.
Start an entry on Psalm 137. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).