Psalms 137 Study Notes: Lament of the Exiles in Babylon
Jewish exiles weep beside Babylon's rivers and refuse their captors' demand for songs of Zion. The psalmist vows never to forget Jerusalem, asks the LORD to remember Edom's part in the city's fall, and calls for Babylon to be repaid for what it had done.
General
What basis does 137:8 give for the blessing on whoever punishes Babylon?
Answer: Repaying Babylon as it had treated Jerusalem
The psalm ends with its hardest words. Speaking to Babylon, a city doomed to destruction, the psalmist calls blessed the one who pays Babylon back for what it had done to Jerusalem (137:8), and even the one who destroys Babylon's infants (137:9). This is the cry of people whose own city had been destroyed, asking for retribution that matches Babylon's own deeds. The words are not softened, but they echo judgment God Himself had announced: the LORD declared through Jeremiah that He would repay Babylon for every wrong it had committed in Zion (Jeremiah 51:24), and Jeremiah called for Babylon to be paid back for what she had done (Jeremiah 50:29). The psalm appeals to God's justice against violent wickedness, and Paul teaches believers to leave vengeance to God (Romans 12:19). Jesus also calls His followers to love and pray for their enemies (Matthew 5:44). Christians have understood how these two relate in different ways.
- Psalm 137:8-9 (BSB)“O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us. Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.”The psalm closes by pronouncing blessed whoever repays Babylon for what it did to Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 51:24 (BSB)“Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.”The LORD declares that He will pay Babylon back for every wrong it committed in Zion.
- Jeremiah 50:29 (BSB)“Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.”Jeremiah calls for Babylon to be repaid according to her deeds.
- Romans 12:19 (BSB)“Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.””Paul tells believers to leave vengeance to God, who will repay.
- Matthew 5:44 (BSB)“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”Jesus commands His followers to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors.
Theological
On what principle does 137:8 pronounce a blessing on Babylon's avenger?
Answer: Repaying Babylon as it had treated Jerusalem
The closing verses pronounce blessed the one who repays Babylon as it had dealt with Jerusalem (137:8), extending even to the destruction of Babylon's infants (137:9). The principle is retribution in kind applied to a violent empire. The prayer echoes the judgment God Himself had already announced: He would repay Babylon for every wrong it had committed in Zion (Jeremiah 51:24), and Jeremiah summoned Babylon's attackers to pay her back for her deeds (Jeremiah 50:29). The psalm is an appeal to divine justice, consistent with Paul's instruction to leave vengeance to God (Romans 12:19), and it stands alongside Christ's command to love and pray for enemies (Matthew 5:44). Christians have related these two in different ways.
- Psalm 137:8-9 (BSB)“O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us. Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.”The psalm closes by pronouncing blessed whoever repays Babylon for what it did to Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 51:24 (BSB)“Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.”The LORD declares that He will pay Babylon back for every wrong it committed in Zion.
- Jeremiah 50:29 (BSB)“Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.”Jeremiah calls for Babylon to be repaid according to her deeds.
- Romans 12:19 (BSB)“Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.””Paul tells believers to leave vengeance to God, who will repay.
- Matthew 5:44 (BSB)“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”Jesus commands His followers to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors.
General
True or False: In 137:5-6 the psalmist asks that his right hand and tongue fail him if he forgets Jerusalem.
Answer: True
This is true. The psalmist binds himself with an oath: if he forgets Jerusalem, may his right hand stop working and his tongue stick fast in his mouth (137:5-6). The hand that plays the harp and the tongue that sings would be useless to him if he forgot the city of God. He counts Jerusalem as the joy he prizes most. Another psalm praises Mount Zion as the delight of the whole earth and the great King's city (Psalm 48:2). Other exiles shared this love: Nehemiah wept and prayed over Jerusalem's broken walls (Nehemiah 1:3-4), and Daniel prayed toward Jerusalem three times each day (Daniel 6:10).
- Psalm 137:5-6 (BSB)“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function. 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!”The psalmist calls down loss of hand and voice on himself if he ever forgets Jerusalem.
- Psalm 48:2 (BSB)“Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.”Mount Zion is praised as the joy of all the earth and the city of the great King.
- Nehemiah 1:3-4 (BSB)“And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”Nehemiah, in exile, wept and prayed when he heard of Jerusalem's broken walls.
- Daniel 6:10 (BSB)“Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”Daniel in exile prayed three times a day toward Jerusalem.
Theological
True or False: The self-imprecation of 137:5-6 asks for the loss of the right hand and the tongue should the psalmist forget Jerusalem.
Answer: True
This is true. The psalmist places himself under a conditional curse: should he forget Jerusalem, may his right hand fail and his tongue stick fast in his mouth (137:5-6). The faculties of playing and singing are pledged to the city of God, which he treats as the joy he prizes most. Zion's glory as the great King's city (Psalm 48:2) explains this devotion, which other exiles shared (Nehemiah 1:3-4; Daniel 6:10).
- Psalm 137:5-6 (BSB)“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function. 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!”The psalmist calls down loss of hand and voice on himself if he ever forgets Jerusalem.
- Psalm 48:2 (BSB)“Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.”Mount Zion is praised as the joy of all the earth and the city of the great King.
- Nehemiah 1:3-4 (BSB)“And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”Nehemiah, in exile, wept and prayed when he heard of Jerusalem's broken walls.
- Daniel 6:10 (BSB)“Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”Daniel in exile prayed three times a day toward Jerusalem.
General
What does the psalmist ask the LORD to remember about Edom in 137:7?
Answer: That they cheered for Jerusalem's total ruin
The psalmist turns to God and asks Him to remember the Edomites, who, when Jerusalem was captured, urged the attackers to level the city completely (137:7). Edom was descended from Esau, Jacob's brother, which made this betrayal especially bitter. The prophet Obadiah condemns Edom for acting like one of the invaders, gloating over Judah's disaster, looting, and handing over survivors (Obadiah 1:10-14). Ezekiel and Lamentations both announce that God Himself would punish Edom for this (Ezekiel 25:12-14; Lamentations 4:21-22). The psalmist does not plan his own revenge; he brings the matter to the LORD.
- Psalm 137:7 (BSB)“Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!””The psalmist asks the LORD to remember how the Edomites urged Jerusalem's destruction on the day it fell.
- Obadiah 1:10-14 (BSB)“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress. You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster. Nor should you stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, nor deliver up their survivors in the day of their distress.”Obadiah condemns Edom for siding with Jerusalem's attackers and gloating in its disaster.
- Ezekiel 25:12-14 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt, therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’”Ezekiel announces God's vengeance on Edom for acting vengefully against Judah.
- Lamentations 4:21-22 (BSB)“So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself. O Daughter of Zion, your punishment is complete; He will not prolong your exile. But He will punish your iniquity, O Daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins.”Lamentations promises that Edom's sins will be punished.
Theological
What charge against Edom does the psalmist lay before the LORD in 137:7?
Answer: That they cheered for Jerusalem's total ruin
The appeal is addressed to God: remember the Edomites, who on the day of Jerusalem's fall called for its destruction down to the foundations (137:7). Edom, the brother nation descended from Esau, sided with the invaders, as Obadiah charges (Obadiah 1:10-14). The prophets announce God's own retribution on Edom for this vengefulness (Ezekiel 25:12-14; Lamentations 4:21-22). The psalmist commits the cause to the divine Judge rather than taking it into his own hands.
- Psalm 137:7 (BSB)“Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!””The psalmist asks the LORD to remember how the Edomites urged Jerusalem's destruction on the day it fell.
- Obadiah 1:10-14 (BSB)“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress. You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster. Nor should you stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, nor deliver up their survivors in the day of their distress.”Obadiah condemns Edom for siding with Jerusalem's attackers and gloating in its disaster.
- Ezekiel 25:12-14 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt, therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’”Ezekiel announces God's vengeance on Edom for acting vengefully against Judah.
- Lamentations 4:21-22 (BSB)“So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself. O Daughter of Zion, your punishment is complete; He will not prolong your exile. But He will punish your iniquity, O Daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins.”Lamentations promises that Edom's sins will be punished.
General
What did the captors demand of the exiles in 137:3?
Answer: A joyful song about Zion
The psalm is spoken by Israelites in exile. By Babylon's rivers they sat and wept as they remembered Zion, the hill of Jerusalem where God's temple had stood (137:1). Their captors mocked them by asking for a cheerful song of Zion, so they hung their harps on the willows and asked how they could sing the LORD's song on foreign soil (137:2-4). The background is the fall of Jerusalem, when Babylon burned the city and the temple and carried the people away (2 Kings 25:8-11; 2 Chronicles 36:19-20). Jerusalem, once praised as the joy of the whole earth, had become an object of scorn (Lamentations 2:15).
- Psalm 137:1-4 (BSB)“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the willows we hung our harps, for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.” How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?”The exiles sit weeping in Babylon, hang up their harps, and refuse their captors' demand for a song of Zion.
- 2 Kings 25:8-11 (BSB)“On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building. And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population.”Kings records Babylon burning Jerusalem and the temple and carrying the people into exile.
- 2 Chronicles 36:19-20 (BSB)“Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value. Those who escaped the sword were carried by Nebuchadnezzar into exile in Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.”Chronicles records the survivors taken to Babylon to serve its king.
- Lamentations 2:15 (BSB)“All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?””Passersby mocked fallen Jerusalem, once called the joy of all the earth.
Theological
What request of the Babylonian captors lies behind the exiles' question in 137:4?
Answer: A joyful song about Zion
The setting is the Babylonian exile: the community weeps by Babylon's rivers at the memory of Zion (137:1). Their tormentors demand a joyful song of Zion, a mocking request, and the exiles hang up their harps, unable to sing the LORD's song on foreign soil (137:2-4). The historical background is Jerusalem's destruction and the deportation recorded in 2 Kings 25:8-11 and 2 Chronicles 36:19-20. The city once hailed as the joy of the earth had become a byword of scorn (Lamentations 2:15).
- Psalm 137:1-4 (BSB)“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the willows we hung our harps, for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.” How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?”The exiles sit weeping in Babylon, hang up their harps, and refuse their captors' demand for a song of Zion.
- 2 Kings 25:8-11 (BSB)“On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building. And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population.”Kings records Babylon burning Jerusalem and the temple and carrying the people into exile.
- 2 Chronicles 36:19-20 (BSB)“Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value. Those who escaped the sword were carried by Nebuchadnezzar into exile in Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.”Chronicles records the survivors taken to Babylon to serve its king.
- Lamentations 2:15 (BSB)“All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?””Passersby mocked fallen Jerusalem, once called the joy of all the earth.