Midvash

Psalms 137

By the rivers of Babylon

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2There on the willows we hung our harps, 3for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.” 4How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?

5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function. 6May 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! 7Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”a 8O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.b

9Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.c

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Commentary
Psalm 137 is one of the most raw and unsettling songs in the Psalter. Set by the rivers of Babylon, it captures the grief of exiled Israelites who cannot sing the Lord's song in a foreign land. The psalm moves from aching memory (v. 1-4) to fierce loyalty (v. 5-6) to a shocking cry
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Bible Dictionary· Psalms 137(7)

BabylonEdomHandJerusalemRightTearTongue

References· Psalms 137

a
v.7 — Lamentations 4:21-22, Jeremiah 49:7-22, Obadiah 1:10-14, Ezekiel 25:12-14, Psalms 74:18, Amos 1:11, Ezekiel 35:2, 1 Samuel 15:2, Habakkuk 3:13, Obadiah 1:18-21
b
v.8 — Revelation 18:6, Jeremiah 25:12-14, Isaiah 14:4-24, Isaiah 21:1, Isaiah 47:1-15, Revelation 14:8-11, Isaiah 13:1-22, Jeremiah 50:1, Isaiah 44:28, Psalms 149:6-9
c
v.9 — Isaiah 13:16, Nahum 3:10, Hosea 13:16, 2 Kings 8:12, Hosea 10:14

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