Read & explore together
By the Rivers of Babylon
Psalm 137 is a song of grief, memory and painful longing. It speaks from exile, remembers Jerusalem, and ends with a hard cry for judgement. As poetry, it gives words to sorrow and anger without turning them into a story scene.
Understanding the passage
Read these words in context
This psalm speaks about people in Babylon remembering Zion and Jerusalem. Captors demand songs of joy, but the singers ask how they can sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land. The psalm then turns to remembering Jerusalem, calling on Yahweh to remember Edom, and speaking of Babylon’s coming destruction.
Psalms 137:1–9Main takeaway
Psalm 137 shows that the Bible’s poetry can speak honestly about grief, strong commitment to remember, and the desire for justice, even in shocking words.
Explore the poem and its images
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Weeping by Babylon’s riversThe song begins with loss. The speakers sit by Babylon’s rivers and weep when they remember Zion.
Explanation
The song begins with loss. The speakers sit by Babylon’s rivers and weep when they remember Zion. Their harps are hung on the willows, showing that music has stopped. This is not a cheerful travel song but a lament shaped by memory, sadness and dislocation in a foreign land.
02Songs demanded by captorsThe pain deepens because the people who led them captive and tormented them ask for songs of joy, especially songs of Zion.
Explanation
The pain deepens because the people who led them captive and tormented them ask for songs of joy, especially songs of Zion. The reply is a question: how can Yahweh’s song be sung in a foreign land? The psalm does not pretend that worship can be forced or made entertaining for oppressors.
03A solemn promise to remember JerusalemThe voice becomes personal: if Jerusalem is forgotten, let the right hand lose its skill and the tongue fail.
Explanation
The voice becomes personal: if Jerusalem is forgotten, let the right hand lose its skill and the tongue fail. These words stress deliberate remembrance. Jerusalem is set above the speaker’s chief joy, showing deep loyalty and a strong commitment to remember in the language of poetry and self-imposed oath.
04A cry for remembered wrong and coming judgementThe psalm asks Yahweh to remember Edom’s words against Jerusalem and then addresses Babylon as doomed to destruction.
Explanation
The psalm asks Yahweh to remember Edom’s words against Jerusalem and then addresses Babylon as doomed to destruction. The final lines are shocking. For teaching, it is important to note that these lines are part of a poetic cry for repayment and judgement, not a classroom model for action.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What details in the opening verses show grief rather than celebration?
Notice the actions and objects named: sitting, weeping, and hanging up harps all point to sorrow and silence.
02Why does the psalm treat the request for songs as painful instead of pleasant?
Look at who asks for the songs and what kind of songs they demand, then compare that with the question about singing in a foreign land.
03How do verses 5 to 9 connect remembering Jerusalem with asking for justice?
Trace the repeated idea of remembering: first the speaker vows not to forget Jerusalem, then asks Yahweh to remember what was said and done.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Psalms 137:1–9
1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps.
3For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4How can we sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land?
5If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.
6Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t remember you, if I don’t prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7Remember, Yahweh, against the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze it! Raze it even to its foundation!”
8Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us.
9Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock.