Single lesson
Psalm 137: By the Rivers of Babylon
Psalms 137:1–9
Psalm 137 is a painful song of exile. It moves from tears, to a promise not to forget Jerusalem, to an appeal for Yahweh to remember Edom’s words, and then to severe judgement language about Babylon. Students will trace how the poem changes across its nine verses.
Before you teach
In this psalm, the speakers are in Babylon, remembering Zion and Jerusalem. Their captors ask for songs of Zion, but the singers say they cannot sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land. The poem then turns to a vow to remember Jerusalem, an appeal for Yahweh to remember Edom’s words against Jerusalem, and severe repayment language about Babylon.
Students will identify the speakers, key images and the three main movements of Psalm 137, and explain that verse 7 appeals to Yahweh about Edom while verses 8 and 9 pronounce severe judgement language about Babylon.
Welcome: preparing to read a hard psalm
5 minTell students this passage is a psalm, a prayer or song. Explain that they will look for who is speaking, what pictures the poem uses, and how the mood changes. Let them know the ending contains hard words about violence, so the class will read it carefully as grief and judgement language, not as an action to copy.
Psalms 137:1, Psalms 137:7, Psalms 137:9
Read and explain: from tears to a vow of remembrance
10 minRead verses 1 to 6 aloud. Ask students to mark the images: rivers, weeping, willows, harps and songs. Then trace the shift from ‘we’ in Babylon to ‘I’ in the vow about Jerusalem. The right hand and tongue point to skill and singing, showing that Jerusalem must not be forgotten or treated lightly.
Psalms 137:1, Psalms 137:2, Psalms 137:3, Psalms 137:4, Psalms 137:5, Psalms 137:6
Discuss: the poem’s final turn toward Edom and Babylon
8 minRead verses 7 to 9 with a serious tone. Ask students to observe the order of ideas. First, the speaker asks Yahweh to remember what the children of Edom said on the day of Jerusalem. Then the poem addresses Babylon with severe repayment language, describing judgement in stark and disturbing terms.
Psalms 137:7, Psalms 137:8, Psalms 137:9
Make and respond: map the poem’s movement
9 minStudents create a three-panel image card showing the poem’s movement: sorrow by the rivers, remembering Jerusalem, and the final turn to Edom and Babylon. In each panel, they add one phrase from the psalm. Finish by writing one sentence explaining how the poem changes from beginning to end.
Psalms 137:1, Psalms 137:5, Psalms 137:7, Psalms 137:8
Closing: summarise and speak carefully
8 minBring the class back together and ask for a brief summary of the three movements: grief in Babylon, loyalty to Jerusalem, and the final appeal and judgement language. Remind students that the psalm shows pain, memory and a cry for justice in strong words. End with the optional prayer or a moment of quiet reflection.
Psalms 137:1, Psalms 137:5, Psalms 137:7, Psalms 137:8, Psalms 137:9
Questions to explore
What details in verses 1 to 3 show that the speakers are grieving rather than celebrating?
Look for actions and images such as weeping, hanging up harps, and being told by captors to sing songs of joy.
Psalms 137:1, Psalms 137:2, Psalms 137:3
Why does the speaker mention the right hand and the tongue in verses 5 and 6?
Use the wording of the vow and connect it to skill, speech and singing in the poem.
Psalms 137:5, Psalms 137:6
How does the final part of the poem change between verse 7 and verses 8 to 9?
Notice that verse 7 speaks to Yahweh about Edom’s words, while verses 8 and 9 speak about Babylon and repayment.
Psalms 137:7, Psalms 137:8, Psalms 137:9
Make, think or respond
Three-Panel Psalm Image Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pencils
- coloured pens or crayons
- Bible text of Psalm 137
Try it together
- Fold or divide a page into three panels.
- In panel one, draw or label images from verses 1 to 4. In panel two, add images from verses 5 to 6. In panel three, add words or symbols from verses 7 to 9 without drawing graphic violence.
- Write one short phrase from the psalm in each panel.
- Under the panels, write one sentence explaining how the poem changes from beginning to end.
- If time allows, share with a partner which panel feels most intense and why.
This activity helps students see the poem’s movement from grief, to remembrance of Jerusalem, to an appeal to Yahweh in verse 7 and severe judgement language about Babylon in verses 8 and 9.
Adapt for your group
- For younger or more sensitive students, read and discuss verses 1 to 8 together, then summarise verse 9 as very strong judgement language and focus on how the poem speaks from grief and loss.
- For confident older students, ask them to track the repeated ideas of songs, remembering and joy across the psalm using direct phrases from the verses.
An optional closing prayer
Proposed words: God, this psalm shows deep sorrow and painful memory. Help us read hard parts of Scripture honestly, understand the grief in these words, and bring pain and injustice to you with truthfulness and care.
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Psalms 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps.
3 For 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!”
4 How can we sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.
6 Let 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.
7 Remember, Yahweh, against the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze it! Raze it even to its foundation!”
8 Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us.
9 Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.