# Psalm 137 📖: By the Rivers of Babylon [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 136]] | [[Psalm 138]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) [[#Verse 01.]] By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. [[#Verse 02.]] On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps, [[#Verse 03.]] for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: “Sing for us a song about Zion!” [[#Verse 04.]] How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? [[#Verse 05.]] If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled. [[#Verse 06.]] May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy. [[#Verse 07.]] Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!” [[#Verse 08.]] O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated, how blessed will be the one who repays you for what you dished out to us. [[#Verse 09.]] How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies and smashes them on a rock. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Psalm 137 is the only psalm clearly set during the Babylonian exile, which followed Jerusalem's destruction in 586 BC. 2. "The rivers of Babylon" (137:1) refers to the Euphrates and the many irrigation canals around the city, such as the Kebar canal (Ezekiel 1:1). 3. The trees where they hung their lyres (137:2) are often called willows, though many scholars identify them as poplars. 4. The captors demanded "songs of Zion" (137:3), likely for entertainment, which made the request painful. 5. The right hand (137:5) was the hand used to play the lyre, and the tongue (137:6) was used to sing. 6. The Edomites, descendants of Esau, cheered on Jerusalem's destruction (137:7; Obadiah 10-14). 7. The harsh words of 137:8-9 echo Isaiah 13:16 and call for God to repay Babylon for what it did to Jerusalem. 8. This is one of the imprecatory psalms, leaving vengeance in God's hands rather than taking it personally (Romans 12:19). 9. The book of Revelation uses Babylon as a symbol of the world system opposed to God (Revelation 18). 10. The opening verses inspired the song "Rivers of Babylon," first recorded by the Jamaican group The Melodians in 1970. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the King who wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and who will bring final justice when Babylon falls (Revelation 18:2, 20). He leads His exiled people home to the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-4). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. The exiles hung up their lyres because they could not sing the Lord's song in a foreign land (137:2-4). When has grief made it hard for you to worship? 2. The psalmist vows never to forget Jerusalem (137:5-6). What helps you keep God's presence and purposes at the center of your heart? 3. The closing verses cry out for justice in raw words (137:7-9). How should we read honest prayers like this in light of Jesus' call to love our enemies? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 1: By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept as we remembered Zion. - 📖 verse 4: How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? - 📖 verses 5-6: If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Luke 19#Verse 41.|Luke 19:41-44]] - Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. - 🔗 [[Revelation 18#Verse 01.|Revelation 18:1-8]] - Babylon the great has fallen. - 🔗 [[Revelation 21#Verse 01.|Revelation 21:1-4]] - The new Jerusalem comes down from heaven. - 🔗 [[Obadiah 01#Verse 10.|Obadiah 10-14]] - Edom's violence against Jacob. - 🔗 [[Jeremiah 29#Verse 04.|Jeremiah 29:4-7]] - Seek the welfare of the city where you are exiled. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 📂 Internal Notes