Tap any verse number for what that verse means.
1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?
5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
Understand This
Psalm 137, explained
What Psalm 137 is saying
Psalm 137 is an exilic lament of devastating emotional power, opening with the iconic image of captives weeping by the rivers of Babylon, hanging their lyres on willows when mocked to 'sing us one of the songs of Zion.' The psalm moves from grief to fierce loyalty to Jerusalem and concludes with the notorious imprecation against Babylon—'happy is he who repays you... who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.'
The background behind it
The psalm is clearly set during the Babylonian exile (586–538 BC), providing one of the most vivid first-person accounts of the exilic experience in Scripture. The rivers of Babylon likely refer to the irrigation canals of Mesopotamia. Babylon's destruction is prophesied in Isaiah 13:16, which the psalm echoes.
Themes running underneath
The psalm raises profound questions about worship in exile, loyalty to sacred memory, and the legitimacy of vengeful prayer. The central vow—'If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill'—elevates remembrance to a supreme religious duty. The closing imprecation, while morally disturbing, expresses the raw grief of a devastated people and entrusts ultimate justice to God.
Why it still matters
This psalm refuses to sanitize the emotional reality of suffering and displacement. It demonstrates that faith must have room for the full range of human emotion, including rage at injustice, while recognizing that such prayers place vengeance in God's hands rather than human ones.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.