137:1 By the rivers of Babylon
we sit down and weep 2
when we remember Zion.
137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! 3
How blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us! 4
137:9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock! 5
1 sn Psalm 137. The Babylonian exiles lament their condition, vow to remain loyal to Jerusalem, and appeal to God for revenge on their enemies.
2 tn Heb “there we sit down, also we weep.”
3 tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.
4 tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”
5 sn For other references to the wholesale slaughter of babies in the context of ancient Near Eastern warfare, see 2 Kgs 8:12; Isa 13:16; Hos 13:16; Nah 3:10.