Discovery BoxPsalms 137:6-9
Context137:6 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. 1
137:7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell. 2
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, 3
right to its very foundation!”
137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! 4
How blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us! 5
137:9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock! 6
[137:6] 1 tn Heb “if I do not lift up Jerusalem over the top of my joy.”
[137:7] 2 tn Heb “remember, O
[137:7] 3 tn Heb “lay [it] bare, lay [it] bare.”
[137:8] 3 tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.
[137:8] 4 tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”
[137:9] 4 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.
