Psalm 137:9

Context

Psalm 137 is the song of those carried into captivity after Jerusalem fell to Babylon. It opens with the exiles sitting by the rivers of Babylon and weeping as they remembered Zion (v. 1). When their captors mockingly demanded one of the songs of Zion, they hung their harps upon the willows (vv. 2–3). Verses 5–6 are a vow never to forget Jerusalem. In verse 7 the psalmist calls for retribution against Edom, which cried "Rase it, rase it" on the day Jerusalem was destroyed, and in verses 8–9 he calls for the same against Babylon. Verse 9 turns back upon Babylon the very horrors of warfare in that era, when conquerors killed even young children: "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones" (Psalm 137:9).

Interpretation

• As honest lament in suffering: In this reading, the psalmist is not vowing to take revenge himself but is pouring out his anger before God and leaving judgment to him. Proponents explain that the psalm shows that prayer can hold not only pious words but also wounds and rage.
• As an appeal for justice: This reading sees the verse as a plea for justice according to the principle of like-for-like retribution (lex talionis), asking that Babylon receive what it had done to Jerusalem. It connects the verse with prophecies of judgment on Babylon such as Isaiah 13:16.
• As allegory: In the patristic era there was a tradition of reading the "little ones" as evil thoughts just beginning to sprout in the heart and the "rock" as Christ, so that the verse was taken to mean that one should dash sin against Christ while it is still young and so destroy it. Origen and Augustine are known to have left interpretations of this kind.

Debates and Issues

Whether Christians may use the imprecatory psalms (such as Psalms 35, 69, and 109) as prayers is a long-standing question. Some judge them inconsistent with Jesus' teaching to love one's enemies (Matthew 5:44) and therefore do not read them in worship. Others hold that entrusting vengeance to God is itself the way of refraining from avenging oneself (Romans 12:19), and that these psalms should therefore be retained as honest prayers. Explanations also differ according to how one understands biblical inspiration—whether the verse records the psalmist's emotions or conveys divine approval.

Related Passages

• Psalm 137:1–6
• Romans 12:19–21
• Revelation 18:20–21