A broad still canal on the flat Babylonian plain in gray late light, a line of poplars on the bank reflected in the water, under a wide empty sky.

Lament

Psalm 137

For anyone who has been told to sing when their heart is somewhere else, and for anyone who has lost what cannot be replaced.

9 verses≈ 3 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

1–41Book IDavid's prayers: 'The LORD is my shepherd'
42–72Book II'As the deer pants'; the throne under pressure
73–89Book IIIAsaph and Korah: the kingdom falls
90–106Book IVBack to Moses: the LORD reigns
107–150Book VSongs of ascents, and the last HallelujahPsalm 137

By the Rivers of Babylon

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Sing us a song of Zion.

Stylised map · locations approximate

Where it happened

From Zion to Babylon

About 900 miles by the road, north along the Euphrates and down again. That is how far Zion was from the bank where they sat.

How can we sing a song of the LORD

in a foreign land?

The morning after the fire, Jerusalem's eastern ridge seen from across the Kidron valley: the city wall broken in long gaps, thin threads of gray smoke rising straight up from roofless houses and the burned shell of the temple, green vines on the terraces below where two poor vinedressers work, under a pale, empty dawn sky.

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

may my right hand cease to function.

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you,

if I do not exalt Jerusalem

as my greatest joy!

0:14

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Remember, O LORD,

the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell:

“Destroy it,” they said,

“tear it down to its foundations!”

O Daughter of Babylon,

doomed to destruction,

blessed is he who repays you

as you have done to us.

Blessed is he who seizes your infants

and dashes them against the rocks.

Pray

Leave it with the Judge

Tell God what was done to you, or to someone you love. Say all of it, as this psalm does. Then leave it with Him. He is the Judge, and He will not forget. Amen.

You’ve experienced

Psalm 137

0 of 150 psalms read

A verse to carry with you

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

Psalm 137:1

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