Psa 137 | EE | STEP | There we sat down, by the rivers in Babylon. We cried when we remembered Zion.

Psalms 137

By the Rivers in Babylon

1 There we sat down, by the rivers in Babylon.

We cried when we remembered Zion.

2 There we hung up our harps

on the willow trees special kind of tree.

3 For there the people that made us prisoners were very unkind.

‘Sing us a song’ they shouted.

‘Make us laugh with a song from Zion!’ ^{▼▼137:3 Verses 1-3: The psalmist is probably home again in Jerusalem or one of the towns near it. He remembered how the people of Babylon made them sad. It made them sad when they asked them to sing. They made music on harps. ‘Unkind’ means the opposite of ‘kind.’}

4 We just cannot sing the LORD‘s song in a foreign land.

5 Jerusalem, if I forget you my right hand will drop off!

6 My tongue will stick to the top of my mouth

if I do not remember you, Jerusalem.

I think of you more than the things that I like best. ^{▼▼137:6 Verses 4-6: They could not sing to the LORD in a foreign land. The right hand played the harp, the tongue sang the words. LORD is a special name for God that only his people use. It is the covenant name. A covenant is when two people (or groups of people) agree. God agreed to love and send help to his people. They agreed to love and obey God. They were in Babylon because the Jews had not obeyed God.}

7 LORD, remember the people of Edom.

This is what they said in the Day of Jerusalem.

‘Knock it down, knock it down to its foundations!’

8 Daughter of Babylon, someone will destroy you!

That person will do to you what you did to us.

He will be very happy then!

9 He will catch your children and hit them with a rock.

He will be very happy then! ^{▼▼137:9 Verses 7-9: Edom was a country to the south-east of Judah. It was an enemy of Judah. When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, Edom was very happy! Now the psalmist says that soon someone will destroy Babylon. He was right! ‘Foundations’ are the hard bit of ground that you build a house on.}