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What does Psalm 137:9 mean when it says, “Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks”? [1]
Psalm 137:9 is found in one of the Imprecatory Psalms (or Precatory Psalms) that speak of violence against the enemies of God. That verse reads, “Happy is the one who seizes your infants / and dashes them against the rocks.” To “imprecate” means to “pray evil against,” and the imprecatory prayers in the Bible strike people today as strange or wrong
The background is the Jewish people calling upon God to exact revenge upon their military enemies.. Psalm 137 is in the context of the Jewish exile in Babylon (Psalm 137:1) where they had been taken as slaves after the Babylonians burned down the city of Jerusalem
The psalmist recalls both the disgraces of the Edomites (who looted Jerusalem) and the Babylonians who destroyed their capital city. First, he says, “Happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us” (Psalm 137:8)
Psalm 137 [2]
Psalm 137 is the 137th psalm of the Book of Psalms in the Tanakh.[1] In English it is generally known as “By the rivers of Babylon”, which is how its first words are translated in the King James Version of the Bible. This psalm is Psalm 136 in the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate versions of the Bible.
The psalm forms a regular part of liturgy in Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant traditions. It has often been set to music and paraphrased in hymns.
The rivers of Babylon are the Euphrates river, its tributaries, and the Tigris river.. Psalm 137 is a hymn expressing the yearnings of the Jewish people during their Babylonian exile
Psalm 137:1-9 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps Upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive [3]
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps Upon the willows in the midst thereof
How shall we sing The LORD’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy
O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones Against the stones.
Living with an Eternal Perspective (Psalm 137:6) [4]
In order to understand this verse we’ve got to make sure we get the context. It’s talking about how when God’s people were exiles in Babylon and separated from Jerusalem, separated from the temple where the glory of God dwelled among His people
When they are in this state of separation and sorrow and longing, the prayer here in Psalm 137 is, “God, don’t let me forget what joy it was to be in Your presence. Don’t let me forget what joy it was to be walking in obedience to You in the land where You had provided
Lord, help us to live today and every day realizing that our citizenship is in heaven.. The Psalmist is praying here, “I let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,” not even be able to talk if I forget, if I do not remember You
Psalms 34:17-20 Is anyone crying for help? GOD is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you’ll find GOD right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath. D [5]
Is anyone crying for help? GOD is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you’ll find GOD right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath
He’s your bodyguard, shielding every bone; not even a finger gets broken.. Psalms 34:17-20 New American Standard Bible – NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all
What does Psalm 137:9 mean? — Blessed shall he be who dashes them against the rock! (NIV) [6]
What does Psalm 137:9 mean? — Blessed shall he be who dashes them against the rock! (NIV). An imprecatory psalm is one that seeks God’s judgment and, consequently, pain and destruction on others, such as an enemy
Then in verses 3-6, the abuse of the nation of Israel suffered under the Babylonian Empire is remembered. In verse 7, the chorus recites Edom’s chant which urged the Babylonian army to destroy Jerusalem and raze it to the ground
This has occurred due to a wrong translation of the Hebrew text among other reasons. Therefore, what follows is an explanation of the meaning of Psalm 137:9.
Psalm 137:9—Dashing Babies’ Heads Against a Stone [7]
In my debate with atheist Dan Barker in 2009, Barker accused the God of the Bible of numerous egregious immoralities. In Psalm 137:9, he [God] told us that we should be happy to take the innocent babies and dash them against the stones
What a guy—what if I were to treat my kids like this?1. The accusation is that Psalm 137:9 is a prescriptive verse that says that whoever dashes the heads of the babies against a stone will be “happy.” According to the skeptical interpretation of this verse, it is to be understood in the same way as the Beatitudes are understood—as a blessing that will be the result of some stated actions
There are several problems with the skeptic’s charge against God in this Psalm.. By ripping a verse out of its context, a person could force the Bible to say practically anything he wanted to make it say
5 Things You Never Knew about Psalm 137:9 [8]
Psalm 137:9 shocks: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!”. But before you skip over this verse, let’s look at five things most people don’t know about it, things which help make sense of the words and explain the psalmist’s motives for writing it.
The psalmist penned this poem while exiled in Babylonia (today’s southern Iraq). He tells us he and the other captives wept when they remembered Zion.
The merciless Babylon had laid siege to Jerusalem long enough to cause widespread starvation. Finally, the Babylonian troops breached the city walls, looted treasures, and scorched buildings
Psalm 137:9 Commentaries: How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock. [9]
Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.. Jump to: Barnes • Benson • BI • Calvin • Cambridge • Clarke • Darby • Ellicott • Expositor’s • Exp Dct • Gaebelein • GSB • Gill • Gray • Guzik • Haydock • Hastings • Homiletics • JFB • KD • Kelly • King • Lange • MacLaren • MHC • MHCW • Parker • Poole • Pulpit • Sermon • SCO • TTB • TOD • WES • TSK
For this feature of barbarous cruelty with which ancient war was cursed see 2Kings 8:12; Isaiah 13:16; Hosea 10:14, &c; and comp. 63: “My bleeding infants dashed against the floor.”Isaiah 13:16, and the notes at that place), and there may be a reference here to that prediction, and the psalmist may mean to say that the man would be accounted happy, or would be happy, who wreaked vengeance on Babylon in carrying out that prophecy
63,373, following It is impossible to reconcile such barbarous customs with the idex of “honorable war,” or with the principles of war as carried on among “civilized” nations now.. It should be added, however, that there is much – very much – that is practiced in war by “civilized” nations still, which it is equally impossible to reconcile with any just notions of morality or humanity, and which in coming ages, and when people shall come to view things aright, will seem to the people of those times to be not less monstrous, strange, and barbarous
Q&A: Does the Bible encourage murder? [10]
It seems as if Psalm 137:9 is encouraging God’s people to murder children. Psalm 137:9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
Matt 23:13; 26:23-24; John 2:17; 15:25; 1 Cor 16:22; Gal 1:8-9; 5:12; 2 Tim 4:14; Rev 6:10; 18:20). The Imprecatory Psalms are passages that speak of the just violence against the enemies of God
The enemies of God’s people are God’s enemies too (Gen 12:3; Num 10:35; cf. This Psalm was written when Israel was in exile in Babylon (Psa 137:1; 2 Chron 36:20-21), which was prophesied many years prior (Lev 26:24-39, 43; Deut 28:64-69; Jer 25:8-12; 29:10-14, etc.)
Bible Verse Meaning and Commentary [11]
Happy [shall he be] that taketh and dasheth thy little ones. ] That takes the infants from their mothers’ breasts, or out of their arms, and dashes out their brains against a “rock”, as the word F11 signifies; which, though it may seem a piece of cruelty, was but a just retaliation; the Babylonians having done the same to the Jewish children, and is foretold elsewhere should be done to theirs, ( Isaiah 13:16 )
Some allegorically understand this of crushing and mortifying the first motions of sin in the heart; but such a sense seems to have no place here.
Your Little Ones Against the Rock!: Modern and Ancient Interpretations of Psalm 137:9 [12]
To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser.. Published in Kenneth Mtata, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr and Miriam Rose (eds.), Singing the Songs of the Lord in Foreign Lands
Taking into consideration the insights that Mesopotamian literature has revealed, a door will be opened for understanding the lament Psalms in more existential terms. Distress in general, fear of being abandoned by God, overcoming of this fear, prophylaxis against calamities (not understood as part of magic) and one’s preparedness for potential acute distress situations are the aspects that should be considered beside the application of lament Psalms in acute distress situations
Ps 22A), while proportionally praise became more important. Thus, in the Old Testament Psalms, human existence between praise and lament is tangible in word.
Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary [13]
Nave’s Topical Bible – Babylon; War; Thompson Chain Reference – Meekness-Retaliation; Nation, the; Vindictiveness; Torrey’s Topical Textbook – Jews, the;. Happy – that taketh and dasheth thy little ones — That is, So oppressive hast thou been to all under thy domination, as to become universally hated and detested; so that those who may have the last hand in thy destruction, and the total extermination of thy inhabitants, shall be reputed happy – shall be celebrated and extolled as those who have rid the world of a curse so grievous
It should not be omitted that the Chaldee considers this Psalm a dialogue, which it thus divides: – The three first verses are supposed to have been spoken by the psalmist, By the rivers, c. The Levites answer from the porch of the temple, in Psalms 137:4, How shall we sing, c
Michael, the prince of Jerusalem, answers in Psalms 137:7, Remember, O Lord, &c. Gabriel, the prince of Zion, then addresses the destroyer of the Babylonish nation, in Psalms 137:8-9, Happy shall be he that rewardeth thee, c
Psalm 137 [14]
Psalm 137 is the 137th psalm of the Book of Psalms in the Tanakh.[1] In English it is generally known as “By the rivers of Babylon”, which is how its first words are translated in the King James Version of the Bible. This psalm is Psalm 136 in the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate versions of the Bible.
The psalm forms a regular part of liturgy in Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant traditions. It has often been set to music and paraphrased in hymns.
The rivers of Babylon are the Euphrates river, its tributaries, and the Tigris river.. Psalm 137 is a hymn expressing the yearnings of the Jewish people during their Babylonian exile
Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 137 [15]
Because this psalm is a remembrance of Babylon, many commentators believe it was written after the return from exile. It may also have been written many years into the exile.
By the rivers of Babylon: This song of the exile puts us on the shore of one of Babylon’s mighty rivers, likely the Euphrates. Judea and the whole of Israel had no mighty river comparable to the Euphrates, so it would certainly make an impression upon the forced refugee from Judea to Babylonia.
In their captivity and dispersion, it was customary for the Jews to hold their religious meetings on the banks of rivers. Mention is made of this in Acts 16:13, where we find the Jews of Philippi resorting to a river side, where prayer was wont to be made.” (Clarke)
Commentary on Psalms 137 by Matthew Henry [16]
There are divers psalms which are thought to have been penned in the latter days of the Jewish church, when prophecy was near expiring and the canon of the Old Testament ready to be closed up, but none of them appears so plainly to be of a late date as this, which was penned when the people of God were captives in Babylon, and there insulted over by these proud oppressors; probably it was towards the latter end of their captivity; for now they saw the destruction of Babylon hastening on apace (v. It is a mournful psalm, a lamentation; and the Septuagint makes it one of the lamentations of Jeremiah, naming him for the author of it
We have here the daughter of Zion covered with a cloud, and dwelling with the daughter of Babylon; the people of God in tears, but sowing in tears. The mournful posture they were in as to their affairs and as to their spirits.
The land of Babylon was now a house of bondage to that people, as Egypt had been in their beginning. Their conquerors quartered them by the rivers, with design to employ them there, and keep them to work in their galleys; or perhaps they chose it as the most melancholy place, and therefore most suitable to their sorrowful spirits
Psalm 137:8-9 – The Strangest of all Beatitudes [17]
O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.Psalm 137:8-9
A little study at the behest of the editor has confirmed that suspicion.. There is also the little problem of a temperament ill-suited to apologetics
In these verses, we are faced with an “imprecatory” passage. Walter Kaiser defines imprecation as “invoking judgement, calamity or curse in an appeal to God”
Dashing the Little Ones Against the Rock – Does This Verse Really Belong in Scripture? – The Gospel Coalition [18]
The standard version of the RMM Bible Reading Plan takes you through the whole Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice in a single year. That means that TWICE every year I find myself wrestling with Psalm 137:8-9:
They say that the Book of Psalms was the songbook of the early church – but how could anyone who knows and loves Jesus read or sing – let alone pray a sentence like that? We were told to love our enemies; we were told to turn the other cheek – how in the world does this go with that?. Sooner or later every honest Bible reader finds herself asking some version of that question
Perhaps a little bit of historical context would be helpful here.. This entire Psalm is placed in the mouths of Jewish captives, led naked and in chains towards Babylon after the sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC
Free Bible Commentary in Easy English [19]
An EasyEnglish Translation with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 137. Words in brackets, ( ), are not in the *Hebrew Bible.
A word list at the end explains the other words that have a *star by them.. The translated Bible text has yet to go through Advanced Checking.
If someone hits you on the right side of your face, let him hit you on the other side also” (Matthew 5:38-39). v2 There we hung up our *harps on the willow trees (special kind of tree).
Psalm 137 7-9 Understanding Violence in the Bible [20]
The Bible comes up in the conversation on HuffPost Religion almost daily. One disturbing psalm is of particular interest commenting community
That wasn’t the first time one of our readers brought it up. The Religion team sees Psalm 137: 7-9 appear in virtually any conversation on an article that mentions the Bible or one of our many pieces of scriptural commentary
What is the deal with murdering babies? It couldn’t be instruction for living in the same vein as “love thy neighbor”. Could it? What does it even mean? What’s the context?
A Verse to Criticize [21]
Personal Preface: The Difficulty with Dispassionate Analysis of Horrific Texts. Many believe that scholars of antiquity, including biblical scholars, are supposed to be objective, and that they should convey the meaning of the past to the present generation dispassionately
Given that the Bible functions as a source of inspiration, it is not sufficient to ask the typical scholarly questions about this verse—what the text meant in context, how v. 9 fits in the broader psalm, what the psalm’s structure is, when and why Psalm 137 was written, how its sentiments relate to other ancient psalms from this period, etc.—all the sorts of questions that biblical scholars are taught to ask
Scholars debate the compositional history of Psalm 137, and how its final verses relate to the larger whole. 1-6 comprised the original psalm, to which the last three verses have been appended
Why does the psalmist in psalms 137:9 state, “Blessed is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock”? [22]
What is the true meaning? Why would the psalmist say such a thing?. ESV – 9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
The author is a captive of the Babylonians who caused so much destruction in Israel, killing and enslaving so many of them. According to the author, there would be those coming who would do to the Babylonians what the Babylonians did to Israel, except the Babylonian punishment would be on an even greater scale of cruelty
Babylon also inflicted such treatment against other nations, including Israel. In view of the horrible treatment of the Babylonians (Jer 51:24), the psalmist is simply articulating a law of life – “As you have done, it shall be done to you” (Obadiah 15; Matt
Psalm 137: Difficult Words, But True [23]
I would venture to say that you will not hear many sermons on Psalm 137 in your lifetime. It’s not the kind of psalm that lends itself to easy preaching
In fact, verse 9 is probably the most difficult verse in the book of Psalms. It’s a verse that may cause some to doubt the inspiration of the Bible
Psalm 137 is one of several psalms called imprecatory psalms. In these psalms, the author (usually David, although not in Ps
What does Psalm 137:9 mean? [24]
Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
Happy is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rocks.. Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007
Psalm 137:9 “Happy shall he be, that taketh and…”: Translation, Meaning [25]
The speaker of this violent Psalm represents Israel in exile and is lamenting what happened to them in Babylon. In the process, he expresses the awful things that the people of Zion might do to the children of Babylon.
“Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.”. Popularity relative to other verses in Psalm chapter 137 using average monthly Google searches.
This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words
Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 137:9 – Bible Commentary [26]
Happy [shall he be], that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.. The barbarous customs of Oriental warfare spared neither women nor children in a war of extermination
The stern law of retaliation demanded that Babylon should be treated as she had treated Jerusalem. Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
This refers to what was not uncommon in ancient warfare, as it is now among savage tribes – the indiscriminate slaughter of those of all ages, and of both sexes, in war. It was expressly foretold of Babylon that this would occur (see Isa 13:16, and the notes at that place), and there may be a reference here to that prediction, and the psalmist may mean to say that the man would be accounted happy, or would be happy, who wreaked vengeance on Babylon in carrying out that prophecy
A comprehensive reading of Psalm 137 [27]
The purpose of this article is to carry out a thorough exegetical study of Ps 137 in order to grasp its content, context and theological implications. The basic hypothesis of this study is that Ps 137 can be best understood when the text is thoroughly analysed
historical setting, life-setting and canonical setting) and its literary genre. The article concludes by discussing the imprecatory implications and message of Ps 137 to the followers of YHWH.
Psalm 137 is one of the best known imprecatory psalms that focus on the traumatic experience of exile in Babylon. The psalm reveals the sufferings and sentiments of the people who probably experienced at first hand the grievous days of the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE and who shared the burden of the Babylonian captivity after their return to their homeland
Sources
- https://www.gotquestions.org/dashing-babies-against-rocks.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalm_137#:~:text=Psalm%20137%20is%20a%20hymn,enemies%20with%20sometimes%20violent%20imagery.
- https://www.bible.com/bible/1/PSA.137.1-9.KJV#:~:text=1%2D9%20KJV-,By%20the%20rivers%20of%20Babylon%2C%20there%20we%20sat%20down%2C%20yea,of%20the%20songs%20of%20Zion.
- https://radical.net/podcasts/pray-the-word/living-with-an-eternal-perspective-psalm-1376/#:~:text=This%20Psalm%2C%20Psalm%20137%3A6,in%20for%20all%20those%20years.
- https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/PSA.34.17-20#:~:text=Century%20Version%20(NCV)-,The%20LORD%20hears%20good%20people%20when%20they%20cry%20out%20to,LORD%20will%20solve%20them%20all.
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- https://apologeticspress.org/psalm-1379dashing-babies-heads-against-a-stone-913/
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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalm_137
- https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-137/
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