Weeping by Babylon's Rivers
Exiles beside Babylon's canals hang up their harps because their captors want a cheerful song from home. They swear never to forget Jerusalem, and the psalm ends in a raw curse against Edom and Babylon that it never softens.
137 1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. 2On the willows there we hung up our lyres. 3For there our captors demanded songs from us, and our tormentors called for joy, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
4How can we sing our Father's song in a foreign land? 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. 6Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.
7Remember, our Father, against the Edomites the day Jerusalem fell, how they said, "Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its very foundations!" 8Daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed is the one who repays you with what you have done to us! 9Blessed is the one who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! a a v9 Jesus took the cry for justice to the cross, praying, "Father, forgive them" — and taught his people to love their enemies. The honest rage of the exiles is brought to our Father, who alone can answer it.
