TRV
Translation
King James Version
¶ By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
American Standard Version
By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion.
World English Bible Messianic
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Young's Literal Translation
By rivers of Babylon--There we did sit, Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion.
See also
In the KJVVerse 16,224 of 31,102
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Commentary on Psalms 137 verses 1–6
1 ¶ By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 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.
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points
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. Observe,
I. The mournful posture they were in as to their affairs and as to their spirits. 1. They were posted by the rivers of Babylon, in a strange land, a great way from their own country, whence they were brought as prisoners of war. 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. If they must build houses there (Jer 29:5), it shall not be in the cities, the places of concourse, but by the rivers, the places of solitude, where they might mingle their tears with the streams. We find some of them by the river Chebar (Eze 1:3), others by the river Ulai, Dan 8:2. 2. There they sat down to indulge their grief by poring on their miseries. Jeremiah had taught them under this yoke to sit alone, and keep silence, and put their mouths in the dust, Lam 3:28, Lam 3:29. "We sat down, as those that expected to stay, and were content, since it was the will of God that it must be so." 3. Thoughts of Zion drew tears from their eyes; and it was not a sudden passion of weeping, such as we are sometimes put into by a trouble that surprises us, but they were deliberate tears (we sat down and wept), tears with consideration - we wept when we remembered Zion, the holy hill on which the temple was built. Their affection to God's house swallowed up their concern for their own houses. They remembered Zion's former glory and the satisfaction they had had in Zion's courts, Lam 1:7. Jerusalem remembered, in the days of her misery, all her pleasant things which she had in the days of old, Psa 42:4. They remembered Zion's present desolations, and favoured the dust thereof, which was a good sign that the time for God to favour it was not far off, Psa 102:13, Psa 102:14. 4. They laid by their instruments of music (Psa 137:2): We hung our harps upon the willows. (1.) The harps they used for their own diversion and entertainment. These they laid aside, both because it was their judgment that they ought not to use them now that God called to weeping and mourning (Isa 22:12), and their spirits were so sad that they had no hearts to use them; they brought their harps with them, designing perhaps to use them for the alleviating of their grief, but it proved so great that it would not admit the experiment. Music makes some people melancholy. As vinegar upon nitre, so is he that sings songs to a heavy heart. (2.) The harps they used in God's worship, the Levites' harps. These they did not throw away, hoping they might yet again have occasion to use them, but they laid them aside because they had no present use for them; God had cut them out other work by turning their feasting into mourning and their songs into lamentations, Amo 8:10. Every thing is beautiful in its season. They did not hide their harps in the bushes, or the hollows of the rocks; but hung them up in view, that the sight of them might affect them with this deplorable change. Yet perhaps they were faulty in doing this; for praising God is never out of season; it is his will that we should in every thing give thanks, Isa 24:15, Isa 24:16.
II. The abuses which their enemies put upon them when they were in this melancholy condition, Psa 137:3. They had carried them away captive from their own land and then wasted them in the land of their captivity, took what little they had from them. But this was not enough; to complete their woes they insulted over them: They required of us mirth and a song. Now, 1. This was very barbarous and inhuman; even an enemy, in misery, is to be pitied and not trampled upon. It argues a base and sordid spirit to upbraid those that are in distress either with their former joys or with their present griefs, or to challenge those to be merry who, we know, are out of tune for it. This is adding affliction to the afflicted. 2. It was very profane and impious. No songs would serve them but the songs of Zion, with which God had been honoured; so that in this demand they reflected upon God himself as Belshazzar, when he drank wine in temple-bowls. Their enemies mocked at their sabbaths, Lam 1:7.
III. The patience wherewith they bore these abuses, Psa 137:4. They had laid by their harps, and would not resume them, no, not to ingratiate themselves with those at whose mercy they lay; they would not answer those fools according to their folly. Profane scoffers are not to be humoured, nor pearls cast before swine. David prudently kept silence even from good when the wicked were before him, who, he knew, would ridicule what he said and make a jest of it, Psa 39:1, Psa 39:2. The reason they gave is very mild and pious: How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? They do not say, "How shall we sing when we are so much in sorrow?" If that had been all, they might perhaps have put a force upon themselves so far as to oblige their masters with a song; but "It is the Lord's song; it is a sacred thing; it is peculiar to the temple-service, and therefore we dare not sing it in the land of a stranger, among idolaters." We must not serve common mirth, much less profane mirth, with any thing that is appropriated to God, who is sometimes to be honoured by a religious silence as well as by religious speaking.
IV. The constant affection they retained for Jerusalem, the city of their solemnities, even now that they were in Babylon. Though their enemies banter them for talking so much of Jerusalem, and even doting upon it, their love to it is not in the least abated; it is what they may be jeered for, but will never be jeered out of, Psa 137:5, Psa 137:6. Observe,
1.How these pious captives stood affected to Jerusalem. (1.) Their heads were full of it. It was always in their minds; they remembered it; they did not forget it, though they had been long absent from it; many of them had never seen it, nor knew any thing of it but by report, and by what they had read in the scripture, yet it was graven upon the palms of their hands, and even its ruins were continually before them, which was ann evidence of their faith in the promise of its restoration in due time. In their daily prayers they opened their windows towards Jerusalem; and how then could they forget it? (2.) Their hearts were full of it. They preferred it above their chief joy, and therefore they remembered it and could not forget it. What we love we love to think of. Those that rejoice in God do, for his sake, make Jerusalem their joy, and prefer it before that, whatever it is, which is the head of their joy, which is dearest to them in this world. A godly man will prefer a public good before any private satisfaction or gratification whatsoever.
2.How stedfastly they resolved to keep up this affection, which they express by a solemn imprecation of mischief to themselves if they should let it fall: "Let me be for ever disabled either to sing or play on the harp if I so far forget the religion of my country as to make use of my songs and harps for the pleasing of Babylon's sons or the praising of Babylon's gods. Let my right hand forget her art" (which the hand of an expert musician never can, unless it be withered), "nay, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I have not a good word to say for Jerusalem wherever I am." Though they dare not sing Zion's songs among the Babylonians, yet they cannot forget them, but, as soon as ever the present restraint is taken off, they will sing them as readily as ever, notwithstanding the long disuse.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–6. Public domain.
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Methodius of OlympusAD 311
SYMPOSIUM OR THE BANQUET OF THE TEN VIRGINS 4:3
To continue with our subject, let us take in our hands and examine this psalm, which the pure and stainless souls sing to God, saying, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps on the willows in the midst thereof,” clearly giving the name of harps to their bodies, which they hung on the branches of chastity, fastening them to the wood that they might not be snatched away and dragged along again by the stream of incontinence. For Babylon, which is interpreted “disturbance” or “confusion,” signifies this life around which the water flows, while we sit in the midst of the water that flows round us, as long as we are in the world, the rivers of evil always beating on us. Wherefore, also, we are always fearful, and we groan and cry with weeping to God, that our harps may not be snatched off by the waves of pleasure and slip down from the tree of chastity.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 137
...But today we have sung, "By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered Sion" [Psalm 137:1]....
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 137:1 presents a deeply moving tableau of the exiled Israelites by the waterways of Babylon, a vivid and poignant depiction of their profound grief and displacement. Far from their cherished homeland, the act of sitting down and weeping underscores an overwhelming sorrow, triggered by the painful, persistent memory of Zion—Jerusalem, the spiritual heart and once-glorious capital of their nation, now desolate. This verse encapsulates the raw emotion of lament, highlighting the crushing weight of exile and the enduring human longing for home, identity, and the tangible presence of God amidst suffering.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The opening verse of Psalm 137 is a masterful example of literary craftsmanship, employing several devices to achieve its profound emotional and theological impact. Setting is paramount, with "By the rivers of Babylon" immediately establishing a sense of displacement and foreignness, creating an immediate and stark contrast with the implied sacred space of Zion. This contrast is further heightened through Juxtaposition, where the lush, prosperous, and pagan Babylon is set against the remembered, holy, and now desolate Zion, emphasizing the chasm between their present reality and their cherished past. The verse utilizes vivid Imagery through the actions described: "sat down" and "wept" paint a clear, visceral picture of communal grief and despondency, inviting the reader to empathize deeply with the exiles' plight. The raw, direct expression of sorrow through weeping elicits strong Pathos, drawing the reader into the emotional landscape of the psalm and fostering a profound sympathy for the suffering of the exiled people, making their lament universally relatable.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 137:1 profoundly articulates a theology of lament, demonstrating that even in the deepest despair and displacement, the people of God are permitted, even compelled, to voice their sorrow and longing before Him. It underscores the intrinsic connection between a people's identity and their sacred space, showing how the loss of Zion was not merely a geographical displacement but a profound spiritual crisis, a perceived breach in the covenant relationship. Yet, even in this raw lament, there is an implicit theological truth: God's people, though exiled and weeping, still remember Him and His promises, even if through tears. Their weeping is a form of desperate worship, a cry to the God who is sovereign even over the nations that oppress them, holding onto the hope of future restoration and the enduring significance of Zion as God's chosen dwelling place and the locus of His presence. This verse captures the tension between present suffering and enduring hope in God's ultimate faithfulness.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
This poignant verse offers a profound validation for the universal human experience of grief, loss, and displacement. It reminds us that sorrow is a legitimate, often necessary, and even holy response to profound suffering, especially when we are separated from what gives us identity, comfort, or spiritual nourishment. In a world perpetually marked by migration, conflict, personal upheaval, and spiritual alienation, the lament of the exiles by the rivers of Babylon resonates deeply. It encourages us to acknowledge our own "rivers of Babylon"—those places or seasons of life where we feel alien, dislocated, or deeply grieved—and to allow ourselves to genuinely mourn without shame or pretense. Furthermore, it highlights the enduring power of memory; remembering our "Zion"—our spiritual home, past blessings, moments of divine presence, or cherished relationships—can be exquisitely painful in the present, but it also fuels our longing for ultimate restoration, strengthens our resolve to remain faithful, and points us toward the hope of a future where all tears will be wiped away. This verse teaches us that lament is not the absence of faith, but often its truest expression in the face of suffering.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of the "rivers of Babylon"?
Answer: The "rivers of Babylon" are far more than mere geographical markers; they carry profound symbolic weight. They represent the alien, oppressive, and idolatrous environment of the exiles' captivity, standing in stark contrast to the sacred landscape of Jerusalem. While these rivers (such as the mighty Euphrates and its extensive network of canals) were the very lifeblood of the powerful Babylonian empire, sustaining its agriculture, commerce, and military might, for the Israelites, they symbolized their forced dwelling in a pagan land, far from the life-giving presence of God in Zion. This setting underscores their profound alienation and the bitter irony of being forced to live by the waters of their captors, rather than the streams that make glad the city of God. The rivers represent both the prosperity of their captors and the depth of their own spiritual and physical bondage.
Why is "remembering Zion" so painful for the exiles?
Answer: Remembering Zion was agonizing because Zion (Jerusalem) was far more than just a city; it was the chosen dwelling place of God, the site of the holy Temple, and the very heart of Israel's national, spiritual, and covenantal identity. To remember Zion was to recall a time of intimate fellowship with God, national sovereignty, the blessings of the covenant, and the vibrant communal worship, all of which stood in stark contrast to their current state of humiliation, desecration, and exile. This memory underscored their profound loss, the brokenness of their relationship with God due to their corporate sin (as prophesied in Deuteronomy 28), and their desperate, unceasing longing for restoration and return to their spiritual home, where God's presence was uniquely manifested.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The deep lament of the exiles by the rivers of Babylon finds its ultimate echo and fulfillment in Christ. Humanity, in its fallen state, exists in a profound spiritual exile, separated from the life-giving presence of God due to sin, much like Israel was separated from Zion. Jesus, the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, enters into this brokenness, experiencing the ultimate displacement as He is "cut off from the land of the living" (as foreshadowed in Isaiah 53:8). His own weeping over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44) mirrors the exiles' grief, not for a lost physical city, but for a people spiritually blind to their Messiah and the true path to reconciliation. Yet, through His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, Christ establishes a new covenant and a new "Zion"—not a physical city, but His very body, the Church (Ephesians 2:19-22). Believers are now spiritual exiles and sojourners in this world (1 Peter 2:11), longing for the heavenly Jerusalem, where there will be no more weeping, sorrow, or pain, for God Himself will dwell among His people (Revelation 21:3-4). Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of Israel's longing, providing the true home, lasting peace, and eternal restoration that the exiles by the rivers of Babylon could only desperately dream of.