What does Psalm 137 mean?

Answer 1

quick reference;Psalm 137:9 (KJV) Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.One Good ExplanationThis is written in easy English so it sounds simple and childish

but it explains that The Bible is not condoning hitting children with rocks

but explaining that those who take revenge will be happy about it

even if they are wrong to be happy about it.

See the related link on the left.

AnswerPsalm 137 records the part of the 70 years of Judah's Babylonian captivity where the Babylonians killed the Jewish babies, infants, and toddlers, both to keep them in control and to deliberately limit their numbers so that, unlike in Egypt, they would not become too numerous and thus a problem to their captors.

Answer 2

Psalm 137 is a lament for Jerusalem after the Babylonians have invaded and destroyed it and a prophecy that Babylon will suffer the same fate. There is no suggestion that the Babylonians ever killed Jewish children, who were a potential economic asset in the Babylonian Empire, but verse 9 reflects a sadistic hope for Babylon to suffer the most feared outcome, so that the Babylonians would rather kill their own children rather than have them fall into the hands of their conquerors. This may have been written shortly before the Persian army entered Babylon.

Answer 3

It is seen as prophetically referring to the Second Destruction, perpetrated by the Romans, though it also alludes to the First Destruction.

Answer 4

This Psalm is a song about God's people in captivity in Babylon, they remember Jerusalem and Mt Zion.

The last two verses are prophecy concerning Babylon