Psalm 137 is the lament of the Jewish exiles in Babylon: “Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion… How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?” It is one of the most moving psalms of homesickness and fidelity, and it ends with a cry for vengeance that has troubled readers for centuries. In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 136. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 137 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion:
On the willows in the midst thereof we hung up our instruments.
For there they that led us into captivity required of us the words of songs. And they that carried us away, said: Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion.
How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.
Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee: If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy.
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom, in the day of Jerusalem: Who say: Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
O daughter of Babylon, miserable: blessed shall he be who shall repay thee thy payment which thou hast paid us.
Blessed be he that shall take and dash thy little ones against the rock.
Psalm 137 or Psalm 136?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 136 is Psalm 137 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Super flumina Babylonis. See how many psalms are there?
How should Christians read the ending?
The last verses call for vengeance on Edom and Babylon, ending with words about dashing the enemy’s little ones against the rock. They are the raw cry of people whose city and children had been destroyed, and Scripture does not hide that cry. But Christians pray them in the light of Christ, who taught, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44), and forgave those who crucified him.
The Church therefore leaves these verses out of the psalm in the Liturgy of the Hours. The Fathers of the Church also read them spiritually: St. Augustine taught that the “little ones” of Babylon are sinful thoughts and temptations while they are still small, which we should dash at once against the rock, and “the rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Read this way, the psalm becomes a call to resist sin at its beginning and to long for the heavenly Jerusalem, our true home.
What the psalm means
- Exile and grief: the captives hang up their harps; they cannot sing for joy far from home.
- “How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?”: the question of every believer who feels like a stranger in the world.
- Remembering Jerusalem: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.” Fidelity to God’s city and God’s people.
- Our true homeland: Christians long for the heavenly Jerusalem, where every exile ends (Hebrews 13:14).
- Honest anger: the psalm brings even the desire for vengeance to God, who alone judges justly.
How the Church uses Psalm 137
- On the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year B): “Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!” See Lent.
- In the Liturgy of the Hours, without the cursing verses.
- For immigrants, refugees and all who are far from home.
A prayer with Psalm 137
Written for this page:
Lord, by the rivers of our exile we weep when we remember you.
Comfort refugees, immigrants and all who are far from home.
Let me never forget your holy city, the Church, and my true home in heaven.
Keep me faithful in a strange land until I sing your song in the new Jerusalem. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What is Psalm 137 about?
The grief of the Jewish exiles in Babylon, their fidelity to Jerusalem, and their cry for justice against their oppressors.
Why does Psalm 137 end with such violent words?
It records the anguished cry of a people who had suffered terribly. Christians do not pray for harm to anyone; the Church omits these verses in the Liturgy of the Hours, and the Fathers read them as a call to crush sin at its beginning.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 136 (137); Matthew 5:44; 1 Corinthians 10:4; Hebrews 13:14, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.