A Reader’s Guide to Psalm 137

As Eugene Peterson put it, Psalm 137 is the scandal of the Psalter. At the same time, the raw hate of the psalm’s conclusion takes us to that subterranean location where the foundations of justice are exposed.

In life, in the psalms, hate, retribution, and justice are inextricably woven together. It’s not just 137 that is “spoiled” by its conclusion. So is 139. Or perhaps we are the spoiled ones, not the psalms. What does it mean to offer up hate and hope for retribution in prayer?

Here is a first introduction to Psalm 137:

·           Psalm 137: This is the Word of the Lord

·           Psalm 137: A New Translation

A journey to the center of the universe represented by Psalm 137 is possible from a number of approaches. Nachman Bialik’s “On the Slaughter,” is a terrifying gateway to the kind of experience 137 reflects and the response it engenders. Here is an introduction, text, translation, and commentary, in connection with Psalm 137:

·           “Everybody won’t be treated all the same”

·           Bialik’s Prayer and Psalm 137

·           Bialik’s “On the Slaughter” and the Tradition of Biblical Lament: Stanza One

·           Bialik’s “On the Slaughter” and the Tradition of Biblical Lament: Stanza Two

·           Bialik’s “On the Slaughter” and the Tradition of Biblical Lament: Stanza Three

·           Bialik’s “On the Slaughter” and the Tradition of Biblical Lament: Stanza Four

Another gateway, no less sobering and no less terrifying, is the prediction of Jesus amid tears, that those who fail to recognize the things that make for peace will experience the fate reserved for Babylon according to the psalm’s conclusion:

As he drew near and came in sight of the city he wept over it and said, “If this day you only knew the things that make for peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes. The days are coming upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade around you, encircle you, and hem you in on every side; they will smash you and your children within you; they will leave not one stone on another within you. For you knew not the time of your visitation. (Luke 19:41-44)

LXX Psalm 136:9 = MT 137:8:

μακάριος ὃς κρατήσει καὶ ἐδαφιεῖ τὰ νήπιά σου πρὸς τὴν πέτραν.
Blessed the one who will seize and smash your infants against the rock!

The metaleptic phrase in Luke 19:44:

καὶ ἐδαφιοῦσίν σε καὶ τὰ τέκνα σου ἐν σοί
and they will smash you and your children in you

The operative verb, in Hebrew and Greek, is more vivid than ‘smash’ suggests. ‘Reduce to a pulp’ might be a more adequate translation of the imagery and violence it communicates. As Peterson points out, the verb  edaphidzo is used exactly once in the NT.

There are two ways to read a passage like Luke 19:41-44. (1) As a means to accuse an opponent. (2) In line with the dynamic principle of biblical prophecy, according to which the objects of God’s ferocious criticism and the heirs of his promises are one and the same. If you are unwilling to absorb the first, you have no claim on the second (more on that here - with comments by Bob MacDonald, Doug Chaplin, and Kevin Edgecomb - and here).

It is possible to come to terms with Psalm 137. Angela Erisman:

One of the things I really appreciate about texts like Ps 137 is that they confront us with the tensions that humans feel between things like morality, compassion, and vengeance. When I read that Psalm I feel both sympathy and outrage. Likewise, when I hear of a life wasted on death row, I feel both sympathy and outrage. . . . Being human and being human with God, when it's "real," is often not pretty, and we learn a lot about ourselves from such texts if we pay attention.

Mark Alterman:

I make it a point to spend a day with this Psalm when I teach "Survey of the OT" to freshmen. I try to get them to see the beauty of the Psalm, it's disturbing rage resulting from trauma, and its honesty as a prayer.

A day in college with Psalm 137, Nachman Bialik, and Johnny Cash: an excellent idea.  

Bibliography

Eugene H. Peterson, Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1989) 96, 98, 101, 102; Meir Y. Soloveichik, “The Virtue of Hate,” First Things (February 2003) here; Haskel Lookstein, “Is It Permissible to Hate?” (March 2003) here

HT: Michael Pitkowsky (for Soloveichik and Lookstein) and Marilyn Johnson (for Peterson)

Comments

[Shawshank redemption 5]

Retribution is a necessary thing in a lot of cases, but just like the argument over what is justice and what is revenge, who can say which cases? Everything relating to this is based on opinion. I personally don’t ususally share my views on the death penalty and things of that nature because it can only lead to someone else telling me that I’m wrong because it’s not the way that they feel. This subject is not black and white, in fact, it’s more like every color in the Crayola 64 color crayon box. We can all agree that bad actions deserve punishment, but the level of punishment is hardly ever agreed upon.
Psalm 137 speaks of people sad and broken over the fall of Zion, their sacred place. It was taken from them, destroyed in everyway possible, and then they were captured. Their captors tried to force them to sing the songs of Zion, but how could they? Those songs were not just words and music, they meant something to the musicians who put their hearts into them. Matisyahu, a Jewish rapper, has a song called “Jerusalem,” and I was instantly reminded of it when I read the lines “If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand wither.” In the song, he changes it to “Jerusalem, if I forget you fire not gonna come from me tongue. Jerusalem, if I forget you, let my right hand forget what it’s supposed to do.” Like the speakers in Psalm 137, Matisyahu is a musician who praises the Lord in his songs. In general, I’m not a big fan of religious music because no offense to anyone, it can be a bit cheesy or just too much. Still, just because I myself don’t show my passion for my religion often and don’t always like my music to be about that, I find it so wonderful when people can express their own passion and it such a big way. The song “Jerusalem” is so beautiful and moving to begin with, but when I learned what he was really singing about, I loved it more. Even when he just says the word Jerusalem, you can feel how much he loves his Lord. There are also many other songs by him that show his dedication and appreciation of the Lord.

[Nell 5]

Psalm 137 is a very hard chapter to understand. Some parts of it did trigger my memory from back in highschool when I was in the musical Godspell. The song “On the Willows” is interpreted from Psalm 137. In the musical, it is mourning Jesus’ final hours. It can be tied to how the people are mourning the fall of Zion. The people to turn to song to display their sadness. The very last verse of this chapter is very morbid, unless I’m interpreting it wrong. I’m also not quite sure on how it ties into the rest of the chapter. “Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!”- Psalm 137 v.9

[The Mission 4]

Nell 5

I think psalm 137.9 is talking about how revenge will be sweet so to speak.

I think that this is a sign of how they want revenge and not just justice. I think this is shown by how that they say “happy shall they be…” this is showing how they are using this idea to get-back at them instead of it being fair or just. It almost sounds like that they would find joy in it.

[Pulp Fiction 3]

Shawshank

I agree with your statements about retribution and the death penalty. Everyone has different opinions for different reasons. It is not clear what actions should deserve what punishment. You always hear people say "the punishment needs to fit the crime" but what punishment fits what crime? It is that question that gets people thinking quite a bit.

Personally, I am for the death penalty when a person purposely takes the life of another person. I believe this because by purposely killing someone you not only take a way one of gods creations, but you hurt the lives of so many other people.

[JohnFH]

Mission 4,

You are on the right track. Still, it is possible to argue that there is good and bad Schadenfreude. Go here:

http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2008/06/schadenfreude-as-a-corollary-of-justice-in-response-to-the-latter-the-former-should-follow.html

http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2008/09/psalm-52-my-schadenfreude-is-better-than-your-schadenfreude.html

[Pulp Fiction 4]

I agree with the part of this passage when it says, "One of the things I really appreciate about texts like Ps 137 is that they confront us with the tensions that humans feel between things like morality, compassion, and vengeance. When I read that Psalm I feel both sympathy and outrage. Likewise, when I hear of a life wasted on death row, I feel both sympathy and outrage. . . . Being human and being human with God, when it's "real," is often not pretty, and we learn a lot about ourselves from such texts if we pay attention." Being a Christian, I don't think that anyone would search revenge on someone else, but I feel that the death penalty is kind of an exception to the rule. When someone takes another person's life, one of God's children, there should be a price to pay. Taking away someones life affects so many people, and it changes their lives forever. However, I don't feel that it is right to get back at someone, for their wrong doing under different circumstances not involving the death penalty.

[Shawshank Redemption 4]

I agree with Shawshank Redemption 5 on this post, I was also thinking of Matisyahu when I read this post. He was showing his love and belief for his beliefs and it raises the question that SR 5 brought up. Who is to say the difference between justice and revenge. Which is the conflict that I get from this passage. To one person, justice is getting revenge on someone even though it may be illegal. But the person who is being harmed by this revenge is obviously not going to agree that it is justice. This topic will never have a final correct answer because so many people have different views on it. This then brings up the disagreement with the death penalty and abortion. There is never going to be a right answer. Psalm 137 just tries to clarify what God thinks and how Christians should handle things. And even though I am a Christian I don't agree with this passage very much.

[Dead Man Walking 3]

With Psalm 137 it tackles the debate of vengeance. So many people believe when someone does wrong unto them they want to return the favor to whoever struck first so they will feel better. At vs 3 they talk about the captors and tormentors asking to sing like they used to when they were slaves, so they could feel better about themselves. When they talk about how Jerusalem fell it makes me think of 9/11. How Bush always said we would never forget and how it impacted all of us and we wanted to attach right away with revenge. In the Bible it reads, “Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord.” He takes matter in his own hands. It is a crazy feeling though knowing somebody with so much hate is out there and you want to stop him.

[The Truman Show 5]

Psalm 137.9 is basically about revenge/vengeance. Many people think that if someone has committed wrong against you it's ok to get back at them, but that's not the case. "Two wrongs don't make a right." Besides, Jesus has told us to be non-violent/peaceful when it comes to dealing with hostility/violence. Why can't people realize this? It's not a hard concept to grasp, I guess it's just a hard concept to enact. Learn from the Lord, our god, and I believe that people should react to situations in the very way.

[Pulp Fiction 4]

I think Psalm 137 shows that sometimes revenge really is warranted, as the psalmist’s request was eventually fulfilled by God. I disagree with Dead Man Walking 3’s argument that we should not commit vengeful acts because the Lord will just take care of it. As Isaiah 10 shows, God often uses other people as his instrument of justice. Who’s to say that Bush’s attacks weren’t the will of God? While a lot of people are angry at the United States for all that it does overseas, we’ve helped so many people around the world who were being controlled by unjust rulers.

The important part is making the distinction between things that do require revenge and those that we should just let go.

[Pulp Fiction 3]

I particularly like the part that says, “Being human and being human with God, when it's "real," is often not pretty, and we learn a lot about ourselves from such texts if we pay attention." This is a very strong statement to me and I can relate to it in many ways. To break it down, being human and being human with God, mean two different things. Being human refers to how we live our day to day lives, and when we make mistakes don’t we often say, “Im only human…” What does that statement mean to you? Rather being human with God, is the part of our lives we choose to share with others and the Lord. We ask God for forgiveness of our faults, we don’t need to feel guilty about our sins because we are open about them with God. This is where we can learn a lot about ourselves, when we open ourselves to new things, and new beliefs.

[The Truman Show 3]

I would have to agree with Pulp Fiction 4 in that some revenge is warranted. However, there is a fine line in determining what warrants revenge. an assessment must be made before any revenge is taken. Who will it affect, how will it effect them, and Will others suffer? It needs to be determined whether or not revenge will do more good than harm, and only when it has been determined that revenge is a benefit should it be carried out. Mission 4 mentions justice versus revenge, which I believe to be a big factor. One should seek justice before revenge in a attempt to make right of the situation rather than intervene negatively.