Psalms

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Psalm 137

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. 2 On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps, 3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: “Sing for us a song about Zion!” 4 How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled. 6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy. 7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!”⁠ 8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated, how blessed will be the one who repays you for what you dished out to us.⁠ 9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies and smashes them on a rock.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Obadiah 1:11 and Psalm 137:7

Hebrew Bible

Summary

Psalm 137 and Obadiah recall Edom’s acts during the fall of Jerusalem, portraying them as complicit in the city’s destruction. The psalm frames this memory as part of a personal and communal lament, while Obadiah develops it into a prophetic indictment.

Passages

Obadiah 1:11

Hebrew Bible

9 Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone will be destroyed from Esau’s mountain! 10 “Because you violently slaughtered your relatives, the people of Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed forever. 11 You stood aloof while strangers took his army captive and foreigners advanced to his gates. When they cast lots over Jerusalem, you behaved as though you were in league with them. 12 You should not have gloated when your relatives suffered calamity. You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed. You should not have boasted when they suffered adversity.

600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Obadiah

Psalm 137:7

Hebrew Bible

6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy. 7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!” 8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated, how blessed will be the one who repays you for what you dished out to us. 9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies and smashes them on a rock.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... There are exegetical issues in both Obadiah and Jeremiah, and such issues will be treated in this chapter in order to balance the study. As earlier mentioned, Obadiah mentioned the crime Edom committed against Judah but Jeremiah is silent about it. Also, there are textual and grammatical problems between Obadiah and Jeremiah; these issues will be analyzed and finally the study will conclude with evidence to show that Obadiah and Jeremiah 49:14-16 both prophesied the message of doom which serves as a response to the lament in Psalm 137:7-9 ..."

Ngozi Blessing Anucha, “An Intertextual Study of the Book of Obadiah” (MA diss., University of Wales Lampeter, 2011), 41.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Obadiah 1:11 and Psalm 137:7

Summary

Passages

Obadiah 1:11

Psalm 137:7

References

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