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Lenten Season · Fourth Sunday of Lent · Year B

Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 (6ab)

By the Rivers of Babylon

March 7, 2027

The Mourning Jews in Exile (Die trauernden Juden im Exil), Eduard Bendemann
The Mourning Jews in Exile (Die trauernden Juden im Exil), Eduard Bendemann, 1832Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne
A German Romantic painting that made its painter's name at twenty-one: a group by the water with their instruments put down, painted in muted earth colours.By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and there we wept. On the willows there we hung up our harps.Eduard BendemannA German painter of the Düsseldorf school, who made his name at twenty-one with a scene of Jewish exile and later ran the academy.Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, CologneCologne's oldest museum, founded on a canon's bequest in 1824, strongest in medieval Cologne painting.Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne
Roman Lectionary
GospelJohn 3:14-21Jn 3:14-21Alt. GospelIf Second Scrutiny of the Elect: John 9:1-41If Second Scrutiny of the Elect: Jn 9:1-41 orJohn 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38Jn 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38
Second ReadingEph. 2:4-10Eph 2:4-10Alt. 2nd ReadingIf Second Scrutiny of the Elect: Ephesians 5:8-14If Second Scrutiny of the Elect: Eph 5:8-14
First Reading2 Chron. 36:14-16, 19-232 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23Alt. 1st ReadingIf Second Scrutiny of the Elect: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13aIf Second Scrutiny of the Elect: 1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Responsorial PsalmPs. 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 (6ab)Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 (6ab)Alt. PsalmIf Second Scrutiny of the Elect: Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, (1)If Second Scrutiny of the Elect: Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, (1)

Overview & Insights

“By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.” (Psalm 137:1)

Most psalms are cherished by Christians; this one is not. Its closing verses strike us as unimaginable cruelty. This corporate prayer psalm is clearly set in the Babylonian exile. We must understand what was at stake here for the exiled people of Judah. Deportation by the Babylonians was cruel: Judah lost not only a homeland but also the temple where their God had revealed himself, the king through whom God exercised his rule, and the land through which God blessed his people. Both their existence as a people and their faith in God were jeopardized. Christians may have difficulty identifying with such a localized religion (see esp. v. 4), but at this point of Yahweh’s progressive revelation, place was very much tied to people—God’s people.

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Take it further: Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 (6ab)

Commentary

Enduring Word Commentary: Psalm 137Enduring Word Commentary: Ps 137 Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse-by-verse notes on the lament of the exiles by the rivers of Babylon.

Psalm 137:1 CommentariesPs 137:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregated classic commentaries on weeping by the waters of Babylon and remembering Jerusalem.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 137 - SefariaPs 137 - Sefaria Sefaria

Hebrew text of the exile lament with classical Jewish commentary and translation.

Psalm 137:1 InterlinearPs 137:1 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew word-by-word interlinear with parsing and Strong's numbers for the passage.

The Church Fathers

Catena Bible: Psalm 137Catena Bible: Ps 137 Catena

Patristic and medieval comment chained verse by verse across Psalm 137.

Questions preachers ask

What is Psalm 137?

The lament of the exiles who hung up their harps by the rivers of Babylon, unable to sing the Lord's song in a foreign land, yet refusing to forget Jerusalem.

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