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Psalm 137:5-7
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 137:5-7
New Catholic Bible
5 [a]If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand fail me.
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not regard Jerusalem
as the greatest of my joys.
7 [b]Remember, O Lord, the cruelty of the Edomites
on the day when Jerusalem fell,[c]
how they shouted, “Tear it down!
Tear it down to its very foundations!”
Footnotes
- Psalm 137:5 The exiles could not forget Jerusalem and what it symbolized: covenant, temple, God’s presence and kingship, atonement, forgiveness, and reconciliation. They vowed to wait for the redemption promised by God.
- Psalm 137:7 See notes on Pss 5:11; 35.
- Psalm 137:7 On the day when Jerusalem fell: literally, “the day of Jerusalem” or “that day at Jerusalem.” The “day” in question is either the ninth day of the fourth month (June–July 587 B.C.) when the Babylonians broke through the walls of Jerusalem (see Jer 39:2; 52:7) or the tenth day of the fifth month (July–August 587 B.C.) when the temple was set afire (see Jer 52:12; Zec 7:5; 8:19). The Edomites collaborated with the besiegers and did everything they could to disgrace Judah and keep the people from escaping (see Lam 4:21f; Ezek 25:12; 35:12; Ob 11), and their name became a symbol of Israel’s enemies, as well as an object of the Lord’s judgments (see Isa 63:1-4; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:8, 12-14; 35; Ob 1-21).
