Can anyone help me with this verse from Psalms?

Question

Psalms 137:8-9 - “0 daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.”

In this verse is God requiring child sacrifice via stoning or bludgeoning? I'm really not sure. Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

Sounds like the writer assumes that people who smash their children against rocks will be happy. Now that to me, is a little weird.

Answer 2

Noooo!! That is not what these verses mean. The King James version is quite difficult to understand. I would recommend another version until you are very familiar with the Bible if you wish to understand, particularly study bibles in the New King James version or NIV. Anyways, those verses make more sense when you read Psalm 137 as a whole.

HISTORY OF PSALM 137 TO EXPLAIN:
The Jews lived in Judah. The country of Babylon was 1000 kilometres to the east. In 586 B.C., the soldiers from Babylon destroyed the capital city of Judah--> Jerusalem. They took the people that lived there as prisoners to Babylon. The psalmist remembered this when he went home. He also remembered that they could not sing songs about the Lord in Babylon. Now he was home again and he hoped that somebody would destroy Babylon as Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem.

EXPLANATIONS:
Verses 1-3 The psalmist is remembering how the people of Babylon made them sad and mocked them. They asked them to sing and make music on harps.

Verses 4-6 They could not sing to the Lord in a foreign land. The right hand played the harp, the tongue sang the words. It is the covenant name. A covenant is when two people (or groups of people) agree. God agreed to love and send help to his people. They agreed to love and obey God.

Verses 7-9 Edom was a country to the south-east of Judah. It was an enemy of Judah. When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, Edom was very happy! Now the psalmist says that soon someone will destroy Babylon, which did occur.

Hope this helps, God bless :)

Answer 3

No, the writer is captive in Babylon at the time after just witnessing the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. He spends the first part stating how he will remember his homeland and the second part which includes verses 8 and 9, he is crying out for this act to have been repaid to both Edom and Babylon what had just happen to his home and perhaps even his own family. Nothing relating to child sacrifice, but rather crying for justice because the children of Jerusalem were killed when Babylon invaded.

Answer 4

Try to look at this New International Version(NIV). The Babylonians were the enemy to many, they destroyed many nations, so a lot of nations shared animosity towards them. David is writting this, and it's talking about how it would be better to destroy everyone even the babies and children so none of the future Babylonians can rise to take power again. It has nothing to do with human sacrifice. Only destroying an ENTIRE evil nation so no one resumes power
8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is he who repays you
for what you have done to us-

9 he who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.

Answer 5

Verses could desire to be taken in context, and with the Bible's very own rationalization. 2 Peter a million:20 specifically, you are able to desire to understand that no prophecy of Scripture got here approximately via the prophet’s very own interpretation of issues. Psalm a million 5 hence the depraved won't stand interior the judgment, nor sinners interior the assembly of the righteous. Psalm 20:8 they're dropped at their knees and fall, yet we upward thrust up and stand organization. Romans 14:4 who're you to decide somebody else’s servant? To their very very own grasp, servants stand or fall. and that they're going to stand, for the Lord is in a position to cause them to stand. a million Corinthians 10:12 So, in case you think of you're status organization, be cautious which you don’t fall! The Gospel (stable information) of God in a nutshell is: a million Timothy 4:10 ...we've placed our desire interior the dwelling God, who's the Saviour of ALL (mankind) particularly of people who have faith. Isaiah 26:9 ...whilst your judgements come across the earth, the human beings of the worldwide study RIGHTEOUSNESS... - no longer BURN IN HELL hearth. Any scriptures that seem to contradict have been mistranslated or misunderstood.

Answer 6

Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

4 How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?

5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raise it, raise it, even to the foundation thereof.

8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

This is a prayer of the Jews that they cried hoping that all punishment and woes that befallen them would be returned upon the Babylonians. God would not ever want us to sacrifices a child because He never wanted to sacrifices his own (Jesus).

Answer 7

This is answered in the New Testemant book of revelation.

Babylon will come to power again. her daughter will be the Great Whore.

http://www.kingdom-gospel.com/end.html

Revelation 17 MKJV
1 ¶ And one of the seven angels who had the seven vials came and talked with me, saying to me, Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot sitting on many waters,
2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and became drunk with the wine of her fornication, those inhabiting the earth.
3 And he carried me away into a desert by the Spirit. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, filled with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Please notice that the woman is riding the Beast. Thus they are 2 different things.

4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet. And she was gilded with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
5 And on her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with a great marveling.

9 And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.
10 And there are seven kings; five have fallen, and one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have received no kingdom yet, but will receive authority as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

This describes the Anti-christ, whom is the beast.

14 ¶ These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them. For He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those with Him are the called and elect and faithful ones.
15 And he says to me, The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues,

Now read the following carefully:

16 and the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked. And they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
17 For God gave into their hearts to do His mind, and to act with one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God will be fulfilled.
18 And the woman whom you saw is the great city which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.

Here we read that the anti-christ and his government hates the whore and will destroy it. We seen earlier that she rides the beast.

Answer 8

No but God is a God of Love and Justice. When the Jews ran after sin He used Babylon to destroy them and carry then away. Then because the Jews returned to their home land still His chosen people then He allowed Babylon to be destroyed.

Answer 9

This passage is easier to understand in NIV: "O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is he who repays you
for what you have done to us—
he who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks."

I think that David (or who ever is writing this) is talking about how Babylon would take the Jews children and kill them. I'm not sure if there is a record of the Babylonians doing such things, or if this is an analogy for something else. This in NO way is saying that God wants children sacrifices. It's simply saying that Babylon did horrible things to God's chosen people, and it was time for it to stop.

Answer 10

That is David talking in that verse that Babylon deserved that because Babylon had done that to Israel and much more besides !!! Don't isolate that verse out from the rest of the chapter !!!

Answer 11

How about thinking along the lines of NOT teaching the little ones as the older ones do. Even today, we have prejudices that are passed on generations after generations and down the line we believe at least some of what we've seen, heard or been taught. Not good but factual. Rewards are in the serving or respecting or acceptance of another or others. Hatred, anger and evil has no reward. True?