Bible Strands
Psalms 137:7
Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses Yahweh during the Babylonian exile, specifically on the day Jerusalem fell. He petitions God to recall the sons of Edom who demanded the city's complete demolition.
The words — The imperative זְכֹר (ze.Khor) means "remember," directing divine attention to a specific historical moment. The noun phrase לִבְנֵי אֱדוֹם (li/v.Nei 'e.Dom) literally identifies "the sons of Edom" as the speakers demanding Jerusalem's ruin.
The thread — The psalm’s reference to Edom corresponds to judgment oracles in Lamentations 4:21, Jeremiah 49:7, and Ezekiel 25:12. These passages treat Edom as a recipient of divine reckoning, with only Ezekiel 25:12 explicitly noting Edom's vengeful actions against Judah.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of specific historical violence without offering theological justification for it. A reader must acknowledge the psalmist's raw petition for divine memory while distinguishing the recorded words from later doctrinal inferences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
Cross-references
- Lamentations 4:21 So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.
- Jeremiah 49:7 Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
- Ezekiel 25:12 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt,
- Obadiah 1:10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.
- 1 Samuel 15:2 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt.
- Psalms 74:18 Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
- Ezekiel 35:2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it,
- Amos 1:11 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly.
- Habakkuk 3:13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, to save Your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked and stripped him from head to toe. Selah
- Exodus 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”