Bible Strands
Psalms 137:8
O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses Babylon on behalf of the exiled community, speaking immediately after Jerusalem’s destruction and Edom’s complicity. The voice originates from the vantage point of displaced worshippers witnessing their city’s ruin.
The words — `גְּמוּלֵךְ (gemulekh)` means “your dealings” and `אַשְׁרֵי (ashrei)` translates to “blessed.” The text declares that repaying Babylon for its past actions constitutes divine approval rather than mere human vengeance.
The thread — The pattern of measured retribution against oppressive powers recurs in Revelation 18:6, Isaiah 14:4, and Jeremiah 25:12. Each passage applies the same principle of reciprocal judgment to historical enemies of God’s people.
Why it lands — The verse demands acknowledgment that justice requires proportional response to systemic violence. It forces the reader to accept that divine righteousness operates through historical consequences, not abstract mercy.
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
O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Cross-references
- Revelation 18:6 Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
- Isaiah 14:4 you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, and how his fury has ended!
- Jeremiah 25:12 But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.
- Isaiah 21:1 This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
- Isaiah 47:1 “Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate.
- Revelation 14:8 Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
- Psalms 149:6 May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a double-edged sword in their hands,
- Isaiah 13:1 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
- Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
- Jeremiah 50:1 This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans: