Psalms 137:7

7 Remember, ADONAI, against the people of Edom the day of Yerushalayim's fall, how they cried, "Tear it down! Tear it down! Raze it to the ground!"

Psalms 137:7 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 137:7

Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of
Jerusalem
Of her visitation, calamity, and destruction, how they behaved then, and them for it; who, though the children of Esau and brethren of the Jews, as well as their neighbours, yet hated them; the old grudge of their father, because of the birthright and blessing, as well as the old enmity of the serpent, continuing in them; and who rejoiced at their ruin, helped forward their affliction, and were assistants to the Babylonians in the plunder and destruction of them, ( Obadiah 1:11-14 ) . The Targum is,

``Michael, the prince of Jerusalem, said, remember, O Lord, the people of Edom who destroyed Jerusalem.''

Many Jewish writers, as Aben Ezra observes, interpret this of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans:

who said, rase [it], rase [it even] to the foundation thereof:
or "make [it] naked" or "bare F9 to the foundation"; pull down its walls, lay them level with the ground; root up the very foundation of them, and let nothing be left or seen but the bare naked ground; so spiteful and malicious were they.


FOOTNOTES:

F9 (wre) "nudate", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt.

Psalms 137:7 In-Context

5 If I forget you, Yerushalayim, may my right hand wither away!
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I fail to count Yerushalayim the greatest of all my joys.
7 Remember, ADONAI, against the people of Edom the day of Yerushalayim's fall, how they cried, "Tear it down! Tear it down! Raze it to the ground!"
8 Daughter of Bavel, you will be destroyed! A blessing on anyone who pays you back for the way you treated us!
9 A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies and smashes them against a rock!
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.