Psalms 137:7
in Psalms 137Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom The day of Jerusalem; Who said, Rase it, rase it, Even to the foundation thereof.
KJV
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
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This verse in Psalms 137
Commentary
9 notes on this verseRemember, 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, Oba 1:
This site's exposition
Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom
The prayer turns to Edom and quotes what Edom said on the day Jerusalem fell, to tear the city down to its foundations. Edom descends from Esau, Jacob's brother, and Obadiah 10 to 14 charges him with violence against that brother. The psalm asks the LORD to remember it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom, in the day of Jerusalem. Edom is interpreted as "earthly" and "bloody." Who then is this, if not the devil? See, then, what he says. This is spoken in the person of Adam: "Lord, remember how the serpent, the devil — who is understood to be Nebuchadnezzar — deceived me and dragged me off, and cast me out of paradise. Remember and repay him, and let him feel the punishment which he by his own malice brought upon me, dragging me and leading me into Babylon and to the Assyrians."
Then he turneth to God in prayer against the enemies of that city. "Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom" (ver. 7). Edom is the same who is also called Esau: for ye heard just now the words of the Apostle read, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." ...Esau then signifieth all the carnal, Jacob all the spiritual. ...All carnal persons are enemies to spiritual persons, for all such, desiring present things, persecute those whom they see to long for things eternal. Against these the Psalmist, looking back to Jerusalem, and beseeching God that he may be delivered from captivity, saith-what? "Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom." Deliver us from carnal men, from those who imitate Esau, who are elder brethren, yet enemies. They were first-born, but the last-born have won the pre-eminence, for the lust of the flesh hath cast down the former, the contempt of lust hath lifted up the latter. The other live, and envy, and persecute. "In the day of Jerusalem." The day of Jerusalem, wherein it was tried, wherein it was held captive, or the day of Jerusalem's happiness, wherein it is freed, wherein it reaches its goal, wherein it is made partaker of eternity? "Remember," saith he, "O Lord," forget not those "who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof." Remember then, it means, that day wherein they willed to overthrow Jerusalem. For how great persecutions hath the Church suffered! How did the children of Edom, that is, carnal men, servants of the devil and his angels, who worshipped stocks and stones, and followed the lusts of the flesh, how did they say, "Extirpate the Christians, destroy the Christians, let not one remain, overthrow them even to the foundation!" Have not these things been said? And when they were said, the persecutors were rejected, the martyrs crowned. ...
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They remembered Zion's former glory and the satisfaction they had had in Zion's courts, Lam. i. Jerusalem remembered, in the days of her misery, all her pleasant things which she had in the days of old, Ps. xlii. They remembered Zion's present desolations, and favoured the dust thereof, which was a good sign that the time for God to favour it was not far off, Ps. cii.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem. The case is left in Jehovah's hands. He is a God of recompenses, and will deal out justice with impartiality. The Edomites ought to have been friendly with the Israelites, from kinship; but there was a deep hatred and cruel spite displayed by them. The elder loved not to serve the younger, and so when Jacob's day of tribulation came, Esau was ready to take advantage of it.
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem. The case is left in Jehovah's hands. He is a God of recompenses, and will deal out justice with impartiality. The Edomites ought to have been friendly with the Israelites, from kinship; but there was a deep hatred and cruel spite displayed by them. The elder loved not to serve the younger, and so when Jacob's day of tribulation came, Esau was ready to take advantage of it. The captive Israelites being moved by grief to lodge their complaints with God, also added a prayer for his visitation of the nation which meanly sided with their enemies, and even Urged the invaders to more than their usual cruelty. Who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. They wished to see the last of Jerusalem and the Jewish state; they would have no stone left standing, they desired to see a clean sweep of temple, palace, wall, and habitation. It is horrible for neighbours to be enemies, worse for them to show their enmity in times of great affliction, worst of all for neighbours to egg others on to malicious deeds. Those are responsible for other men's sins who would use them as the tools of their own enmity. It is a shame for men to incite the wicked to deeds which they are not able to perform themselves. The Chaldeans were ferocious enough without being excited to greater fury; but Edom's hate was insatiable. Those deserve to be remembered by vengeance who in evil times do not remember mercy; how much more those who take advantage of calamities to wreak revenge upon sufferers. When Jerusalem's day of restoration comes Edom will be remembered and wiped out of existence.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Remember - the children of Edom - It appears from Jer 12:6; Jer 25:14; Lam 4:21, Lam 4:22; Eze 25:12; Oba 1:11-14; that the Idumeans joined the army of Nebuchadnezzar against their brethren the Jews; and that they were main instruments in rasing the walls of Jerusalem even to the ground.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom - The Edomites; the people of Idumea. On the situation of Edom or Idumea, see introductory notes to Isa. 34. In the day of Jerusalem - In the day when Jerusalem shall be restored; in the day when punishment shall be inflicted on the nations that destroyed it; then, do not forget the Edomites, who took so large and so active a part in its overthrow. This is to be understood as a continued “remembrance” of Zion; as a purpose not to “forget” Jerusalem. The psalmist, representing the feelings of the captives in Babylon, says, that so far from doing anything which would imply a forgetfulness of their native land - as singing cheerful songs there might be understood to be, they would do everything to call Jerusalem to remembrance. They would remember her former splendor; they would remember her desolations; they would go further - they would not forget those who had brought these calamities upon her; those who had done most for her overthrow. As among the most prominent, they would remember particularly the ancient; enemies of their nation - the Edomites - who had been among the most active in its destruction, and who had united with the Babylonians in the work of ruin. They would remember all this; and they prayed God that he also would remember the desolation itself, and all the actors in that work of desolation. Who said - Implying that they had been associated with the Babylonians in the destruction of the city. On the hostility of that people to the Hebrews, and the grounds of their hostility - and on their agency as united with the Babylonians in destroying Jerusalem, and the divine vengeance threatened them on that account - see, as above, the introduction to Isa. 34. Rase it, rase it - Margin, as in Hebrew, make bare. That is, Strip it of everything - temple, houses, ornaments, fountains - and leave it a bare and naked rock. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
If I do not bring up Jerusalem The remembrance of the mourning of its destruction I shall bring up to mention at the head of every joyous occasion of mine.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זְכֹ֤ר | zekhor | remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| יְהוָ֨ה׀ | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לִבְנֵ֬י | livnei | to [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֱד֗וֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
| אֵת֮ | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| י֤וֹם | yom | [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| יְֽרוּשָׁ֫לִָ֥ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| הָ֭אֹ֣מְרִים | haomerim | who were saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עָ֤רוּ׀ | ʾaru | lay bare | H6168 → | 15 times |
| עָ֑רוּ | ʾaru | lay bare | H6168 → | 15 times |
| עַ֝֗ד | ʾad | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיְס֥וֹד | haysod | the foundation | H3247 → | |
| בָּֽהּ׃ | bah | in it |
זְכֹ֤רremember
zekhorH2142 →230 times
יְהוָ֨ה׀O Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לִבְנֵ֬יto [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
אֱד֗וֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
אֵת֮<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
י֤וֹם[the] day of
yomH3117 →2304 times
יְֽרוּשָׁ֫לִָ֥םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
הָ֭אֹ֣מְרִיםwho were saying
haomerimH559 →5305 times
עָ֤רוּ׀lay bare
ʾaruH6168 →15 times
עָ֑רוּlay bare
ʾaruH6168 →15 times
עַ֝֗דto
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הַיְס֥וֹדthe foundation
haysodH3247 →
בָּֽהּ׃in it
bah
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 35:2“Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it,
it leads to
- Ezekiel 6:2
“Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.
- Ezekiel 25:8
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,”
- Genesis 32:3
Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
- Ezekiel 21:2
“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel
- 2 Chronicles 20:22–23
The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.
- Ezekiel 6:2
Where this verse is studied
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About Psalms

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceTransjordanEdomThe highland nation descended from Esau that refused Israel passage on the King's Highway, and whose pride the prophets answered.
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 137; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jerome, Homily 48, on Psalm 136; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
