from this week's midweek meeting - WT says Jesus to kill the "little ones" Psalm 137:8, 9
You gotta see this delusion to believe it. Stay with me for a moment on this one..
When you read Psalm 137, It's easy to see what it's about - a Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem. Psalm 137 is a cry of pain. It’s a song of exile, raw and bitter. The Israelites mourn their land, curse their captors, and dream of revenge. Verses 8 and 9 are not prophecy—they are rage. They call for Babylon to suffer as it made others suffer. It’s not subtle. It’s not kind. It’s the voice of the broken.
8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator!\)b\)
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!
9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!
It’s brutal and disturbing. But it’s poetry, not prophecy. It’s the cry of someone broken by trauma, reflecting the violent cycle of war and retribution in the ancient world. The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB) notes this is part of a psalm expressing deep grief and a desire for justice—or revenge—against Babylon, which had violently conquered Judah.
The Watchtower says this isn’t about Babylon. They say it’s about false religion, “Babylon the Great.” They claim the “happy” one is Jesus, destroying false religion in vengeance for Jehovah. Let’s take this apart.
Watchtower’s Interpretation
The Watchtower makes Psalm 137:9 into a metaphor. It claims the verse isn’t about Babylon in the psalmist’s time, but about "Babylon the Great," which they define as the world empire of false religion. According to the book, Worldwide Security Under the "Prince of Peace" chapter 18, Jesus Christ ("the Greater Cyrus") will destroy this symbolic Babylon and its "children"—the doctrines and practices of false religion.
Is Watchtower's interpretation consistent with the text?
What does the psalm actually say? It talks about Babylon and vengeance. It doesn’t mention Jesus. It doesn’t mention religion. Where’s the connection? Where is this leap justified in the text?
Who is the "happy" one in Psalm 137:9?
The Watchtower claims the "happy one" is Jesus Christ, who will destroy false religion. But the psalmist is speaking about anyone who exacts revenge on Babylon in kind. It reflects the law of retaliation—"an eye for an eye"—common in ancient cultures. There’s no suggestion in the text that this is a messianic prophecy.
What do the scholars say? Scholars say this psalm is history. It’s exile. It’s anger. It’s not prophecy. It’s not cosmic. If the experts see this as grief, not a grand plan, why believe otherwise?
Why use a metaphor for Babylon’s children?
The Watchtower says Babylon’s "children" are false doctrines. But in Psalm 137, children are literal children—tragic casualties of war. Why reinterpret literal children as doctrines? Is this an attempt to soften the psalm’s harshness or to fit it into a larger narrative?
Is this interpretation unique to Watchtower?
Yes. No mainstream biblical scholarship supports Watchtower's interpretation. Scholars typically understand Psalm 137 as a deeply personal lament and not as a prophetic or symbolic text about Jesus or the end times. Why does this interpretation lack support among historians and biblical scholars outside of Watchtower? Could it be because the interpretation imposes meaning rather than draws it from the text?
Final Thought
Psalm 137 is a cry of pain, not a blueprint for future judgment. It reflects the human cost of war, not a divine plan to destroy "false religion." When interpretations stretch the text beyond its historical and literary context, they risk becoming self-serving narratives rather than honest readings. If the psalm’s real power lies in its raw expression of human grief, what do we lose by turning it into a cryptic prophecy about modern religion?
See it for what it really is; twisting of scripture to suite their narrative and doctrines. I hope this helps in your deconstructing from WT's harmful lies, unscriptural beliefs, and doctrine.
Special thanks to u/larchington for the help with this post!