In Holy Scripture there are many passages difficult to understand, which ill-intentioned people misinterpret and use to criticize the Bible. Yet Scripture was written precisely in this way — to reveal the inclinations of our hearts, to expose a bad disposition, or to reward with its wisdom those who, with a good disposition, seek the true meaning and search within it for the real depth that God hid there for all of us.
A Strange Passage
A strange (at first glance) passage of Holy Scripture is found in Psalm 136 (137):7-9:
“Remember, O Lord, the sons of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said: ‘Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!’ O daughter of Babylon, wretched one — blessed shall he be who repays you the recompense you have paid us. Blessed shall he be who takes and dashes your infants against the rock.”
The reasonable question arising from this passage is the following:
How is it possible that God praises the one who will smash the infants of Babylon upon the rock? What did the poor infants do?
Various enemies of the truth — neo-pagans and atheists — hastened to use this passage to claim that Holy Scripture supposedly encourages barbarity. In doing so, however, they clearly revealed their bad disposition and received from Scripture the message fitting to their own personality.
As we have said, Scripture is “Jacob’s well,” from which each person draws according to his disposition — good or evil. Let us therefore leave the ill-intentioned to their satisfaction that they supposedly found something evil in the Bible, and let us, as Christians, see what we will draw from this well of truth.
We will present three levels of interpretation of the passage: a historical one, a prophetic one, and a spiritual one. Let each Christian draw according to his needs.
First, let us carefully examine the passage.
This Psalm was chanted by the captives who were deported from Jerusalem after its destruction in 587 BC, and before Babylon itself was destroyed in 539 BC by the Persian armies of Cyrus. Reading the Psalm from the beginning reveals the nostalgia and indignation of the Jewish refugees against Babylon and their hope of returning, according to the prophecies they knew.
The object of their anger was Babylon, the world power of the time. In this Psalm they recall what Babylon did to them — they remember their children whom the Babylonians smashed upon rocks — and they feel indignation flood them. As a result, they bless the one who will REPAY the Babylonians their wickedness so they may feel vindicated in their suffering.
This is the cry of outrage of a parent who saw his children dashed upon the stones by Babylonian soldiers and seeks recompense and justice. Let us not forget that at that time justice was expressed by the saying: “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
This was actually very advanced for its time. In an era when a man taking revenge wanted sevenfold punishment, Israel had been taught by the Law not to exceed the evil done by enemies but to repay equally. Centuries would pass before Christ taught them that perfect justice is not retaliation but forgiveness.
Within that historical framework — and according to their understanding — parents who saw their infants crushed by the Babylonians sought equal recompense, blessing the one who would repay the evil and thus bring justice according to the concepts of justice of that time.
How do we know the Babylonians did the same to their infants?
The Psalm itself states it clearly:
“Blessed shall he be who repays you the recompense you have paid us. Blessed shall he be who takes and dashes your infants against the rock.”
It clearly speaks about repayment. The Israelites singing the Psalm had seen their own infants killed in this manner by the idolaters of Babylon and were asking for justice through recompense.
Interestingly, however, they do not seek to carry out the revenge themselves. Perhaps they lacked the power, or perhaps they knew the prophecies that the repayment would indeed occur after the seventy years of Babylonian rule ended. They bless the one who will bring justice by repaying Babylon in kind.
Notice: the blessing is not because infants are killed, but because justice is repaid. The infants are mentioned because that was their deepest pain — the grief of parents who saw their children killed in this way and ask punishment of the guilty in the same manner.
This, however, would not be fulfilled by the Jews themselves but by another barbaric idolatrous nation — the Persians — who practiced the same pagan custom.
The Brutal Custom of the Pagans
The beastly and inhuman practice of the Babylonians — and other pagans — was common in that era. We see similar barbarities described in 2 Maccabees 5:13:
“There were killings of young and old, destruction of men, women, and children, and slaughter of virgins and infants.”
It was a known practice of pagan warfare at the time. It did not shock people then as it does today, but was the usual behavior of pagan conquerors when they captured a city.
Prophetic Interpretation of the Passage
Someone, however, might say:
“Fine — this Psalm may have been the cry of indignation of the exiled Jews — but what is it doing inside Holy Scripture? How does it benefit us today to have it in a sacred book?”
Let us therefore examine one aspect of this prophecy — and then another.
First of all, we must say that Holy Scripture is a prophetic book. But the understanding of prophecies — which are veiled — is not revealed to people who do not know Scripture; much less is it revealed to ill-intentioned neo-pagans and atheists.
In order to interpret Scripture correctly, one must, on the one hand, move within the framework of Orthodox doctrine and tradition, and on the other hand seek from Scripture itself to give its interpretation — or from the Holy Fathers, who are bearers of Divine Grace and have revelation from God concerning these matters.
Before proceeding to the revelation given to the saints, let us see how Scripture itself interprets the controversial passage. Let us recall it:
“Blessed is he who takes and dashes your infants against the rock.”
What is the meaning of the “Rock” in Scripture? Let us see:
“The Lord is good. As you come to Him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen and precious to God… Therefore it is also contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious; and he who believes in Him shall not be put to shame.’ To you who believe He is precious; but to those who are disobedient: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’ They stumble, being disobedient to the word.” (1 Peter 2:3-8)
So then — who is the Rock? Jesus Christ!
He whom many rejected, yet He became the cornerstone and established His Universal Church. He is the one upon whom all His enemies stumble and are shattered when they take offense at the words of His truth.
Who, then, is crushed upon this rock? Naturally, those who collide with it. For if you fall upon the rock, the rock does not break — you do! As it is written concerning the nations of the Antichrist that will clash with Christ:
“He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels.” (Revelation 2:27)
And as Moses prophesied concerning Christ:
“I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brethren like you, and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to My words which he speaks in My name, I will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:17-18)
But the passage we examine speaks about the “infants of Babylon.”
Who is the prophetic Babylon, and who are her children?
In Scripture, Babylon is called: “the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.” (Revelation 17:5)
From this we see first that “her children” are “the abominations of the earth.” But we also understand something more: since she is called their “mother,” Babylon of the Antichrist era is historically linked with ancient Babylon — for ancient Babylon is the mother of the earth’s abominations. From it spread worldwide the godless idolatry of the nations. Even pagan Greece received — directly and through Egypt — its impure idolatrous and immoral gods, such as the harlot Astarte-Aphrodite, etc.
Thus, besides being the eschatological harlot, Babylon in the prophecies of Scripture represents the timeless idolatrous and godless “Babylonian falsehood” that leads humanity away from the true God into idolatry and immorality.
Just as the Antichrist, though he will be incarnated in the last days, nevertheless already has “the spirit of the Antichrist” spread throughout the world (1 John 2:18; 4:3), so likewise beyond Babylon’s final embodiment as a pseudo-church and political-religious capital, the spirit of her fornication exists throughout history.
Her children are the abominations of the earth and all who oppose and clash with the Rock — Christ.
The Children of Babylon
The human children of Babylon are children of fornication:
“I will not have mercy on her children, for they are children of harlotry; for their mother has played the harlot.” (Hosea 2:4-5)
The prophecy of Hosea addresses this same harlot Babylon — which presents its children as children of God but in reality they are children of Satan. Christ Himself gave many indications of this:
“Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin… If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed… You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning… a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:34-45)
So these are the children of fornication — the children of Babylon and of the Devil: those who reject the word of the Lord and fight against Him; slaves of sin who practice “the abominations of the earth.”
Why Specifically the Children?
In every city and nation, its children ensure the survival of its next generation. Likewise, Babylon’s children — her spiritual descendants — ensure the continuation of her godless war and falsehood throughout history.
Therefore the prophecy calls blessed the one who will put an end to the continuing existence of these children of fornication — the one who leaves no remainder of falsehood on earth so that Christ’s truth and justice may prevail.
The primary “blessed one,” of course, is Christ Himself: “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” (1 Timothy 6:15)
No Remnant Will Remain
Repeatedly the children of Babylon destroyed the children of God’s Church whenever the Church moved away from Him and lost His protection. Yet God always preserved a remnant for salvation:
“The captives of the mighty shall be taken away… I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children.” (Isaiah 49:25)
But regarding Babylon, Christ will leave no remnant:
“I will raise against Babylon a destroying wind… do not spare her young men; destroy all her army.” (Jeremiah 51:1-3)
At her final fall, no descendants will remain to continue her godless policy. Her power will vanish as if burned by fire:
“Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.” (Revelation 18:19-21)
Therefore the reference to Babylon’s children shows that nothing of her will remain — her fall will be final and irreversible.
Why Are They Called “Infants”?
The term does not indicate innocence. There is no innocence in the children of fornication who fight against God — and God does not punish the innocent.
The word “infants” has another meaning:
“That we should no longer be infants, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.” (Ephesians 4:14)
“When we were infants, we were enslaved under the elements of the world… you served those which by nature are not gods.” (Galatians 4:3,8)
Thus they are called “infants” to emphasize their enslavement to falsehood and idolatry, far from the true God.
Conclusion of the Prophetic Meaning
Now the prophetic picture becomes clear.
The infants who will be dashed upon the rock are the idolaters and abominations of the earth — the true children of the harlot Babylon — who fight against Christ, the Rock upon which they stumble and are shattered.
Spiritual – Hesychastic Interpretation
However, from this very same verse the hesychasts also draw strengthening for their spiritual journey. And this drawing is made upon the same foundation:
Christ is the Rock; Babylon is spiritual confusion and corruption; and the infants of Babylon are evil thoughts, which — when they grow — become sin. For this reason the Christian must destroy evil thoughts from the very beginning of their formation, while they are still “infants” and merely “thoughts,” before they grow and are transformed into a sinful act. And these thoughts are shattered upon the Rock who is Christ, as the Christian, through the prayer of the heart, recites the most sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thus repels the thoughts of the evil one.
Thus, through watchfulness (nepsis) and the guarding of the mind, a person conquers sin and becomes “blessed.”
The Liturgical Use of This Passage
In the Lenten Triodion, Psalm 136 (Septuagint numbering, often Psalm 137 in Masoretic texts) is a poignant hymn of exile titled "By the Waters of Babylon". It serves as a spiritual alarm, calling the faithful to recognize their own "exile" from God due to sin as they prepare for Great Lent.
Thus, in the Orthodox tradition, this Psalm is uniquely sung at Matins (the morning service) only three times a year:
- Sunday of the Prodigal Son
- Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare Sunday)
- Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare Sunday)
It is chanted immediately following the Polyeleos (Psalms 134 and 135), adding a somber, penitential tone to the otherwise joyful hymns of praise.
Thematic Significance
The Cry of Exile: The Psalm recounts the sorrow of the Israelites in Babylonian captivity, weeping for Zion. In the Triodion, this is interpreted as the soul's lament for the loss of Paradise.
Spiritual Vigilance: The famous closing verses regarding the "dashing of infants against the rock" are understood allegorically by Church Fathers as the necessity of destroying sinful thoughts (the "infants" of the passions) while they are still small, before they grow into destructive vices.
Call to Repentance: By singing "How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?", the Church prompts the believer to "come to themselves" (like the Prodigal Son) and begin the journey back to their true home.
More on the Misunderstood Passage
In the context of the Lenten Triodion, verse 9 ("Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock") is interpreted spiritually and allegorically rather than literally. The Church Fathers (such as St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom) provide the following framework for this verse:
The "Little Ones" as Passions: The "infants" or "little ones" of Babylon represent the first stirrings of sinful thoughts (logismoi) and passions. Just as an infant grows into a powerful adult, a small temptation, if left unchecked, grows into a destructive habit or vice.
Dashing Them Against the Rock: This action symbolizes the need for immediate spiritual vigilance. The believer is called to "dash" or destroy these sinful thoughts while they are still "infants" — at the very moment they enter the mind — before they gain strength.
The Rock is Christ: The "Rock" in this verse is identified as Christ. This means that one destroys evil thoughts by immediately bringing them to God through prayer (such as the so-called Jesus Prayer or Prayer of the Heart) and relying on His strength rather than one's own.
In short, the verse serves as a rigorous call to watchfulness (nepsis) and ascetic effort at the start of the Lenten journey.
Conclusion
But since the vessel of our spirituality is small, it is not sufficient for us to draw more water from the inexhaustible water of life contained in this passage. From the same passage a spiritual father could draw far more for the instruction of the Church.
So then, this is the reason this passage exists in Holy Scripture — so that each may draw what he needs:
- the historian: the evidence of the idolatrous barbarity of ancient times
- the faithful interpreter: its prophetic elements
- and the hesychast: those elements that will lead him to greater watchfulness
As for the ill-intentioned person who reads this verse — he is scandalized and stumbles upon this Rock who is Christ. For he is an infant and enslaved to the elements of the world and does not understand spiritual things, but instead seeks evil thoughts against Christ. Therefore his end is to be shattered upon the very Christ whom he despised.
