Dashing Little Ones Against the Rock? (Psalm 137:9)

Some argue that the God of the Bible is immoral because Psalm 137:9 says that someone who dashes “little ones” against the rock is blessed. However, when properly interpreted, there is simply no moral problem with Psalm 137:9.

Psalm 137:9 – Dashing Little Ones Against the Rock

Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!

Psalm 137:9

The Answer

Prayers for Vengeance and Justice Are Not Necessarily Sinful

The context of Psalm 137:9 is that the Israelites have been taken captive by the nation of Babylon and were suffering greatly.

The Psalmist is basically trusting God to be just in dealing with the Babylonians. He knows that God will ultimately utterly destroy the nation of Babylon, and he is saying that the person who carries out God’s promise of faithfulness to the Israelites by destroying the nation of Babylon is blessed.

The concept of dashing “little ones” against the rock represents the complete destruction of the Babylonian nation, and it is not wrong because every single person in the world, including “little ones,” is guilty of sin before God and deserving of death.

The Psalmist is not calling for the specific targeting of “little ones,” but is rather speaking more generically of God redeeming the people of Israel from the Babylonians through the destruction of the entire Babylonian nation.

Foundational Principles Regarding Bible Difficulties

There are some foundational principles that apply to all alleged and apparent contradictions in the Bible. To read more, see Bible Difficulties: Foundational Principles.

Related to Dashing Little Ones Against the Rock

To read more answers to alleged and apparent contradictions in the Bible, see “Contradictions” in the Bible Answered.

These books are also excellent resources:

• Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 1 – Ken Ham
• Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 2 – Tim Chaffrey