Sitting in a coffee shop in Manhattan, listening to Bob Marley’s “By the Rivers of Babylon.” So soulful and evocative. The loss of and longing for home. The alienation and despair of finding oneself among people for whom you’re an oddity. Few people know that the lyrics are straight out of the Bible — Psalm 137, to be exact — and reflect one of the most significant moments, a serious turning-point in biblical history: the defeat and exile of ancient Israelites by Babylonians. Marley’s rendition captures the moment beautifully even as it recasts the biblical poem in a modern context.
