1 By the rivers of Babylonwe sit down and weepwhen we remember Zion.
2 On the poplars in her midstwe hang our harps,
3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs;those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:“Sing for us a song about Zion!”
4 How can we sing a song to the Lordin a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,may my right hand be crippled!
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,if I do not remember you,and do not give Jerusalem priorityover whatever gives me the most joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites didon the day Jerusalem fell.They said, “Tear it down, tear it down,right to its very foundation!”
8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated!How blessed will be the one who repays youfor what you dished out to us!
9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babiesand smashes them on a rock!