Psalms 137

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

2 There on the willows we hung our harps,

2 On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps.

3 for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.”

3 For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?

4 How can we sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.

5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.

6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!

6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t remember you, if I don’t prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy.

7 Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”

7 Remember, Yahweh, against the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze it! Raze it even to its foundation!”

8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.

8 Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us.

9 Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

9 Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock.