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Psalm 137
Easy-to-Read Version
Psalm 137
Easy-to-Read Version
137 We sat by the rivers in Babylon
and cried as we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps nearby, there on the willow trees.[a]
3 There in Babylon, those who captured us told us to sing.
Our enemies told us to entertain them.
They said, “Sing us one of your songs about Zion.”
4 But we cannot sing the Lord’s songs
in a foreign country!
5 Jerusalem, if I ever forget you,
may I never play a song again.
6 If I fail to remember you,
may I never sing again.
I will always remember Jerusalem
as my greatest joy!
7 Lord, be sure to punish the Edomites for what they did
when Jerusalem was captured.
They shouted, “Destroy its buildings!
Pull them down to the ground!”
8 Babylon, you will be destroyed!
Bless the one who pays you back for what you did to us.
9 Bless the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them against a rock.
Footnotes
- Psalm 137:2 These instruments were used to praise God in the Temple in Jerusalem. Since it was destroyed, the people had no reason to play the songs.
Psalm 137
New International Version
Psalm 137
New International Version
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon(A) we sat and wept(B)
when we remembered Zion.(C)
2 There on the poplars(D)
we hung our harps,(E)
3 for there our captors(F) asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded(G) songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”(H)
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord(I)
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you,(J) Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof(K) of my mouth
if I do not remember(L) you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem(M)
my highest joy.
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites(N) did
on the day Jerusalem fell.(O)
“Tear it down,” they cried,
“tear it down to its foundations!”(P)
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,(Q)
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them(R) against the rocks.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.