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By the Rivers of Babylon

Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon,
we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
For there our captors demanded songs
and our tormentors asked for joy:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
How can we sing a song of Adonai in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I cease to remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem above my chief joy.
Remember, Adonai, the children of Edom,
what they said on the day Jerusalem fell:
“Strip her, strip her to her very foundation!”
O daughter of Babylon, the devastated one,
happy is the one who repays you
as you have paid us.
Happy is the one who seizes your little ones
and dashes them upon the rock.

Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon(A) we sat and wept(B)
    when we remembered Zion.(C)
There on the poplars(D)
    we hung our harps,(E)
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)

How can we sing the songs of the Lord(I)
    while in a foreign land?
If I forget you,(J) Jerusalem,
    may my right hand forget its skill.
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.

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)
Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,(Q)
    happy is the one who repays you
    according to what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who seizes your infants
    and dashes them(R) against the rocks.