1By the rivers of Babylonwe sit down and weepwhen we remember Zion.
2On the poplars in her midstwe hang our harps,
3for 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!”
4How can we sing a song to the Lordin a foreign land?
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,may my right hand be crippled!
6May 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.
7Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites didon the day Jerusalem fell.They said, “Tear it down, tear it down,right to its very foundation!”
8O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated!How blessed will be the one who repays youfor what you dished out to us!
9How blessed will be the one who grabs your babiesand smashes them on a rock!