Psalms 137

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

When we sat down by the rivers of Babylon we wept as we remembered Zion.

2 There on the willows we hung our harps,

We hung up our harps on the willow trees.

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

For those who had taken us captive asked us for a song—our tormentors wanted us to sing a happy song from Jerusalem.

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

But how could we sing a song dedicated to the Lord in a pagan land?

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

If I forget Jerusalem, may my right hand forget how to play;

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!

May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don't remember you—if I don't consider Jerusalem my greatest joy.

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

Lord, please remember what the people of Edom did on the day Jerusalem fell, the ones who said “Tear it down! Destroy it down to its foundations!”

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

Daughter of Babylon, you will be destroyed! Happy is the one who pays you back, who does to you what you did to us!

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

Happy is the one who grabs your children and smashes them against the rocks!