Psalms 137

1 By rivers of Babylon—There we sat, Indeed, we wept when we remembered Zion.

By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we thought about Zion.

2 We hung our harps on willows in its midst.

On the poplars there we hung our harps.

3 For there our captors asked us the words of a song, And our spoilers—joy: “Sing to us of a song of Zion.”

There our captors required songs from us, and those who mocked us required us to be happy, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

4 How do we sing the song of YHWH, On the land of a stranger?

How could we sing a song about Yahweh in a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, my right hand forgets!

If I ignore the memory of you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her skill.

6 My tongue cleaves to my palate, If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I think about you no more, if I do not prefer Jerusalem more than my greatest delights.

7 Remember, YHWH, for the sons of Edom, The day of Jerusalem, Those saying, “Raze, raze to its foundation!”

Call to mind, Yahweh, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down, tear it down to its foundations.”

8 O daughter of Babylon, O destroyed one, O the blessedness of him who repays to you your deed, That you have done to us.

Daughter of Babylon, soon to be destroyed— may the person be blessed, whoever pays you back for what you have done to us.

9 O the blessedness of him who seizes, and has dashed your sucklings on the rock!

May the person be blessed, whoever takes and dashes your little ones against a rock.