Psalm 137
New Living Translation
Psalm 137
1 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept
as we thought of Jerusalem.[a]
2 We put away our harps,
hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.
3 For our captors demanded a song from us.
Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:
“Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”
4 But how can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a pagan land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.
7 O Lord, remember what the Edomites did
on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
“Destroy it!” they yelled.
“Level it to the ground!”
8 O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy is the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who takes your babies
and smashes them against the rocks!
Psalm 137
Legacy Standard Bible
We Wept When We Remembered Zion
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat and also (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our lyres.
3 For there our captors (E)asked us about the words of a song,
And (F)our tormentors asked joyfully, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song of (G)Yahweh
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [b]forget her skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [c](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Tear it down! Tear it down
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you (M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [d]the recompense with which you have recompensed us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your infants
Against the cliff.
Footnotes
- Psalm 137:2 Or poplars
- Psalm 137:5 Become lame
- Psalm 137:6 Lit cause to ascend
- Psalm 137:8 Lit your
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