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We Wept When We Remembered Zion

137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat and also (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our lyres.
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.”

How can we sing a song of (G)Yahweh
In a foreign land?
If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [b]forget her skill.
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.

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.”
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.
How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your infants
Against the cliff.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 137:2 Or poplars
  2. Psalm 137:5 Become lame
  3. Psalm 137:6 Lit cause to ascend
  4. Psalm 137:8 Lit your

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.