Psalm 137
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 137
Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem
1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down, and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.(A)
2 On the willows[a] there
we hung up our harps.
3 For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”(B)
4 How could we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.(C)
7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem’s fall,
how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
Down to its foundations!”(D)
8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator![b]
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!(E)
9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!(F)
Psalm 137
International Standard Version
Remembering Jerusalem
137 There we sat down and cried—
by the rivers of Babylon—
as we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung our harps,
3 for it was there that our captors
asked us for songs
and our torturers demanded joy from us,
“Sing us one of the songs about Zion!”
4 How are we to sing the song of the Lord
on foreign soil?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand cease to function.[a]
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I don’t remember you,
if I don’t consider Jerusalem
to be more important than my highest joy.
7 Remember the day of Jerusalem’s fall,[b] Lord,
because of[c] the Edomites,
who kept saying, “Tear it down!
Tear it right down to its foundations!”
8 Daughter of Babylon! You devastator!
How blessed will be the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes your young children
and pulverizes them against the cliff!
Footnotes
- Psalm 137:5 Lit. remember
- Psalm 137:7 The Heb. lacks fall
- Psalm 137:7 Lit. against
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