Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ By the rivers of Babylon,
    we sat and wept
    when we thought of Zion, our home, so far away.
² On the branches of the willow trees,
    we hung our harps and hid our hearts from the enemy.
³ And the men that surrounded us
    made demands that we clap our hands and sing—
Songs of joy from days gone by,
    songs from Zion, our home.
Such cruel men taunted us—haunted our memories.

⁴ How could we sing a song about the Eternal
    in a land so foreign, while still tormented, brokenhearted, homesick?
    Please don’t make us sing this song.
^5-6 O Jerusalem, even still, don’t escape my memory.
    I treasure you and your songs, even as I hide my harp from the enemy.
And if I can’t remember,
    may I never sing a song again—
    may my hands never play well again—
For what use would it be if I don’t remember Jerusalem
    as my source of joy?

⁷ Remember, Eternal One, how the Edomites, our brothers, the descendants of Esau,
    stood by and watched as Jerusalem fell.
Gloating, they said, “Destroy it;
    tear it down to the ground,” when Jerusalem was being demolished.
⁸ O daughter of Babylon, you are destined for destruction!
    Happy are those who pay you back for how you treated us
    so you will no longer walk so proud.
⁹ Happy are those who dash your children against the rocks
    so you will know how it feels.

¹³ My dear daughter Jerusalem,
    how can I tell your tragedy?
To what can I liken this disgrace?
    O virgin daughter Zion, would that I could comfort you.
Who can heal your massive injury
    that is as deep and wide as the sea?

¹⁴ Nothing but vanity from your prophets—
    nothing but worthlessness from them;
They never warned and exposed you to correct your wicked ways
    so that things would go well again with no captivity.
Instead, they told divine oracles of lies and deceit,
    that everything was fine.

¹⁵ On your head, now, passersby heap scorn;
    they wag their fingers, shake their heads at daughter Jerusalem.

Passersby: Is this the city everyone thought was so great—
        a city of perfect beauty and
    Earth’s pride and joy?

Enemies: Ha! Would the day ever come? We’ve got her now!
        Look, we’ve swallowed her whole, destroyed her.
    We waited anxiously for today,
        and we made it happen!

¹⁷ Question the Eternal One about what He has done.
    He determined—punished according to the term and tenets
He laid down so long ago.
    He executed fierce destruction without pity
And made your enemy glad.
    He has made them prevail with might.

¹⁸ Raise your cry to the Lord with all your might!
    Take no relief; be ceaseless in grief.

Lady Jerusalem: Oh walls, may your stones cry out,
        cry out for daughter Zion;
    Make rivers with tears of sorrow, rushing.
        Do not cease from your weeping.

¹⁹     Stand up and yell in the night with all your heart;
        call to God even while the city sleeps during the night watch;
    Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord!
        Lift your hands and plead to Him for the lives of your children,
    For the babies weak with hunger
        dying on every street corner.

²⁰     Take heed, Eternal One!
        Look what You’ve done and to whom you have done this.
    Can it be—women eat their offspring, even their tender newborns;
        and in the most sacred places of the Eternal,
    Priests and prophets are slaughtered?

²¹     Unable to go on, young and old fall,
        lying in the dusty streets.
    My strong young men and women, all unmarried,
        are attacked and killed by Your sword in Your anger.
    You are responsible for this mayhem and misery.
        You, God, slew without pity.

²²     Victims all, You summoned those terrors surrounding me
        as if You were calling together a sacred festival.
    On the day of Your divine wrath there was no escapee,
        not even one survivor.
    The ones whom I raised up and made numerous,
        my enemy made a complete end of them.