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.

5 Remember, Eternal One; don’t forget what happened.
    Just look at how we are demeaned, disgraced.
² All that You gave to us has been handed over to strangers.
    Even our houses foreigners have taken for their own.
³ Abandoned too early and on our own, we are like fatherless children;
    and our mothers, now widows, have nothing either.
⁴ The most basic necessities, food and water,
    shelter and warmth, we must pay dearly for.
⁵ Those pursuing us breathe down the backs of our heavily-yoked necks,
    driving us relentlessly.
Like overworked oxen, we are exhausted and without rest.
⁶ So what else could we do? We succumbed to agreements with Egypt and Assyria
    just so we could get enough to eat and survive.
⁷ Our fathers sinned and got us into this.
    Now they’ve passed on, and we suffer for it and bear their deeds.
⁸ Those less capable and less deserving slaves rule;
    they are actually in charge of us—
Your chosen ones—and nobody sets it right.
    Nobody comes to rescue us from their cruel hand.
⁹ At risk of life and limb, we seek our daily food
    despite threats of sword and danger in the wild places.
¹⁰ We are feverish with hunger.
    Famine’s scorching heat burns our flesh like an oven.
¹¹ In the place where God should be—
    Zion and the surrounding towns of Judah—
Women, young and old alike,
    are brutally raped and violated.
¹² Our leaders are made an example, hung by their hands,
    and our elders are treated with contempt.
¹³ Our best youths are forced to grind grain relentlessly;
    and boys stagger, bent under burdens of wood too heavy.
¹⁴ Gone from the gates are debate, trade, and the wisdom of sages.
    The streets, too, are silent—the young neglect their music.
¹⁵ The joy from our hearts is gone, utterly gone.
    Our once-dancing feet now plod along mournfully.
¹⁶ The wreath that crowned our head has slipped and fallen; now it’s crushed.
    O how we’ve sinned! Pity us for the punishment we brought on ourselves.
¹⁷ We’re sick at heart about it all,
    blind with the sorrow and grief we caused.
¹⁸ God’s heaven on earth, our Mount Zion, is desolate
    except for the jackals who haunt only ruins.

¹⁹ But You, Eternal One, despite all this,
    You will abide and rule forever, from generation to generation.
²⁰ Why, then, have You completely forgotten about us?
    Why have You turned Your back on us through so many dark days?
²¹ We are so sorry and have suffered for it.
    Eternal One, take us back again,
That we may be restored to You and You to us,
    just as it used to be.
²² Or are You so very angry that You’ve rejected us,
    that You’ve given up on us completely?