Psalm 137–138

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?

137By the waters of Babylon,

there we sat down and wept,

when we remembered Zion.

²On the willows¹ there

we hung up our lyres.

³For there our captors

required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

^4sHow shall we sing the Lord’s song

in a foreign land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

^tlet my right hand forget its skill!

⁶Let my ^utongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy!

⁷Remember, O Lord, against the ^vEdomites

^wthe day of Jerusalem,

how they said, ^x“Lay it bare, lay it bare,

down to its foundations!”

⁸O daughter of Babylon, ^ydoomed to be destroyed,

blessed shall he be who ^zrepays you

with what you have done to us!

⁹Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones

and ^adashes them against the rock!

Give Thanks to the Lord

138Of David.

^1bI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before ^cthe gods I sing your praise;

²I bow down ^dtoward your ^eholy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.¹

³On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.²

^4fAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

⁵and they shall sing of ^gthe ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

^6hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

⁷ⁱThough I walk in the midst of trouble,

you ^jpreserve my life;

you ^kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your ^lright hand delivers me.

⁸The Lord will ^mfulfill his purpose for me;

ⁿyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake ^othe work of your hands.