Psalm 137:1–9
Lament During the Babylonian Exile
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat, yes, we wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willowsa in her midst,
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors asked of us
words of a song,
and our tormentorsb asked of us jubilation,
“Sing for us from a song of Zion.”
4 How could we sing the song of Yahweh
in ⌊a foreign land⌋?c
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget.d
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if do not I exalt Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
7 Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of Edom
the day of Jerusalem,
the ones who said, “Lay it bare! Lay it bare
to its foundation!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, about to be devastated,
happy shall be he who pays back to you
⌊what you paid out to us⌋.e
9 Happy shall be he who seizes
and smashes your children
against the rock.