Psalm 137

Israelites in Captivity

137By the rivers in Babylon we sat and cried

when we remembered Jerusalem.

²On the poplar trees nearby

we hung our harps.

³Those who captured us asked us to sing;

our enemies wanted happy songs.

They said, “Sing us a song about Jerusalem!”

⁴But we cannot sing songs about the Lord

while we are in this foreign country!

⁵Jerusalem, if I forget you,

let my right hand lose its skill.

⁶Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you,

if I do not think about Jerusalem

as my greatest joy.

⁷Lord, remember what the Edomites did

on the day Jerusalem fell.

They said, “Tear it down!

Tear it down to its foundations!”

⁸People of Babylon, you will be destroyed.

The people who pay you back for what you did to us will be happy.

⁹They will grab your babies

and throw them against the rocks.