Psalm 137

Psalm 137

¹We were sitting by the rivers of Babylon.

We cried when we remembered what had happened to Zion.

²On the nearby poplar trees

we hung up our harps.

³Those who held us as prisoners asked us to sing.

Those who enjoyed hurting us ordered us to sing joyful songs.

They said, “Sing one of the songs of Zion to us!”

⁴How can we sing the songs of the Lord

while we are in another land?

⁵Jerusalem, if I forget you,

may my right hand never be able to play the harp again.

⁶If I don’t remember you,

may my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth so I can’t sing.

May it happen if I don’t consider Jerusalem

to be my greatest joy.

⁷Lord, remember what the people of Edom did

on the day Jerusalem fell.

“Tear it down!” they cried.

“Tear it down to the ground!”

⁸People of Babylon, you are sentenced to be destroyed.

Happy are those who pay you back

for what you have done to us.

⁹Happy are those who grab your babies

and smash them against the rocks.