Psalm 137–138

Psalm 137

¹By the rivers of Babylon^p we sat and wept^q

when we remembered Zion.^r

²There on the poplars^s

we hung our harps,^t

³for there our captors^u asked us for songs,

our tormentors demanded^v songs of joy;

they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”^w

⁴How can we sing the songs of the Lord^x

while in a foreign land?

⁵If I forget you,^y Jerusalem,

may my right hand forget its skill.

⁶May my tongue cling to the roof^z of my mouth

if I do not remember^a you,

if I do not consider Jerusalem^b

my highest joy.

⁷Remember, Lord, what the Edomites^c did

on the day Jerusalem fell.^d

“Tear it down,” they cried,

“tear it down to its foundations!”^e

⁸Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,^f

happy is the one who repays you

according to what you have done to us.

⁹Happy is the one who seizes your infants

and dashes them^g against the rocks.

Psalm 138

Of David.

¹I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;

before the “gods”^h I will singⁱ your praise.

²I will bow down toward your holy temple^j

and will praise your name^k

for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,^l

for you have so exalted your solemn decree

that it surpasses your fame.^m

³When I called,ⁿ you answered me;^o

you greatly emboldened^p me.

⁴May all the kings of the earth^q praise you, Lord,

when they hear what you have decreed.

⁵May they sing^r of the ways of the Lord,

for the glory of the Lord^s is great.

⁶Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;^t

though lofty, he sees them^u from afar.

⁷Though I walk^v in the midst of trouble,

you preserve my life.^w

You stretch out your hand^x against the anger of my foes;^y

with your right hand^z you save me.^a

⁸The Lord will vindicate^b me;

your love, Lord, endures forever^c—

do not abandon^d the works of your hands.^e