1 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept

as we thought of Jerusalem.*

2 We put away our harps,

hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.

3 For our captors demanded a song from us.

Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:

“Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”

4 But how can we sing the songs of the Lord

while in a pagan land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget how to play the harp.

6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I fail to remember you,

if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

7 O Lord, remember what the Edomites did

on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.

“Destroy it!” they yelled.

“Level it to the ground!”

8 O Babylon, you will be destroyed.

Happy is the one who pays you back

for what you have done to us.

9 Happy is the one who takes your babies

and smashes them against the rocks!