[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!