¹By the rivers of Bavel we sat down and wept

as we remembered Tziyon.

²We had hung up our lyres

on the willows that were there,

³when those who had taken us captive

asked us to sing them a song;

our tormentors demanded joy from us —

“Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!”

⁴How can we sing a song about Adonai

here on foreign soil?

⁵If I forget you, Yerushalayim,

may my right hand wither away!

⁶May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I fail to remember you,

if I fail to count Yerushalayim

the greatest of all my joys.

⁷Remember, Adonai , against the people of Edom

the day of Yerushalayim’s fall,

how they cried, “Tear it down! Tear it down!

Raze it to the ground!”

⁸Daughter of Bavel, you will be destroyed!

A blessing on anyone who pays you back

for the way you treated us!

⁹A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies

and smashes them against a rock!