¹Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept

as we thought of Jerusalem.

²We put away our harps,

hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.

³For our captors demanded a song from us.

Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:

“Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”

⁴But how can we sing the songs of the Lord

while in a pagan land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget how to play the harp.

⁶May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth

if I fail to remember you,

if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

⁷O Lord , remember what the Edomites did

on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.

“Destroy it!” they yelled.

“Level it to the ground!”

⁸O Babylon, you will be destroyed.

Happy is the one who pays you back

for what you have done to us.

⁹Happy is the one who takes your babies

and smashes them against the rocks!