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Sorrows of the exiles in Babylon.

137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept,
When we remembered Zion.
Upon the willows in the midst thereof
We hanged up our harps.
For there they that led us captive required of us [a]songs,
And [b]they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,
Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
How shall we sing Jehovah’s song
In a foreign land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her skill.
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
If I remember thee not;
If I prefer not Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom
The day of Jerusalem;
Who said, Rase it, rase it,
Even to the foundation thereof.
O daughter of Babylon, [c]that art to be destroyed,
Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee
As thou hast served us.
Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones
Against the rock.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 137:3 Hebrew words of song.
  2. Psalm 137:3 Or, our tormentors
  3. Psalm 137:8 Or, that art laid waste

Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon(A) we sat and wept(B)
    when we remembered Zion.(C)
There on the poplars(D)
    we hung our harps,(E)
for there our captors(F) asked us for songs,
    our tormentors demanded(G) songs of joy;
    they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”(H)

How can we sing the songs of the Lord(I)
    while in a foreign land?
If I forget you,(J) Jerusalem,
    may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof(K) of my mouth
    if I do not remember(L) you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem(M)
    my highest joy.

Remember, Lord, what the Edomites(N) did
    on the day Jerusalem fell.(O)
“Tear it down,” they cried,
    “tear it down to its foundations!”(P)
Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,(Q)
    happy is the one who repays you
    according to what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who seizes your infants
    and dashes them(R) against the rocks.