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!