By the Rivers of Babylon
(Ezekiel 1:1–3)

1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

when we remembered Zion.

2There on the willowsa

we hung our harps,

3for there our captors requested a song;

our tormentors demanded songs of joy:

“Sing us a song of Zion.”

4How can we sing a song of the LORD

in a foreign land?

5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

may my right hand cease to function.

6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you,

if I do not exalt Jerusalem

as my greatest joy!

7Remember, O LORD,

the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell:

“Destroy it,” they said,

“tear it down to its foundations!”

8O Daughter of Babylon,

doomed to destruction,

blessed is he who repays you

as you have done to us.

9Blessed is he who seizes your infants

and dashes them against the rocks.