1By the rivers of Babylon,
         There we sat down and wept,
         When we remembered Zion.

2Upon the willows in the midst of it
         We hung our harps.

3For there our captors demanded of us songs,
         And our tormentors mirth, saying,
         “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

4How can we sing the LORD’S song
         In a foreign land?

5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
         May my right hand forget her skill.

6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
         If I do not remember you,
         If I do not exalt Jerusalem
         Above my chief joy.

7Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom
         The day of Jerusalem,
         Who said, “Raze it, raze it
         To its very foundation.”

8O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one,
         How blessed will be the one who repays you
         With the recompense with which you have repaid us.

9How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones
         Against the rock.

NASB ©1995