| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. | 1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. |
| 2We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. | 2There on the poplars we hung our harps, |
| 3For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. | 3for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" |
| 4How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land? | 4How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? |
| 5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. | 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. |
| 6If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. | 6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. |
| 7Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. | 7Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!" |
| 8O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. | 8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. |
| 9Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. | 9Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. |
|
    |