1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept

1. when we remembered Zion.

2. We hung our harps

2. upon the poplars.

3. For there our captors made us sing

3. and our tormentors made us entertain,

3. saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

4. How shall we sing the song of the Lord

4. in a foreign land?

5. If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

5. let my right hand forget its skill.

6. If I do not remember you,

6. let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

6. if I do not have Jerusalem

6. as my highest joy.

7. Remember, O Lord, the people of Edom

7. in the day of Jerusalem,

7. who said, “Raze it, raze it,

7. down to its foundations.”

8. O daughter of Babylon, who is to be destroyed,

8. blessed is the one who rewards you

8. as you have done to us.

9. Blessed is the one who takes

9. and dashes your little ones against the rocks.