1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept for Zion.
2 There on the willows we hung our harps;
3 there our captors asked us for songs, our oppressors demanded joyful songs, saying, “Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How could we sing the songs of the Lord in a foreign land?
5 May my right hand wither, O Jerusalem, if I forget you!
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you and consider Jerusalem my greatest joy!
7 Remember, Lord, the Edomites and what they did when Jerusalem was destroyed, for they cried out, “Raze it down! Drag it to its foundations!”
8 O city of Babylon, destined for destruction, happy is he who repays you for the evil you have done to us!
9 Happy is he who takes his children and dashes them against the rock.