1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and we wept in our remembering Zion.
2There on the willowsa
we hung our harps,
2Upon the willows in her midst, we hung our harps.
3for there our captors requested a song;
our tormentors demanded songs of joy:
“Sing us a song of Zion.”
3For there our captors required of us the words of a song, and our tormentors, joy: “Sing to us a song of Zion.”
4How can we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
4How can we sing a song of YHWH in a foreign land?
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand cease to function.
5If I should forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget.
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!
6May my tongue cling to my palate, if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy!
7Remember, O LORD,
the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell:
“Destroy it,” they said,
“tear it down to its foundations!”
7Remember, O YHWH, about the sons of Edom, on the day of Jerusalem—those saying, “Lay her bare! Lay her bare to her foundation!”
8O Daughter of Babylon,
doomed to destruction,
blessed is he who repays you
as you have done to us.
8O Daughter of Babylon, O destroyed one, blessed is he who repays to you, dealing with you as you have dealt with us!
9Blessed is he who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
9Blessed is he who seizes and dashes your infants against the rock!