1 By the rivers of Babylon

we sat down and wept

when we thought about Zion.

2 On the poplars there

we hung our harps.

3 There our captors required songs from us,

and those who mocked us required us to be happy, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

4 How could we sing a song about Yahweh

in a foreign land?

5 If I ignore the memory of you, Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget her skill.

6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

if I think about you no more,

if I do not prefer Jerusalem

more than my greatest delights.

7 Call to mind, Yahweh, what the Edomites did

on the day Jerusalem fell.

They said, “Tear it down, tear it down

to its foundations.”

8 Daughter of Babylon, soon to be destroyed—

may the person be blessed, whoever pays you back

for what you have done to us.

9 May the person be blessed, whoever takes and dashes your little ones

against a rock.