1Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem.
2We put away our lyres, hanging them on the branches of the willow trees.
3For there our captors demanded a song of us. Our tormentors requested a joyful hymn: "Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!"
4But how can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill upon the harp.
6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I don't make Jerusalem my highest joy.
7O LORD, remember what the Edomites did on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. "Destroy it!" they yelled. "Level it to the ground!"
8O Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done to us.
9Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!