137:1 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion.
137:2 Upon the ①willows in the midst of it
We hung our ②harps.
▷ ①Or poplars ②Lit lyres
137:3 For there our captors ①demanded of us ②songs,
And our tormentors, jubilation, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!”
▷ ①Lit asked ②Lit words of song
137:4 How can we sing the LORD’S song
In a foreign land?
137:5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
May my right hand ①forget its skill.
▷ ①I.e., become useless
137:6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not ①exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
▷ ①Lit cause to ascend
137:7 Remember, LORD, against the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Those who said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare
To its foundation!”
137:8 Daughter of Babylon, you ①devastated one,
Blessed will be one who repays you
With ②the retribution with which you have repaid us.
▷ ①Or devastator ②Lit your requital
137:9 Blessed will be one who seizes and dashes your children
Against the rock.