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