1   
By the rivers of Babylon we sat down;
  there we wept when we remembered Zion.

2   
On the willows near by
  we hung up our harps.

3   
Those who captured us told us to sing;
  they told us to entertain them:
  “Sing us a song about Zion.”

4   
How can we sing a song to the Lord
  in a foreign land?

5   
May I never be able to play the harp again
  if I forget you, Jerusalem!

6   
May I never be able to sing again
  if I do not remember you,
  if I do not think of you as my greatest joy!

7   
Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
  the day Jerusalem was captured.
Remember how they kept saying,
  “Tear it down to the ground!”

8   
Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy is the man who pays you back
  for what you have done to us— ^note

9   
  who takes your babies
  and smashes them against a rock.

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