Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem

1By the rivers of Babylon—

there we sat down and there we wept

when we remembered Zion.

2On the willows137.2 Or poplars there

we hung up our harps.

3For there our captors

asked us for songs,

and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,

‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’

4How could we sing the LORD's song

in a foreign land?

5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand wither!

6Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy.

7Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites

the day of Jerusalem's fall,

how they said, ‘Tear it down! Tear it down!

Down to its foundations!’

8O daughter Babylon, you devastator!137.8 Or you who are devastated

Happy shall they be who pay you back

what you have done to us!

9Happy shall they be who take your little ones

and dash them against the rock!