Psalm 137
Sorrow and Hope in Exile
I
1 By the rivers of Babylon
there we sat weeping
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the poplars in its midst
we hung up our harps.
3 For there our captors asked us
for the words of a song;
Our tormentors, for joy:
“Sing for us a song of Zion!”
4 But how could we sing a song of the Lord
in a foreign land?
II
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget.
6 May my tongue stick to my palate
if I do not remember you,
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
beyond all my delights.
III
7 Remember, Lord, against Edom
that day at Jerusalem.
They said: “Level it, level it
down to its foundations!”
8 Desolate Daughter Babylon, you shall be destroyed,
blessed the one who pays you back
what you have done us!
9 Blessed the one who seizes your children
and smashes them against the rock.