New Living Translation

Psalms • Chapter 137

1 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept<br>as we thought of Jerusalem.<br> 2 We put away our harps,<br>hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.<br> 3 For our captors demanded a song from us.<br>Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:<br>“Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”<br> 4 But how can we sing the songs of the LORD<br>while in a pagan land?<br> 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,<br>let my right hand forget how to play the harp.<br> 6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth<br>if I fail to remember you,<br>if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.<br> 7 O LORD, remember what the Edomites did<br>on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.<br>“Destroy it!” they yelled.<br>“Level it to the ground!”<br> 8 O Babylon, you will be destroyed.<br>Happy is the one who pays you back<br>for what you have done to us.<br> 9 Happy is the one who takes your babies<br>and smashes them against the rocks!<br>