1. Alongside Babylon’s streams,there we sat down,crying because we remembered Zion.
2. We hung our lyres upin the trees there
3. because that’s where our captors asked us to sing;our tormentors requested songs of joy:"Sing us a song about Zion!" they said.
4. But how could we possibly singthe Lord’s song on foreign soil?
5. Jerusalem! If I forget you,let my strong hand wither!
6. Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouthif I don’t remember you,if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.
7. Lord, remember what the Edomites didon Jerusalem’s dark day:"Rip it down, rip it down!All the way to its foundations!" they yelled.
8. Daughter Babylon, you destroyer,a blessing on the one who pays you backthe very deed you did to us!
9. A blessing on the one who seizes your childrenand smashes them against the rock!