Lament During the Babylonian Exile

1 By the rivers of Babylon,

there we sat, yes, we wept,

when we remembered Zion.

2 On the willowsin her midst,

we hung up our lyres.

3 For there our captors asked of us

words of a song,

and our tormentorsasked of us jubilation,

“Sing for us from a song of Zion.”

4 How could we sing the song of Yahweh

in a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget.

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

if I do not remember you,

if do not I exalt Jerusalem

above my highest joy.

7 Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of Edom

the day of Jerusalem,

the ones who said, “Lay it bare! Lay it bare

to its foundation!”

8 O daughter of Babylon, about to be devastated,

happy shall be he who pays back to you

what you paid out to us.

9 Happy shall be he who seizes

and smashes your children

against the rock.