A Lament of Israelites in Exile (PSA 137:1-9)

[137:1] By the rivers of Babylon we sat down; there we wept when we remembered Zion.

[137:2] On the willows near by we hung up our harps.

[137:3] Those who captured us told us to sing; they told us to entertain them: “Sing us a song about Zion.”

[137:4] How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?

[137:5] May I never be able to play the harp again if I forget you, Jerusalem!

[137:6] May I never be able to sing again if I do not remember you, if I do not think of you as my greatest joy!

[137:7] Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did the day Jerusalem was captured. Remember how they kept saying, “Tear it down to the ground!”

[137:8] Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy are those who pay you back for what you have done to us—

[137:9] who take your babies and smash them against a rock.