1 When we sat down by the rivers of Babylon we wept as we remembered Zion.

2 We hung up our harps on the willow trees.

3 For those who had taken us captive asked us for a song—our tormentors wanted us to sing a happy song from Jerusalem.

4 But how could we sing a song dedicated to the Lord in a pagan land?

5 If I forget Jerusalem, may my right hand forget how to play;*

6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don't remember you—if I don't consider Jerusalem my greatest joy.*

7 Lord, please remember what the people of Edom did on the day Jerusalem fell, the ones who said "Tear it down! Destroy it down to its foundations!"

8 Daughter of Babylon, you will be destroyed! Happy is the one who pays you back, who does to you what you did to us!

9 Happy is the one who grabs your children and smashes them against the rocks!