Psalm 137
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Lament of the Exiles
137 By the rivers of Babylon –
there we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion.(A)
2 There we hung up our lyres
on the poplar trees,(B)
3 for our captors there asked us for songs,
and our tormentors, for rejoicing:
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’(C)
4 How can we sing the Lord’s song
on foreign soil?(D)
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.(E)
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!(F)
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said
that day[a] at Jerusalem:
‘Destroy it! Destroy it
down to its foundations! ’(G)
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who pays you back
what you have done to us.(H)
9 Happy is he who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rocks.(I)
Footnotes
- 137:7 The day Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC
Psalm 137
New King James Version
Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who (A)plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you,
Let my (B)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against (C)the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, [a]“Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, (D)who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one (E)who repays you as you have served us!
9 Happy the one who takes and (F)dashes
Your little ones against the rock!
Footnotes
- Psalm 137:7 Lit. Make bare
Copyright © 2024 by Holman Bible Publishers.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
