¹At the rivers of Babylon,

There we sat,

And we wept too,

When we remembered Zion.

²On the willows in its midst,

We hung our harps.

³For there our captors asked us for the words of a song,

And those who had brought us to lamentation

Asked us for rejoicing and said,

“Sing to us

Verses from a song of Zion.”

⁴How can we sing the Lord's song

On foreign soil?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

May my right hand forget me.

⁶May my tongue cleave to my palate

If I do not remember you

– If I do not exalt Jerusalem

At the foremost of my joy.

⁷Remember, O Lord, the sons of Edom,

On the day of Jerusalem

– Those who said, “Strip it,

Strip it to its foundation.”

⁸“O daughter of Babylon,

Which will be destroyed,

Blessed is he who will requite you,

With retribution on you

For what you did to us.

⁹Happy is he who seizes and dashes your children

Against the rock.”