1 By the waters of Babylon there we sat,
and we wept at the thought of Zion.
2 There on the poplars we hung our harps.
3 For there our captors called for a song:
our tormentors, rejoicing, saying:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing the Lord 's song
in the foreigner's land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand wither.
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I am unmindful of you,
or don't set Jerusalem
above my chief joy.
7 Remember the Edomites, Lord ,
the day of Jerusalem's fall,
when they said, “Lay her bare, lay her bare,
right down to her very foundation.”
8 Babylon, despoiler,
happy are those who pay you back
for all you have done to us.
9 Happy are they who seize and dash
your children against the rocks.