Lament of the Exiles

1By the rivers of Babylon —

there we sat down and wept

when we remembered •Zion.a

2There we hung up our lyres

on the poplar trees,b

3for our captors there asked us for songs,

and our tormentors, for rejoicing:

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”c

4How can we sing the LORD’s song

on foreign soil?d

5If I forget you, Jerusalem,

may my right hand forget its skill.e

6May 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

7Remember, LORD, what the Edomites said

that dayg at Jerusalem:

“Destroy it! Destroy it

down to its foundations! ”h

8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,

happy is the one who pays you back

what you have done to us.i

9Happy is he who takes your little ones

and dashes them against the rocks.j