| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. | 1By the rivers of Babylon we sit down and weep when we remember Zion. |
| 2We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. | 2On the poplars in her midst we hang our harps, |
| 3For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. | 3for there our captors ask us to compose songs; those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: "Sing for us a song about Zion!" |
| 4How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land? | 4How can we sing a song to the LORD in a foreign land? |
| 5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. | 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand be crippled! |
| 6If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. | 6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, and do not give Jerusalem priority over whatever gives me the most joy. |
| 7Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. | 7Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, "Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!" |
| 8O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. | 8O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! How blessed will be the one who repays you for what you dished out to us! |
| 9Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. | 9How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies and smashes them on a rock! |
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