| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. | 1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. |
| 2Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. | 2There on the poplars we hung our harps, |
| 3For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion." | 3for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" |
| 4How can we sing the LORD'S song In a foreign land? | 4How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? |
| 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. | 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. |
| 6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. | 6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. |
| 7Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, "Raze it, raze it To its very foundation." | 7Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!" |
| 8O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us. | 8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. |
| 9How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock. | 9Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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