| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. | 1By the rivers of Babylon-- there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. |
| 2There on the poplars we hung our harps, | 2There we hung up our lyres on the poplar trees, |
| 3for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" | 3for our captors there asked us for songs, and our tormentors, for rejoicing:" Sing us one of the songs of Zion." |
| 4How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? | 4How can we sing the LORD's song on foreign soil? |
| 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its 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 consider Jerusalem my highest joy. | 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! |
| 7Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried, "tear it down to its foundations!" | 7Remember, LORD, what the Edomites said that day at Jerusalem:" Destroy it! Destroy it down to its foundations!" |
| 8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. | 8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who pays you back what you have done to us. |
| 9Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. | 9Happy is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rocks. |
| 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. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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