Psalms 137:1-9
Psalms 137:1-9 The Message (MSG)
Alongside Babylon’s rivers we sat on the banks; we cried and cried, remembering the good old days in Zion. Alongside the quaking aspens we stacked our unplayed harps; That’s where our captors demanded songs, sarcastic and mocking: “Sing us a happy Zion song!” Oh, how could we ever sing GOD’s song in this wasteland? If I ever forget you, Jerusalem, let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves. Let my tongue swell and turn black if I fail to remember you, If I fail, O dear Jerusalem, to honor you as my greatest. GOD, remember those Edomites, and remember the ruin of Jerusalem, That day they yelled out, “Wreck it, smash it to bits!” And you, Babylonians—ravagers! A reward to whoever gets back at you for all you’ve done to us; Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies and smashes their heads on the rocks!
Psalms 137:1-9 King James Version (KJV)
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps Upon the willows in the midst thereof. For 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. How shall we sing The LORD's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; Who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones Against the stones.
Psalms 137:1-9 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” How can we sing the LORD’S song In a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. May 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. Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it To its very foundation.” O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us. How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock.
Psalms 137:1-9 New Century Version (NCV)
By the rivers in Babylon we sat and cried when we remembered Jerusalem. On the poplar trees nearby we hung our harps. Those who captured us asked us to sing; our enemies wanted happy songs. They said, “Sing us a song about Jerusalem!” But we cannot sing songs about the LORD while we are in this foreign country! Jerusalem, if I forget you, let my right hand lose its skill. Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not think about Jerusalem as my greatest joy. LORD, remember what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said, “Tear it down! Tear it down to its foundations!” People of Babylon, you will be destroyed. The people who pay you back for what you did to us will be happy. They will grab your babies and throw them against the rocks.
Psalms 137:1-9 American Standard Version (ASV)
By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof We hanged up our harps. For there they that led us captive required of us songs, And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing Jehovah’s song In a foreign land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her skill. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; If I prefer not Jerusalem Above my chief joy. Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom The day of Jerusalem; Who said, Rase it, rase it, Even to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, that art to be destroyed, Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee As thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones Against the rock.
Psalms 137:1-9 New International Version (NIV)
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
Psalms 137:1-9 New King James Version (NKJV)
By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the LORD’s song In a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!” O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us! Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock!
Psalms 137:1-9 Amplified Bible (AMP)
By the rivers of Babylon, There we [captives] sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts]. On the willow trees in the midst of Babylon We hung our harps. For there they who took us captive demanded of us a song with words, And our tormentors [who made a mockery of us demanded] amusement, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” ¶How can we sing the LORD’S song In a strange and foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget [her skill with the harp]. Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not prefer Jerusalem Above my chief joy. [Ezek 3:26] ¶Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom, The day of [the fall of] Jerusalem, Who said “Down, down [with her] To her very foundation.” O daughter of Babylon, you devastator, How blessed will be the one Who repays you [with destruction] as you have repaid us. [Is 13:1-22; Jer 25:12, 13] How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock.
Psalms 137:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)
Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a pagan land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp. May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy. O LORD, remember what the Edomites did on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. “Destroy it!” they yelled. “Level it to the ground!” O Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done to us. Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!
Psalms 137:1-9 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Along the banks of Babylon’s rivers we sat as exiles, mourning our captivity, and wept with great love for Zion. Our music and mirth were no longer heard, only sadness. We hung up our harps on the willow trees. Our captors tormented us, saying, “Make music for us and sing one of your happy Zion-songs!” But how could we sing the song of the Lord in this foreign wilderness? May my hands never make music again if I ever forget you, O Jerusalem. May I never be able to sing again if I fail to honor Jerusalem supremely! And Lord, may you never forget what the sons of Edom did to us, saying, “Let’s raze the city of Jerusalem and burn it to the ground!” Listen, O Babylon, you evil destroyer! The one who destroys you will be rewarded above all others. You will be repaid for what you’ve done to us. Great honor will come to those who destroy you and your future, by smashing your infants against the rubble of your own destruction.
Psalms 137:1-9 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!” O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!