Psalms 137

Open Word Bible

Beside the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; we wept as we thought of Zion. On the poplar trees there we hung up our lyres. For there the people who had taken us captive demanded songs from us; those who tormented us wanted us to be cheerful: “Sing for us a song from Zion!” How could we sing the LORD’s song in a land of strangers? Jerusalem, if I ever forget you, may my right hand forget how to play. May my tongue stay stuck to the roof of my mouth should I fail to remember you, should I fail to prize Jerusalem above my chief delight. LORD, hold the day of Jerusalem’s fall against the Edomites, who shouted, “Strip it, strip it bare, right down to its foundations!” Daughter Babylon, soon to be laid waste, how blessed is the one who pays you back in full for all you did to us! How blessed is the one who grabs your little children and smashes them on the rock!

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