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1 By the rivers of Babylon
we sat down and wept
when we thought about Zion.
2 On the poplars there
we hung our harps.
3 There our captors required songs from us,
and those who mocked us required us to be happy, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How could we sing a song about Yahweh
in a foreign land?
5 If I ignore the memory of you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget her skill.
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I think about you no more,
if I do not prefer Jerusalem
more than my greatest delights.
7 Call to mind, Yahweh, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down
to its foundations.”
8 Daughter of Babylon, soon to be destroyed—
may the person be blessed, whoever pays you back
for what you have done to us.
9 May the person be blessed, whoever takes and dashes your little ones
against a rock.