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1 When we sat down by the rivers of Babylon we wept as we remembered Zion.
2 We hung up our harps on the willow trees.
3 For those who had taken us captive asked us for a song—our tormentors wanted us to sing a happy song from Jerusalem.
4 But how could we sing a song dedicated to the Lord in a pagan land?
5 If I forget Jerusalem, may my right hand forget how to play;* Play music.
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don't remember you—if I don't consider Jerusalem my greatest joy.† The meaning is that it would be an expression of unfaithfulness to the Lord to sing holy songs meant for Temple worship in a pagan country, and that Jerusalem needed to be still considered as God's holy city.
7 Lord, please remember what the people of Edom did on the day Jerusalem fell, the ones who said “Tear it down! Destroy it down to its foundations!”
8 Daughter of Babylon, you will be destroyed! Happy is the one who pays you back, who does to you what you did to us!
9 Happy is the one who grabs your children and smashes them against the rocks!