Psalm 137

1    By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept,  

when we remembered Zion.

2    As for our lyres, we hung them up  

on the willows that grow in that land.

3    For there our captors asked for a song,

    our tormentors called for mirth:  

‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’

4    How shall we sing the Lord’s song  

in a strange land?

5    If I forget you, O Jerusalem,  

let my right hand forget its skill.

6    Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth

    if I do not remember you,  

if I set not Jerusalem above my highest joy.

7    Remember, O Lord, against the people of Edom

    the day of Jerusalem,  

how they said, ‘Down with it,

    down with it, even to the ground.’

8    O daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,  

happy the one who repays you

    for all you have done to us;

9    Who takes your little ones,  

and dashes them against the rock.

 

Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000 and published by Church House Publishing.

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