Sing of dead Jerusalem
1By Babylon’s riversWe sat and cried,
Homesick for Jerusalem. [1]
2On branches of the willow [2] trees.
We lay our lyres down.
3But our slave drivers demanded music.
To torture us and amuse themselves
They asked us for a song:
“Sing one of those tunes of Jerusalem.”
4How can we sing a song from the LORD
In a pagan, foreign land?
5If I forget you, Sweet Jerusalem,
May my right hand forget its grip.
6May my dry tongue stick
To the roof of my mouth
If I dare to forget Jerusalem
Even when I’m distracted by joy.
7LORD, remember the people of Edom.
For the day Jerusalem died
Is the day they chanted,
“Flatten her, strip her, take her down
To the bedrock stones in the dirt.”
8Lady Babylon, you nation killer. [3]
I’d like to thank the one
Who pays you back
Everything I owe.
9I’d like to thank the one
Who takes your children
And smashes their heads on the rocks.
