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American Standard Version

Psalm 137

1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the willows in the midst thereof We hanged up our harps.
3 For there they that led us captive required of us songs, And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing Jehovah's song In a foreign land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her skill.
6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; If I prefer not Jerusalem Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom The day of Jerusalem; Who said, Rase it, rase it, Even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, that art to be destroyed, Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee As thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones Against the rock.

Chapter Summary

Exiles weep by Babylon's rivers, unable to sing the LORD's song in a foreign land, remembering Jerusalem.

Book Summary

Psalms is the Bible's songbook: one hundred fifty prayers and hymns of praise, lament, thanksgiving, and trust, many attributed to David. From the depths of despair to the heights of worship, it has voiced the prayers of God's people for millennia.