Another of my favorite Psalms.
God’s Word to the Nations | New American Standard | New Living Translation |
| By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and cried as we remembered Zion. | By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. | Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. |
| 2 We hung our lyres on willow trees. | 2 Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. | 2 We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. |
| 3 It was there that those who had captured us demanded that we sing. Those who guarded us wanted us to entertain them. They said, “Sing a song from Zion for us!” | 3 For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” | 3 For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” |
| 4 How could we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? | 4 How can we sing the LORD’s song In a foreign land? | 4 But how can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a pagan land? |
| 5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the lyre. | 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. | 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp. |
| 6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t remember you, if I don’t consider Jerusalem my highest joy. | 6 May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. | 6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy. |
| 7 O LORD, remember the people of Edom. Remember what they did the day Jerusalem was captured. They said, “Tear it down! Tear it down to its foundation.” | 7 Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation.” | 7 O LORD, remember what the Edomites did on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. “Destroy it!” they yelled. “Level it to the ground!” |
| 8 You destructive people of Babylon, blessed is the one who pays you back with the same treatment you gave us. | 8 O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you With the recompense with which you have repaid us. | 8 O Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done to us. |
| 9 Blessed is the one who grabs your little children and smashes them against a rock. | 9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones Against the rock. | 9 Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks! A psalm of David. |
V3 is wholly dynamic, but within reason
v8, The application of ‘destructive’ to people seems to remove the sense of the verse.
For a comprehensive look at this Psalm, see here.