Psalm 137

An Experience of the Captivity.

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By the ^(A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and ^(B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.

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Upon the ^(a)^(C)willows in the midst of it
We ^(D)hung our ^(b)harps.

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For there our captors ^(c)^(E)demanded of us ^(d)songs,
And ^(F)our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

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How can we sing ^(G)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?

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If I ^(H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand ^(e)forget her skill.

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May my ^(I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not ^(f)^(J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.

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Remember, O Lord, against the sons of ^(K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
^(L)To its very foundation.”

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O daughter of Babylon, you ^(g)^(M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who ^(N)repays you
With ^(h)the recompense with which you have repaid us.

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How blessed will be the one who seizes and ^(O)dashes your little ones
Against the rock.

Footnotes:

a. Psalm 137:2: ['Or ', poplars]

b. Psalm 137:2: ['Lit ', lyres]

c. Psalm 137:3: ['Lit ', asked]

d. Psalm 137:3: ['Lit ', words of song]

e. Psalm 137:5: ['I.e. become lame']

f. Psalm 137:6: ['Lit ', cause to ascend]

g. Psalm 137:8: ['Or ', devastator]

h. Psalm 137:8: ['Lit ', your recompense]

Cross references:

A. Psalm 137:1: Ezekiel 1:1; Ezekiel 1:3

B. Psalm 137:1: Nehemiah 1:4

C. Psalm 137:2: Leviticus 23:40; Isaiah 44:4

D. Psalm 137:2: Job 30:31; Isaiah 24:8; Ezekiel 26:13

E. Psalm 137:3: Psalm 80:6

F. Psalm 137:3: Isaiah 49:17

G. Psalm 137:4: Nehemiah 12:46

H. Psalm 137:5: Isaiah 65:11

I. Psalm 137:6: Job 29:10; Psalm 22:15; Ezekiel 3:26

J. Psalm 137:6: Nehemiah 2:3

K. Psalm 137:7: Psalm 83:4-8; Isaiah 34:5; Isaiah 34:6; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Lamentations 4:21; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Ezekiel 35:2; Amos 1:11; Obadiah 1:10-14

L. Psalm 137:7: Psalm 74:7; Habakkuk 3:13

M. Psalm 137:8: Isaiah 13:1-22; Isaiah 47:1-15; Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 50:1-46; Jeremiah 51:1-64

N. Psalm 137:8: Jeremiah 50:15; Jeremiah 51:24; Jeremiah 51:35; Jeremiah 51:36; Jeremiah 51:49; Revelation 18:6

O. Psalm 137:9: Isaiah 13:16; Hosea 13:16; Nahum 3:10