| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. | 1By the rivers of Babylon-- there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. |
| 2We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. | 2There we hung up our lyres on the poplar trees, |
| 3For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” | 3for our captors there asked us for songs, and our tormentors, for rejoicing:" Sing us one of the songs of Zion." |
| 4How shall we sing the LORD’s song In a foreign land? | 4How can we sing the LORD's song on foreign soil? |
| 5If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill! | 5If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. |
| 6If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. | 6May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy! |
| 7Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!” | 7Remember, LORD, what the Edomites said that day at Jerusalem:" Destroy it! Destroy it down to its foundations!" |
| 8O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, Happy the one who repays you as you have served us! | 8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who pays you back what you have done to us. |
| 9Happy the one who takes and dashes Your little ones against the rock! | 9Happy is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rocks. |
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