Good News Translation GNT
New International Version NIV
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat down; there we wept when we remembered Zion.
1
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows near by we hung up our harps.
2
There on the poplars we hung our harps,
3 Those who captured us told us to sing; they told us to entertain them: "Sing us a song about Zion."
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for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?
4
How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?
5 May I never be able to play the harp again if I forget you, Jerusalem!
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If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May I never be able to sing again if I do not remember you, if I do not think of you as my greatest joy!
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May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did the day Jerusalem was captured. Remember how they kept saying, "Tear it down to the ground!"
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Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!”
8 Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy are those who pay you back for what you have done to us -
8
Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us.
9 who take your babies and smash them against a rock.
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Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.