King James Version KJV
Good News Translation GNT
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
1
By the rivers of Babylon we sat down; there we wept when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
2
On the willows near by we hung up our harps.
3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
3
Those who captured us told us to sing; they told us to entertain them: "Sing us a song about Zion."
4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?
4
How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
5
May I never be able to play the harp again if I forget you, Jerusalem!
6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
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!
7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
7
Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did the day Jerusalem was captured. Remember how they kept saying, "Tear it down to the ground!"
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
8
Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy are those who pay you back for what you have done to us -
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
9
who take your babies and smash them against a rock.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.