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Psalm 137

Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem

By the rivers of Babylon—
    there we sat down, and there we wept
    when we remembered Zion.(A)
On the willows[a] there
    we hung up our harps.
For there our captors
    asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”(B)

How could we sing the Lord’s song
    in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand wither!
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy.(C)

Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
    the day of Jerusalem’s fall,
how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
    Down to its foundations!”(D)
O daughter Babylon, you devastator![b]
    Happy shall they be who pay you back
    what you have done to us!(E)
Happy shall they be who take your little ones
    and dash them against the rock!(F)

Psalm 138

Thanksgiving and Praise

Of David.

I give you thanks, O Lord,[c] with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;(G)
I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted your name and your word
    above everything.[d](H)
On the day I called, you answered me;
    you increased my strength of soul.[e](I)

All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth.(J)
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he perceives from far away.(K)

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
    and your right hand delivers me.(L)
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands.(M)

Footnotes

  1. 137.2 Or poplars
  2. 137.8 Or you who are devastated
  3. 138.1 Q mss Gk: MT lacks O Lord
  4. 138.2 Cn: Heb you have exalted your word above all your name
  5. 138.3 Syr Compare Gk Tg: Heb you made me arrogant in my soul with strength