Lament of the Exiles
1By the rivers of Babylon —
there we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion. Ezk 1:1,3
2There we hung up our lyres
on the poplar trees, Jb 30:31; Ezk 26:13
3for our captors there asked us for songs,
and our tormentors, for rejoicing:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” Ps 80:6
4How can we sing the Lord’s song
on foreign soil? Neh 12:46
5If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill. Is 65:11
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! Jb 29:10; Ps 22:15; Ezk 3:26
7Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said
that day The day Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 b.c. at Jerusalem:
“Destroy it! Destroy it
down to its foundations! ” Is 34:5-6; Ezk 35:2; Ob 10-14
8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who pays you back
what you have done to us. Jr 50:1-46; 51:1-64
9Happy is he who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rocks. 2Kg 8:12; Is 13:16; Nah 3:10
Holman Christian Standard Bible®
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by Holman Bible Publishers
