Vengeful Wishes on the Powerful

By the rivers of Babylon,
we sat and then wept
as we remembered Zion.
When on the poplars
we hung our harps
our captors asked for a song.

Our tormentors wanted songs of joy:
"Sing to us one of the songs of Zion!"
How could we sing the Lord's song
in a strange and alien land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand fall useless!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
if Jerusalem is not the first of my joys.

Remember, Lord, the Edomites -- what did
they do when Jerusalem fell?  They said "Tear
the city down, tear it down to its foundations!"
O daughter of Babylon, you will be sacked
happy is he who repays you
and does to you what you have done to us!

Happy is he who seizes your infants and dashes
them against the rocks!

Philippines
Christian Community Bible, Claretian Publications, 1995