Praying in Exile

"1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept     when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars     we hung our harps, 3 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 the songs of the Lord     while in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,     may my right hand forget its skill. 6 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     on the day Jerusalem fell. "Tear it down," they cried,     "tear it down to its foundations!" 8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,     happy is the one who repays you     according to what you have done to us. 9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants     and dashes them against the rocks." (Psalm 137)