Let my tongue be silenced if ever I forget You!
By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
For there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
and our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
"Sing for us the songs of Zion!"
How could we sing a song of the Lord
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
My my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
if I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.