Al Naharot Bavel
Al naharot bavel shâm yishavnu gam-bachiynu bezâkherênu'eth-Tzion
Al-arâviym betochoah taliynu kinorotêynu
Kiy sham she'êlunu shovêynu
Divrêy-shiyr vetolalêynu simcha
Shiyru lânu mishiyr Tzion
Eich nashiyr et-shiyr-HaShem al admat nechar
Im eshkachech Yerushalayim tishkach yemiyniy
Tidbaq-leshoniy lechikiy im-lo ezkerêchiy
Im-lo 'aaleh et-Yerushalayim al rosh simchati
By the Rivers of Babylon
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
And we wept when we remembered Zion
On the willows there we hung up our guitars
For there our captors demanded songs
And our tormentors, mirth, saying
Sing us one of the songs of Zion
How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you
If I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy