By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept,
When we remembered Zion.
Upon the willows in the midst thereof
We hanged up our harps.
For there they that led us captive required of us {Hebrew: words of song.}songs,
And {Or, our tormentors}they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,
Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
How shall we sing Jehovah's song
In a foreign land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her skill.
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
If I remember thee not;
If I prefer not Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
Remember, O Jehovah, against the children of Edom
The day of Jerusalem;
Who said, Rase it, rase it,
Even to the foundation thereof.
O daughter of Babylon, {Or, that art laid waste}that art to be destroyed,
Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee
As thou hast served us.
Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones
Against the rock.
Querverweise zu Psalm 137,1 Ps 137,1
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads.
The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the {Or, beryl}onyx stone.
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush.
And the name of the third river is {That is, Tigris.}Hiddekel: that is it which goeth {Or, toward the east of}in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
These things I remember, and pour out my soul {Hebrew: upon.}within me,How I went with the throng, and {Or, went in procession with them}led them to the house of God,With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping holyday.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
For I have eaten ashes like bread,And mingled my drink with weeping,
Because of thine indignation and thy wrath:For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away.
My days are like a shadow that {Or, is stretched out}declineth;And I am withered like grass.
But thou, O Jehovah, {Or, sittest as King}wilt abide for ever;And thy memorial name unto all generations.
Thou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion;For it is time to have pity upon her,Yea, the set time is come.
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones,And have pity upon her dust.
Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the lier-in-wait by the way.
And I said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her;
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the {Hebrew: captivity.}captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his robe, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his {Or, pain}grief was very great.
We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.
But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock is taken captive.
For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water;Because the comforter that should refresh my soul is far from me:My children are desolate, because the enemy hath prevailed.
Say thou unto the king and to the queen-mother, {Or, Sit ye down low}Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headtires are come down, even {Or, your beautiful crown}the crown of your glory.
Mine eyes do fail with tears, my heart is troubled;My liver is poured upon the earth, because of the {Or, breach}destruction of the daughter of my people,Because the young children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.
I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation.
Their heart cried unto the Lord:O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night;Give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence;They have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth:The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.
Mine eye runneth down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that {Or, sat}dwelt by the river Chebar, {Another reading is, and I sat where they sat.}and to where they {Or, sat}dwelt; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.
Mine eye affecteth my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.
And I set my face unto the Lord God, {Or, to seek after prayer &c.}to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three whole weeks.
I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it,
And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.