Are prayer and hymn books censored?

Question

I was having a discussion with my wife about the ethical implications of Psalm 137; in particular, the last 3 lines (below). She said, 'that's funny, I don't remember that part', and reached for her prayer book, to find that these 3 lines were not there. Could this be a reason some Christians flatly deny the bible contains this kind of stuff? They are not given the full story.

137:7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
137:8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
137:9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Answer 1

Yes. Some translators pointedly left certain verses out because they didn't fit with their notion of Christianity. Others left out certain verses because it's not clear whether or not they should ever have been included. Sometimes it's clear (to Biblical scholars) that certain verses were added on later by other writers or editors. Should these then be included in our Bibles today? Opinions vary, and thus versions do as well.

Answer 2

"Are prayer and hymn books censored? " -- Of course they are. Given time everything written by man will be revised to favor one group against another.
That's why we have to keep questioning splinter groups and hate groups. Someone is pulling the wool over peoples eyes.
Given humans love for power and control it's amazing that all of the messages from Jesus are not lost.
If your free will sets off an alarm - there's a reason, a human revised something.
Keep leaders honest, and stay involved in your community, that's all we can do.
I stopped memorizing the bible, when Jesus gave us two commandments to remember and live by. I have a hard enough time with that, please don't ask me to interpret old books. Just live as Jesus wants.