Book of Common Prayer

1 Paul^[a], an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God being in Corinth, together-with all the saints being in all Achaia^[b]: ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed Be God For Comforting Us In All Our Sufferings

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassions^[c] and God of all comfort^[d], ⁴ the One comforting us concerning^[e] all our affliction so that we might be able to comfort the ones in every affliction with the comfort by which we ourselves are being comforted by God. ⁵ Because just as the sufferings of Christ are abounding in us, so our comfort also is abounding through Christ. ⁶ And if we are being afflicted— it is for the sake of your comfort and salvation. If we are being comforted— it is for the sake of your comfort, the comfort being at-work^[f] in your endurance of the same sufferings which we also are suffering. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm^[g], knowing that as you are sharers of the sufferings, so also of the comfort.

Jesus Curses a Fruitless Fig Tree

¹² And on the next day, they having departed from Bethany, He was hungry. ¹³ And having seen from a distance a fig-tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it. And having come to it, He found nothing except leaves^[a]— for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And having responded, He said to it, “May no one eat fruit from you any longer— forever!” And His disciples were listening.

Jesus Cleanses The Temple of Merchandisers. The Priests Seek To Destroy Him

¹⁵ And they come into Jerusalem. And having entered into the temple, He began to throw-out the ones selling and the ones buying in the temple. And He overturned the tables of the money-changers^[b], and the seats of the ones selling doves^[c]. ¹⁶ And He was not permitting that anyone carry an object^[d] through the temple. ¹⁷ And He was teaching and saying to them, “Has it not been written [in Isa 56:7] that ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers^[e]”. ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it. And they were seeking how they might destroy Him. For they were fearing Him, for the whole crowd was astounded at His teaching. ¹⁹ And when it became evening, they were going outside of the city.

Lessons From The Fig Tree

²⁰ And while passing by early-in-the-morning, they saw the fig tree having dried-up from the roots. ²¹ And having remembered, Peter says to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has dried-up”. ²² And having responded, Jesus says to them, “Be having faith in God. ²³ Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and be thrown into the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart, but is believing that what he is speaking is coming-about, it will happen for him. ²⁴ For this reason I say to you, be believing that you received all that you are praying and asking, and it will happen for you. ²⁵ And whenever you stand praying, forgive— if you have anything against anyone— in order that your Father in the heavens also may forgive you your trespasses”.