Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Davidic Psalm, when he fled from his son Absalom.
God Delivers His Servants
3 Lord, I have so many persecutors!
Many are rising up against me!
2 Many are saying about me,
“God will never deliver him!”
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud[a] to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep,
I wake up, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear multitudes of[b] people,
who set themselves against me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
For you strike the jaw of all my enemies,
and you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance comes from the Lord!
May your blessing be on your people.
Judgment on the Lawless
12 “Woe to the one who founds a city upon bloodshed,
and constructs a city by lawlessness.
13 Is it not because of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
that people grow tired putting out fires,[a]
and nations weary themselves over nothing?
14 Indeed, the earth will be filled
with knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as water fills[b] the sea.”
Judgment on the Violent
15 “Woe to the one who supplies his neighbor with a drink!
You are forcing your bottle[c] on him,[d]
making him drunk so you can see them naked.
16 You are filled with dishonor instead of glory.
So go ahead,[e] drink and be naked!
The Lord[f] will turn against you,
and utter disgrace will debase your reputation.[g]
17 Indeed, the violence done to Lebanon will overtake you,
and the destruction of the beasts will terrorize you—[h]
because you shed human blood
and did violence to[i] the land, to the city, and to all who live in it.”
Judgment on the Idol Maker
18 “Where is the benefit in owning[j] a carved image,
that motivates its maker to carve[k] it?
It is only a cast image—
a teacher that lies—
because the engraver entrusts himself to his carving,
crafting speechless idols.
19 “Woe to the one who says to a tree, ‘Wake up!’
or ‘Arise!’ to a speechless stone.
Idols[l] like this can’t teach, can they?
Look, even though it is overlaid with gold and silver,
there’s no breath in it at all.”
The Lord’s Final Counsel to Habakkuk
20 “The Lord is in his holy Temple.
All the earth—be quiet in his presence.”
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree(A)
12 The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus[a] became hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing except leaves because it wasn’t the season for figs. 14 So he told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” Now his disciples were listening to this.
The Lesson from the Dried Fig Tree(A)
20 While they were walking along early the next morning, they saw the fig tree dried up to its roots. 21 Remembering what Jesus had said,[a] Peter pointed out to him, “Rabbi,[b] look! The fig tree you cursed has dried up!”
22 Jesus told his disciples,[c] “Have faith in God! 23 I tell all of you[d] with certainty, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ if he doesn’t doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 That is why I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received[e] it and it will be yours.
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