Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

^17 (A)“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, ^(B)or take a widow's garment in pledge, ¹⁸ but ^(C)you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

^19 (D)“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, ^(E)that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ²¹ When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ^22 (F)You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

^12 (A)On the following day, when they came from Bethany, ^(B)he was hungry. ^13 (C)And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for ^(D)it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

^20 (A)As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. ²¹ And Peter remembered and said to him, ^(B)“Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” ²² And Jesus answered them, “Have ^(C)faith in God. ^23 (D)Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ^(E)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not ^(F)doubt in his heart, but ^(G)believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, ^(H)whatever you ask in prayer, ^(I)believe that you ^(J)have received^[a] it, and it will be yours.