Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 3
How Many Are My Foes, But You Are My Shield
Heading
A psalm by David. When he fled from Absalom,[a] his son.
Many Enemies
1 O Lord, how my foes are multiplying!
Many are rising up against me!
2 Many are saying about my life, Interlude[b]
“There is no salvation for him in God.”
One Protector
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield for me.
You are my glory and the one who lifts up my head.
4 With a loud voice I cry out to the Lord, Interlude
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
Peaceful Rest
5 I lie down, and I sleep.
I awake, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not be afraid of the thousands of people
who line up against me on all sides.
Certain Victory
7 Rise up, O Lord! Save me, my God!
Yes, you will strike all my enemies on the jaw.
The teeth of the wicked you will break.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord. Interlude
Your blessing rests on your people.
12 “Woe to the one who builds a town with bloodshed and establishes a town with injustice.”
13 Be sure of this: The Lord of Armies has determined that the things for which the peoples of the world labor are only fuel for the fire, and that the nations tire themselves out with nothing to show for it. 14 So the earth will be as filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters that cover the sea.
15 Woe to the person who gives intoxicating drinks to his neighbors, forcing them to drink from his rage,[a] and making them drunk so that he can look at their nakedness. 16 You will be filled with shame instead of honor. Yes, you yourself will drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you, and complete disgrace will cover your glory.
17 You will be overwhelmed by the violence you have committed against Lebanon. Your devastation of the animals will terrify you,[b] because you shed human blood and did violence to the land, to the town, and to its inhabitants.
18 What benefit is provided by a carved idol? It was hewn by its maker. What good is a cast statue? It teaches lies. Why would the maker trust his own creation? He makes useless gods that cannot speak. 19 Woe to him who says to a hunk of wood, “Wake up!” or who says, “Get up!” to a stone that cannot speak. Can that thing be your teacher? Although it is covered with gold and silver, there is no life in it at all.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let the whole earth be silent before him.
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
12 The next day, after they had set out from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 When he saw a fig tree in leaf in the distance, he went to see if he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, since it was not the season for figs. 14 Jesus said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples were listening.
The Withered Fig Tree
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered down to the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
22 Jesus replied, “Have faith in God. 23 Amen I tell you: Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, everything that you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.