Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My ·whole being [soul; life], praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord ·all [L with] my life;
I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your ·trust [confidence] in princes
or other people, who cannot ·save you [give you victory; 118:8–9].
4 ·When people die [L Their spirit goes out], they ·are buried [L return to the ground].
·Then all of [L On that day] their plans ·come to an end [perish].
5 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who are helped by the God of Jacob [C another name for Israel].
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it [Gen. 1].
He ·remains [keeps; observes; guards] ·loyal [faithfulness; truth] forever.
7 He does ·what is fair [justice] for those who have been ·wronged [oppressed; exploited].
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord ·gives sight to [opens the eyes of] the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are ·in trouble [bowed down; 145:14].
The Lord loves ·those who do right [the righteous].
9 The Lord ·protects [guards] the ·foreigners [sojourners].
He ·defends [supports] the orphans and widows [C the socially vulnerable],
but he ·blocks [frustrates] the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will ·be King [reign] forever [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple], your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
17 Do not be unfair to a ·foreigner [resident alien] or an orphan. Don’t take a widow’s coat ·to make sure she pays you back [as a pledge; 24:10–13]. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God ·saved [ransomed; redeemed] you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do this.
19 When you are ·gathering [reaping] your harvest in the field and ·leave behind [L forget] a bundle of grain, don’t go back and get it. Leave it there for ·foreigners [resident aliens], orphans, and widows so that the Lord your God can bless everything you do [Ruth 2]. 20 When you beat your olive trees to knock the olives off, don’t ·beat the trees a second time. Leave […strip] what is left for ·foreigners [resident aliens], orphans, and widows. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, don’t ·pick the vines a second time [glean what is left]. Leave what is left for foreigners [resident aliens], orphans, and widows. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; that is why I am commanding you to do this [Ex. 23:11; Lev. 19:9–10; 23:22].
12 The next day as Jesus was leaving Bethany, he became hungry. 13 Seeing a fig tree in leaf from far away, he went to see if it had any figs on it. But he found no figs, only leaves, because it was not the right season for figs. 14 So Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] heard him say this.
The Power of Faith(A)
20 The next morning as Jesus was passing by with his ·followers [disciples], they saw the fig tree ·dry and dead [withered], even to the roots. 21 Peter ·remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], look! The fig tree you cursed is ·dry and dead [withered]!”
22 Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘·Go [Be lifted up], fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your ·mind [heart] and believe that what you say will happen, ·God will do it for you [it will be done for you]. 24 So I tell you to believe that you have received ·the things [everything] you ask for in prayer, and ·God will give them to you [you will receive them].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.