Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Lament During the Babylonian Exile
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat, yes, we wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows[a] in her midst,
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors asked of us
words of a song,
and our tormentors[b] asked of us jubilation,
“Sing for us from a song of Zion.”
4 How could we sing the song of Yahweh
in a foreign land?[c]
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget.[d]
6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if do not I exalt Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
7 Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of Edom
the day of Jerusalem,
the ones who said, “Lay it bare! Lay it bare
to its foundation!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, about to be devastated,
happy shall be he who pays back to you
what you paid out to us.[e]
9 Happy shall be he who seizes
and smashes your children
against the rock.
A Request for Mercy
5 Remember, O Yahweh, what has become of us;
take note, and see our disgrace!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our houses, to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans, fatherless,
our mothers are like widows.
4 We pay for water with money,[a]
our wood comes to us at a price.
5 We are driven on our necks;
we are weary, there is no rest for us.
6 We have made a deal with Egypt and Assyria
to be satisfied with food.
7 Our fathers have sinned, they are no more;
we bear their iniquity.
8 Slaves rule over us;
there is no one to deliver us from their hand.
9 We risk our life for food[b]
because of the sword of the desert.
10 Our skin is hot like an oven
because of the scorching famine.
11 They raped women in Zion,
young women[c] in the cities of Judah.
12 They hang princes by their hand;
they do not show respect before elders.
13 Young men must carry a hand-mill
and boys stumble under the wood.
14 Elders are no longer at the gate,
young men no longer play stringed instruments.
15 The joy of our hearts has stopped;
our circle-dancing has changed to a mourning ceremony.
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this, our heart has become faint,
because of these, our eyes have become dim.
18 Because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
foxes tread on it.[d]
19 You, O Yahweh, will sit forever
on your throne for generation to generation.
20 Why have you forgotten us forever?
Why have you forsaken us for so long?[e]
21 Restore us to you, O Yahweh, that we will be restored;
renew our days as of old.
22 Unless you have utterly rejected us,
unless you are angry with us beyond measure.
A Barren Fig Tree Cursed
12 And on the next day as[a] they were departing from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And when he[b] saw from a distance a fig tree that had leaves, he went to see if perhaps he would find anything on it. And when he[c] came up to it he found nothing except leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 And he responded and[d] said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you any more forever!”[e] And his disciples heard it.[f]
The Barren Fig Tree Withered
20 And as they[a] passed by early in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 And Peter remembered and[b] said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered!” 22 And Jesus answered and[c] said to them, “Have faith in God! 23 Truly I say to you that 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 For this reason I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it,[d] and it will be done for you.
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