Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 137[a]
Sorrow and Hope in Exile
I
1 By the rivers of Babylon
there we sat weeping
when we remembered Zion.(A)
2 On the poplars in its midst
we hung up our harps.(B)
3 For there our captors asked us
for the words of a song;
Our tormentors, for joy:
“Sing for us a song of Zion!”
4 But how could we sing a song of the Lord
in a foreign land?
II
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget.(C)
6 May my tongue stick to my palate
if I do not remember you,
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
beyond all my delights.
III
7 Remember, Lord, against Edom
that day at Jerusalem.
They said: “Level it, level it
down to its foundations!”(D)
8 Desolate Daughter Babylon, you shall be destroyed,
blessed the one who pays you back
what you have done us!(E)
9 [b]Blessed the one who seizes your children
and smashes them against the rock.(F)
16 For these things I weep—My eyes! My eyes!
They stream with tears!
How far from me is anyone to comfort,
anyone to restore my life.
My children are desolate;
the enemy has prevailed.”(A)
17 Zion stretches out her hands,
with no one to comfort her;
The Lord has ordered against Jacob
his foes all around;
Jerusalem has become in their midst
a thing unclean.
18 “The Lord is in the right;
I had defied his command.
Listen, all you peoples,
and see my pain:
My young women and young men
have gone into captivity.(B)
19 I cried out to my lovers,
but they failed me.(C)
My priests and my elders
perished in the city;
How desperately they searched for food,
to save their lives!
20 Look, O Lord, at the anguish I suffer!
My stomach churns,
And my heart recoils within me:
How bitter I am!
Outside the sword bereaves—
indoors, there is death.(D)
21 Hear how I am groaning;
there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies hear of my misery and rejoice
over what you have done.
Bring on the day you proclaimed,
and let them become like me!
22 Let all their evil come before you
and deal with them
As you have so ruthlessly dealt with me
for all my rebellions.
My groans are many,
my heart is sick.”(E)
II. The Value of Trials and Temptation
Perseverance in Trial. 2 (A)Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,[a] 3 for you know that the testing[b] of your faith produces perseverance. 4 And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom,[c] he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.(B) 6 But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.(C) 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
9 The brother in lowly circumstances[d] should take pride in his high standing,(D) 10 and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away “like the flower of the field.”(E) 11 For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.