Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 137
Lament of the Exiles
1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion.(A)
2 There we hung up our lyres
on the poplar trees,(B)
3 for our captors there asked us for songs,
and our tormentors, for rejoicing:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”(C)
מ Mem
13 What can I say on your behalf?
What can I compare you to, Daughter Jerusalem?
What can I liken you to,
so that I may console you, Virgin Daughter Zion?
For your ruin is as vast as the sea.
Who can heal you?(A)
נ Nun
14 Your prophets saw visions for you
that were empty and deceptive;[a](B)
they did not reveal your iniquity
and so restore your fortunes.(C)
They saw pronouncements for you
that were empty and misleading.
ס Samek
15 All who pass by
scornfully clap their hands(D) at you.
They hiss(E) and shake their heads(F)
at Daughter Jerusalem:
Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,(G)
the joy of the whole earth?(H)
פ Pe
16 All your enemies
open their mouths against you.(I)
They hiss and gnash their teeth,(J)
saying, “We have swallowed her up.(K)
This is the day we have waited for!
We have lived to see it.”
ע Ayin
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has accomplished his decree,
which he ordained in days of old.
He has demolished without compassion,(L)
letting the enemy gloat over you
and exalting the horn of your adversaries.
צ Tsade
18 The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord.
Wall of Daughter Zion,(M)
let your tears run down like a river
day and night.(N)
Give yourself no relief
and your[b] eyes no rest.
ק Qoph
19 Arise, cry out in the night
from the first watch of the night.
Pour out your heart like water
before the Lord’s presence.(O)
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children
who are fainting from hunger
at the head of every street.(P)
ר Resh
20 Lord, look and consider
to whom you have done this.
Should women eat their own children,(Q)
the infants they have nurtured?[c]
Should priests and prophets
be killed in the Lord’s sanctuary?
שׁ Shin
21 Both young and old
are lying on the ground in the streets.
My young women and young men
have fallen by the sword.
You have killed them in the day of your anger,
slaughtering without compassion.(R)
ת Taw
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God,(A) and everyone who loves the Father[a] also loves the one born of him. 2 This is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God and obey[b] his commands. 3 For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden,(B) 4 because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.
The Certainty of God’s Testimony
5 Who is the one who conquers the world(C) but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?(D)
13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name(A) of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Effective Prayer
14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask(B) anything according to his will, he hears us.(C) 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask,(D) we know that we have what we have asked of him.(E)
16 If anyone sees a fellow believer[a] committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin[b] that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that doesn’t lead to death.
Conclusion
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the one who is born of God keeps him,[c](F) and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come(G) and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one.[d] We are in the true one—that is, in his Son, Jesus Christ.(H) He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
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