Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 137
137 Alongside Babylon’s streams,
there we sat down,
crying because we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our lyres up
in the trees there
3 because that’s where our captors asked us to sing;
our tormentors requested songs of joy:
“Sing us a song about Zion!” they said.
4 But how could we possibly sing
the Lord’s song on foreign soil?
5 Jerusalem! If I forget you,
let my strong hand wither!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I don’t remember you,
if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.
7 Lord, remember what the Edomites did
on Jerusalem’s dark day:
“Rip it down, rip it down!
All the way to its foundations!” they yelled.
8 Daughter Babylon, you destroyer,[a]
a blessing on the one who pays you back
the very deed you did to us!
9 A blessing on the one who seizes your children
and smashes them against the rock!
The people’s complaint
5 Lord, consider what has become of us; take notice of our disgrace. Look at it!
2 Our property has been turned over to strangers;
our houses belong to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans, having no father;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We drink our own water—but for a price;
we gather our own wood—but pay for it.
5 Our hunters have been at our necks;[a]
we are worn out, but have no rest.
6 We held out a hand to Egypt
and to Assyria, to get sufficient food.
7 Our fathers have sinned and are gone,
but we are burdened with their iniquities.
8 Slaves rule over us;
there is no one to rescue us from their power.
9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives
because of the desert heat.[b]
10 Our skin is as hot as an oven
because of the burning heat of famine.
11 Women have been raped in Zion,
young women in Judah’s cities.
12 Officials have been hung up by their hands;
elders have been shown no respect.
13 Young men have carried grinding stones;
boys have stumbled under loads of wood.
14 Elders have left the city gate;
young people stop their music.
15 Joy has left our heart;
our dancing has changed into lamentation.
16 The crown has fallen off our head.
We are doomed because we have sinned.
17 Because of all this our heart is sick;
because of these things our glance is dark.
18 Mount Zion, now deserted—
only jackals walk on it now!
19 But you, Lord, will rule forever;
your throne lasts from one generation to the next.
20 Why do you forget us continually;
why do you abandon us for such a long time?
21 Return us, Lord, to yourself. Please let us return![c]
Give us new days, like those long ago—
22 unless you have completely rejected us,
or have become too angry with us.[d]
Fig tree and the temple
12 The next day, after leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 From far away, he noticed a fig tree in leaf, so he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing except leaves, since it wasn’t the season for figs. 14 So he said to it, “No one will ever again eat your fruit!” His disciples heard this.
Power, prayer, and forgiveness
20 Early in the morning, as Jesus and his disciples were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered from the root up. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look how the fig tree you cursed has dried up.”
22 Jesus responded to them, “Have faith in God! 23 I assure you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea’—and doesn’t waver but believes that what is said will really happen—it will happen. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you will receive it, and it will be so for you.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible