Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ By the rivers^[b] of Babylon
    we sat down and wept
    when we remembered Zion.
^2 [c]There on the poplars
    we hung up our harps.
³ For it was there that our captors
    asked us to sing them a song,
and, tormenting us, demanded a joyful song:
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
⁴ But how could we sing songs of the Lord
    while living in a foreign land?^[d]
5 [e]If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    may my right hand fail me.
⁶ May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not regard Jerusalem
    as the greatest of my joys.
^7 [f]Remember, O Lord, the cruelty of the Edomites
    on the day when Jerusalem fell,^[g]
how they shouted, “Tear it down!
    Tear it down to its very foundations!”
⁸ O Daughter^[h] of Babylon, you destroyer,
    happy will he be who repays you
    for the suffering you inflicted upon us!
⁹ Happy will he be who seizes your babies
    and smashes them against a rock!^[i]

¹³ To what can I liken you or compare you,
    O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I do to rescue and comfort you,
    O virgin daughter of Zion?
Your ruin is as vast as the sea.
    Who can heal you?
¹⁴ The visions that your prophets revealed to you
    were false and worthless.
They did not lay bare your guilt
    so that you might reverse your fortunes.
The visions they proclaimed to you
    were erroneous and deceptive.^[a]
15 All those who pass by
    clap their hands at you.
They hiss and wag their heads
    at the daughter of Jerusalem,
“Is this the city once described as perfect in beauty,
    the joy of the whole world?”
¹⁶ All your enemies do not hesitate
    to open their mouths against you.
They hiss and gnash their teeth;
    they cry out, “We have devoured her!
This is the day we longed for;
    at last we have seen it.”
¹⁷ The Lord has done what he planned;
    he has carried out his threat.
As he decreed from days of old,
    he has destroyed without pity.
He has permitted the enemy to rejoice over you
    and exalted the strength of your foes.
¹⁸ Cry out to the Lord,
    O wall of the daughter of Zion.
Let your tears flow like a torrent
    both day and night.
Allow yourself no respite;
    give your eyes no rest.
¹⁹ Arise and cry out during the night
    at the beginning of every watch.^[b]
Pour out your heart like water
    in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
    for the lives of your children
who are fainting from hunger
    at the corner of every street.
²⁰ Look, O Lord, and consider:
    whom have you ever treated in this fashion?
Should women eat their little ones,
    the children to whom they gave birth?
Should priest and prophet be killed
    in the sanctuary of the Lord?
²¹ The young and the old are lying dead
    on the ground in the streets.
My young women and my young men
    have fallen by the sword.
On the day of your anger you have slain them,
    slaughtering them without pity.
²² As if it were for a day of festival,
    you summoned my enemies from every side.
On the day of the Lord’s anger
    no one escaped and no one survived.
All those whom I bore and reared
    my enemy has completely annihilated.

¹ Everyone who believes
that Jesus is the Christ
is born of God,
and everyone who loves the parent
loves the one begotten of him as well.
² This is how we know
that we love the children of God:
by loving God and obeying his commandments.
³ For the love of God is this:
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
⁴ for everyone born of God
conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world
is our faith.
⁵ Who indeed conquers the world
except the one who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God?

¹³ I write these things to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God
so that you may know
that you have eternal life.

¹⁴ And thus we can have confidence in him
that if we ask anything
that is in accordance with his will,
he hears us.
¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us
in regard to whatever we ask him,
we may be sure
that all we ask of him will be ours.
¹⁶ If anyone sees a brother commit a sin
that does not lead to death,
he should intercede for him,
and God will grant him life—
provided that the sin is not deadly.
There is a sin that leads to death,
and I do not say
that you should pray about it.^[d]
17 All wrongdoing is sinful,
but not all sins are deadly.

¹⁸ We know that one born of God does not continue to sin,
because he who is born of God protects him,
and the evil one has no power over him.
¹⁹ We know
that we are from God
and that the entire world
lies under the power of the evil one.
²⁰ We also know
that the Son of God has come
and given us understanding
so that we can know the one who is true.
And we are in the one who is true,
since we are in his Son Jesus Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life.
²¹ Dear children,
keep away from idols.