Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 129[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
129 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”
let Israel say.
2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not defeated me.
3 The plowers plowed my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The Lord is just;
he cut the ropes of the wicked.”[c]
5 May all who hate Zion
be humiliated and turned back.
6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops,
which withers before one can even pull it up,[d]
7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,
or the lap of the one who gathers the grain.
8 Those who pass by will not say,[e]
“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”
Judgment Against Babylon
50 The Lord spoke concerning Babylon and the land of Babylonia[a] through the prophet Jeremiah.[b]
2 “Announce[c] the news among the nations! Proclaim it!
Signal for people to pay attention.[d]
Declare the news! Do not hide it! Say:
‘Babylon will be captured.
Bel[e] will be put to shame.
Marduk will be dismayed.
Babylon’s idols will be put to shame;
her disgusting images[f] will be dismayed.[g]
3 For a nation from the north[h] will attack Babylon;
it will lay her land waste.
People and animals will flee out of it.
No one will inhabit it.’
4 “When that time comes,” says the Lord,[i]
“the people of Israel and Judah will return to the land together.
They will come back with tears of repentance
as they seek the Lord their God.[j]
5 They will ask the way to Zion;
they will turn their faces toward it.
They will come[k] and bind themselves to the Lord
in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten.[l]
6 “My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds[m] have allowed them to go astray.
They have wandered around in the mountains.
They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another.[n]
They have forgotten their resting place.
7 All who encountered them devoured them.
Their enemies who did this said, ‘We are not liable for punishment!
For those people have sinned against the Lord, their true pasture.[o]
They have sinned against the Lord in whom their ancestors[p] trusted.’[q]
17 “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep
that lions have chased away.
First the king of Assyria devoured them.[a]
Now, last of all, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones.[b]
18 So I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, say:[c]
‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
just as I punished the king of Assyria.
19 But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture.
They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan.
They will eat until they are full[d]
on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead.[e]
20 When that time comes,
no guilt will be found in Israel.
No sin will be found in Judah.[f]
For I will forgive those of them I have allowed to survive.[g]
I, the Lord, affirm it!’”[h]
On the Mount of Olives
39 Then[a] Jesus[b] went out and made his way,[c] as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives,[d] and the disciples followed him. 40 When he came to the place,[e] he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”[f] 41 He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take[g] this cup[h] away from me. Yet not my will but yours[i] be done.” 43 [Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And in his anguish[j] he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.][k] 45 When[l] he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, exhausted[m] from grief. 46 So[n] he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation!”[o]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.