Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord Is King

Final Speeches and the Death of Moses

Joshua Is Appointed the Leader of Israel

31 Moses again spoke to the whole nation of Israel:

^2 (A) I am 120 years old, and I am no longer able to be your leader. And besides that, the Lord your God has told me that he won't let me cross the Jordan River. ^3-5 (B) But he has promised that he and Joshua will lead you across the Jordan to attack the nations that live on the other side. The Lord will destroy those nations just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, those two Amorite kings. Just remember—whenever you capture a place, kill everyone who lives there.

⁶ Be brave and strong! Don't be afraid of the nations on the other side of the Jordan. The Lord your God will always be at your side, and he will never abandon you.

⁷ Then Moses called Joshua up in front of the crowd and said:

Joshua, be brave and strong as you lead these people into their land. The Lord made a promise long ago to Israel's ancestors that this land would someday belong to Israel. That time has now come, and you must divide up the land among the people. ^8 (C) The Lord will lead you into the land. He will always be with you and help you, so don't ever be afraid of your enemies.

Read These Laws

⁹ Moses wrote down all of these laws and teachings and gave them to the priests and the leaders of Israel. The priests were from the Levi tribe, and they carried the sacred chest that belonged to the Lord. ^10-11 (D) Moses told these priests and leaders:

Each year the Israelites must come together to celebrate the Festival of Shelters at the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. You must read these laws and teachings to the people at the festival every seventh year, the year when loans do not need to be repaid.^{[a] 12-13} Everyone must come—men, women, children, and even the foreigners who live in your towns. And each new generation will listen and learn to worship the Lord their God with fear and trembling and to do exactly what is said in God's Law.

Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

¹⁶ Jesus told his disciples, “For a little while you won't see me, but after a while you will see me.”

¹⁷ They said to each other, “What does Jesus mean by saying that for a little while we won't see him, but after a while we will see him? What does he mean by saying he is going to the Father? ¹⁸ What is this ‘little while’ that he is talking about? We don't know what he means.”

¹⁹ Jesus knew they had some questions, so he said:

You are wondering what I meant when I said that for a little while you won't see me, but after a while you will see me. ²⁰ I tell you for certain that you will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but later you will be happy.

²¹ When a woman is about to give birth, she is in great pain. But after it is all over, she forgets the pain and is happy, because she has brought a child into the world. ²² You are now very sad. But later I will see you, and you will be so happy that no one will be able to change the way you feel. ²³ When that time comes, you won't have to ask me about anything. I tell you for certain the Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. ²⁴ You have not asked for anything in this way before, but now you must ask in my name.^[a] Then it will be given to you, so you will be completely happy.