Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Moses Dies
34 Then Moses climbed up Mount Nebo. He went from the plains of Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah. It is across from Jericho. From there the Lord showed him all the land. He could see from Gilead to Dan. 2 He could see all of Naphtali and the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh. He could see all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea. 3 He could see the southern desert and the whole Valley of Jericho up to Zoar. Jericho is called the city of palm trees. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ I have let you look at it, Moses. But you will not cross over there.”
5 Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in Moab. It was as the Lord had said. 6 The Lord buried Moses in Moab in the valley opposite Beth Peor. But even today no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyes were not weak. And he was still strong. 8 The Israelites cried for Moses for 30 days. They stayed in the plains of Moab until the time of sadness was over.
9 Joshua son of Nun was then filled with wisdom. Moses had put his hands on Joshua. So the Israelites listened to Joshua. And they did what the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 There has never been another prophet like Moses. The Lord knew Moses face to face. 11 The Lord sent Moses to do signs and miracles in Egypt. He did them to the king, to all his officers and to the whole land of Egypt. 12 Moses had great power. He did wonderful things for all the Israelites to see.
Book 4
Psalms 90—106
God Is Eternal, and We Are Not
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, you have been our home
since the beginning.
2 Before the mountains were born,
and before you created the earth and the world,
you are God.
You have always been, and you will always be.
3 You turn people back into dust.
You say, “Go back into dust, human beings.”
4 To you, a thousand years
is like the passing of a day.
It passes like an hour in the night.
5 While people sleep, you take their lives.
They are like weeds that grow in the morning.
6 In the morning they are fresh and new.
But by evening they dry up and die.
13 Lord, how long before you return
and show kindness to your servants?
14 Fill us with your love every morning.
Then we will sing and rejoice all our lives.
15 We have seen years of trouble.
Now give us joy as you gave us sorrow.
16 Show your servants the wonderful things you do.
Show your greatness to their children.
17 Lord our God, be pleased with us.
Give us success in what we do.
Yes, give us success in what we do.
Paul’s Work in Thessalonica
2 Brothers, you know that our visit to you was not a failure. 2 Before we came to you, we suffered in Philippi. People there insulted us. You know about that. And when we came to you, many people were against us. But our God helped us to be brave and to tell you his Good News. 3 Our message was a message to encourage you. We were not trying to lie. We had no evil plan. We were not trying to trick you. 4 But we speak the Good News because God tested us and trusted us to do it. When we speak, we are not trying to please men. But we are trying to please God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know that we never tried to influence you by saying nice things about you. We were not trying to get your money. We had no selfishness to hide from you. God knows that this is true. 6 We were not looking for praise from you or anyone else. We are apostles of Christ. When we were with you, we could have used our authority to make you do things.
7 But we were very gentle with you.[a] We were like a mother caring for her little children. 8 Because we loved you, we were happy to share God’s Good News with you. But not only that, we were also happy to share even our own lives with you.
The Most Important Command
34 The Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them. So the Pharisees met together. 35 One Pharisee was an expert in the law of Moses. That Pharisee asked Jesus a question to test him. 36 The Pharisee asked, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’[b] 40 All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”
Jesus Questions the Pharisees
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them a question. 42 He asked, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
The Pharisees answered, “The Christ is the Son of David.”
43 Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David was speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit. David said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit by me at my right side,
until I put your enemies under your control.’ Psalm 110:1
45 David calls the Christ ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”
46 None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question. And after that day no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.