Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Death of Moses
Chapter 34[a]
1 Moses climbed up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,[b] the peak of Pisgah, that is opposite Jericho. The Lord showed him the entire land, from Gilead to Dan, 2 as well as all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all of the land of Judah up to the western sea, 3 the Negeb, the district of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palms, up to Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you are not going to cross over into it.”
5 Moses, the servant of the Lord, died in the land of Moab, as the Lord had foretold. 6 He buried him[c] in the land of Moab, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, but up to the present no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyesight was not weak, nor was his strength diminished.
8 The Israelites grieved for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the prescribed period of weeping and mourning for Moses was over.
9 Now Joshua, the son of Nun, was filled with a spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him. The Israelites obeyed him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 Never again has a prophet arisen in Israel like Moses who knew the Lord face to face, 11 who performed such miraculous signs and wonders that the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to his officials and to his entire land. 12 No one has had his mighty power or performed the great and terrible deeds that he did in the sight of all of Israel.
Book IV—Psalms 90–106[a]
Psalm 90[b]
Prayer To Use Time Wisely
1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.[c]
Lord, you have been our refuge
from generation to generation.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth
or the earth and the world came into existence,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn men back to dust,
saying, “Return,[d] you children of men.”
4 For to you a thousand years
are like a yesterday that has passed
or one of the watches of the night.[e]
5 You snatch them away like a dream;
they are like the grass of the field,[f]
6 which at dawn flourishes and is green
but by nightfall is withered and dry.
13 Return,[a] O Lord. How long must we wait?
Show compassion to your servants.
14 Fill us with your kindness in the morning[b]
so that we may exult and be glad all our days.
15 Grant us joy for as many days as you have afflicted us
and for as many years as we have known misfortune.
16 Manifest your works to your servants
and your glory to their children.
17 May the favor[c] of the Lord, our God, rest upon us.
And may the work of our hands prosper—
indeed, may the work of our hands prosper.
Chapter 2
Paul’s Loving Treatment of the Thessalonians.[a] 1 You yourselves are well aware, brethren, that our visit to you has not been in vain. 2 Although we had suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you surely recall, God gave us the courage to declare the gospel of God to you despite great opposition.
3 The exhortation we impart does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery. 4 God has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the gospel. Therefore, when we speak, our intention is not to please human beings but to please God who tests our hearts.
5 As you are also aware, and as God is our witness, we have never resorted to flattering words or to your sense of greed. 6 Neither did we seek praise from human beings, whether from you or from others.
7 As apostles of Christ, we could have imposed our will on you,[b] yet we were as gentle in our treatment of you as a mother nursing and caring for her own children. 8 Our affection for you was so great that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our very lives, because you had become so dear to us.
34 The Greatest Commandment.[a] When the Pharisees learned that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and, to test him, one of them, a lawyer, asked this question, 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 Everything in the Law and the Prophets depends on these two commandments.”
41 Jesus Is Lord.[b] While the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus asked them this question, 42 “What is your opinion about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.” 43 He responded, “How is it then that David, under the inspiration of the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?
45 If David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one was able to give him an answer, and from that day onward no one dared to ask him any further questions.
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