Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Moses Dies
34 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah, across from Jericho. From there the Lord showed him all the land from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali and the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the ·Mediterranean [L Western] Sea, 3 as well as the ·southern desert [L the Negev] 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 [swore] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said to them, ‘I will give this land to your ·descendants [L seed; Gen. 12:1–13; 15:17–20].’ ·I have let you look at [L Your eyes have seen] it, Moses, but you will not cross over there.”
5 Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in Moab, as the Lord had said [Num. 20:12]. 6 He buried Moses in Moab in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but even today no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not weak, and ·he was still strong [L his vigor had not left him]. 8 The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] cried for Moses for thirty days, staying in the plains of Moab until the time of ·sadness [mourning] was over.
9 Joshua son of Nun was then filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had ·put [laid] his hands on him. So the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] listened to Joshua, and they did what the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses [Acts 3:22–23; Heb. 3:1–19]. The Lord knew Moses face to face [Num. 12:6–8] 11 and sent him to do signs and ·miracles [wonders] in Egypt—to ·the king [L Pharaoh], to all his ·officers [L servants], and to the whole land of Egypt. 12 Moses had ·great power [L a strong hand], and he did great and 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 [dwelling place; Deut. 33:27]
·since the beginning [L from all generations].
2 Before the mountains were born
and before you ·created [brought forth] the earth and the world,
you are God [Prov. 8:22–31].
You have always been, and you will always be.
3 You turn people back into ·dust [L what is crushed; Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Eccl. 12:7].
You say, “·Go back into dust [L Return; Turn back], human beings.”
4 ·To you [L In your eyes], a thousand years
is like the passing of a day [2 Pet. 3:8],
or ·like a few hours [L a watch; C the night was divided into four watches of three hours each] in the night.
5 While people sleep, you ·take [put an end to] their lives.
They are like grass that ·grows up [is new] in the morning.
6 In the morning they ·are fresh and new [blossom and are renewed],
but by evening they ·dry up [fade] and ·die [wither].
13 Lord, how long before you ·return [turn]
and show ·kindness [compassion] to your servants?
14 ·Fill [Satisfy] us with your ·love [loyalty] every morning.
Then we will sing and rejoice all our ·lives [L days].
15 We have seen years of ·trouble [harm; hurt].
Now give us as ·much [L many days of] joy as you gave us ·sorrow [affliction].
16 Show your servants ·the wonderful things you do [your miracles];
·show your greatness [your splendor/beauty] to their children.
17 Lord our God, ·treat us well [favor us].
·Give us success in what we do [L Establish the work of our hands for us];
·yes, give us success in what we do [L establish the work of our hands].
Paul’s Work in Thessalonica
2 Brothers and sisters, you ·know [yourselves know; are well aware that] our ·visit [coming] to you was not ·a failure [without results; in vain; Acts 17:1–9]. 2 Before we came to you, we suffered and were ·insulted [mistreated] in Philippi [C a city in Macedonia (1:7); Acts 16:6–40], as you know. But ·our God helped us to be brave and [L we were emboldened in our God] to tell you ·his Good News [the Gospel of God] in spite of great opposition. 3 [L For] Our ·appeal [encouragement; exhortation] does not come from ·lies [error] or ·wrong reasons [false motives; L impurity], nor ·were we trying to trick you [with guile/deceit]. 4 But we speak the ·Good News [Gospel] because God ·tested [approved] us and ·trusted us to do [or entrusted us with] it. When we speak, we are not trying to please people, but God, who ·tests [examines; approves] our hearts. 5 You know that we never ·tried to influence you by saying nice things about you [L came with words of flattery]. ·We were not trying to get your money; we had no selfishness to hide from you [L …nor with hidden motives of greed]. God ·knows that this is true [L is (our) witness]. 6 We were not looking for human ·praise [glory], from you or anyone else, 7 even though as apostles of Christ we could have ·used our authority over you [thrown our weight around; exercised our prerogatives].
But we were very gentle with you,[a] like a ·mother [nurse; nursing mother] caring for her [L own] little children. 8 Because we ·loved [had such affection for/devotion to] you, we were ·happy [pleased; delighted] to share not only God’s ·Good News [Gospel] with you, but ·even [also] our own lives. You had become so ·dear [beloved] to us!
The Most Important Command(A)
34 When the Pharisees learned that ·the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them [L Jesus had silenced the Sadducees], the Pharisees met together. 35 One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to ·test [trap] him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the ·most important [greatest]?”
37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind [Deut. 6:5].’ 38 This is the first and ·most important [greatest] command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].’ 40 All the law and the ·writings of the prophets [L prophets] ·depend [are based; L hang] on these two commands.”
Jesus Questions the Pharisees(B)
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the ·Christ [Messiah]? Whose ·son [descendant] is he?”
They answered, “The Son of David [see 2 Sam. 7:12].”
43 Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David, speaking ·by the power of the Holy Spirit [L in/by the Spirit], said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right ·side [L hand; C the place of greatest honor beside the king],
until I put your enemies ·under your control [L beneath your feet; C meaning defeated or made subject to your authority; Ps. 110:1].”’
45 David calls ·the Christ [the Messiah; L him] ‘Lord,’ so how can ·the Christ [the Messiah; L he] be his son?”
46 ·None of the Pharisees [L No one] could answer ·Jesus’ question [a word], and after that day no one ·was brave enough [dared] to ask him any more questions.
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