First Reading

Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,

the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho,

and the Lord showed him all the land—

Gilead, and as far as Dan, all Naphtali,

the land of Ephraim and Manasseh,

all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,

the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordan

with the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms,

and as far as Zoar.

The Lord then said to him,

"This is the land

which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

that I would give to their descendants.

I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over."

So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the Lord,

died as the Lord had said; and he was buried in the ravine

opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab,

but to this day no one knows the place of his burial.

Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died,

yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated.

For thirty days the children of Israel wept for Moses

in the plains of Moab, till they had completed

the period of grief and mourning for Moses.

Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom,

since Moses had laid his hands upon him;

and so the children of Israel gave him their obedience,

thus carrying out the Lord's command to Moses.

Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses,

whom the Lord knew face to face.

He had no equal in all the signs and wonders

the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt

against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land,

and for the might and the terrifying power

that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.