Maimonides explains that our bodies are Divine property and any deliberate attempt to destroy them is prohibited.Ī similar view is attributed to Socrates in the Phaedo. Both suicide and self-endangerment are forbidden ( Genesis 9:5 Deuteronomy 4:15).

There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.By contrast, Jewish law ( halakhah) is obligation-based, and the preservation of human life is a cardinal commandment. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. My Father’s house has many rooms if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”Īmong the last words in the Bible is this hope-giving vision of the redeemed soul’s future, when all will be new: Jesus’ words to His followers, common at funerals, can supply deep comfort in a person’s last hours on earth:

I have summoned you by name you are mine. These strong verses stand on their own, but I’ll sometimes punctuate them with God’s words to Joshua in Joshua 1:5 (“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you I will never leave you nor forsake you”): The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense These lines are so reassuring, especially to the lonely and fearful soul: I am like a weaned child with its mother I do not concern myself with great matters It’s an especially beautiful lullaby for someone who is approaching the end of this life (again, I’ll substitute the person’s name, especially in the last line): I sometimes pray it for myself as I lay down my head on my pillow. The Lord will watch over your coming and going The Lord is your shade at your right hand He who watches over you will not slumber I’ll usually speak it directly to the person who is approaching life’s end, whether or not they show signs of hearing or understanding: This is another psalm that is familiar to many. The holy place where the Most High dwells. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give wayĪnd the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,Īnd the mountains quake with their surging.

I especially love-and often dwell on-the central verse of this psalm, emphasizing the river whose streams “make glad” the city of God: Surely your goodness and love will follow meĪnd I will dwell in the house of the Lord With eternal pleasures at your right hand.īecause the Twenty-third Psalm is so well known and beloved, I’ll usually read and pray it without alteration (sometimes from the King James Version, depending on the person’s background): You will fill me with joy in your presence, Nor will you let your faithful one see decay. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices īecause you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” I say of the holy people who are in the land, In this psalm, there are multiple opportunities: I often insert the other person’s name (and “him,” “her” or “us”) in the passages I read at a bedside.

Bible quotes for terminally ill