Which texts did Johannes Brahms choose for A German Requiem?

For A German Requiem, Johannes Brahms departed from the tradition of using the standard Latin texts of the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead. Instead, he personally selected passages from Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible.1

These selections, drawn from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, were chosen specifically to provide comfort to the living and to mourn the dead. By avoiding the traditional "fire and brimstone" imagery often associated with requiems, Brahms focused the work on themes of solace found in God and the afterlife.12