Psalm 31

Psalm 31

Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit

Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.

A Declaration of Confidence

Petition

The Basis for Confidence

The Prayer for Delivery

Confident Petition

Closing Praise

1 Corinthians 16

Plans for a Collection and Travel Plans

¹ Now concerning the collection for the saints, do as I directed the churches in Galatia to do. ² On the first day of every week, each of you is to set something aside in keeping with whatever he gains, saving it up at home, so that when I come, no collections will need to be carried out. ³ When I arrive, those whom you approve will be provided with letters, and I will send these representatives to deliver your gracious gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ If it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me.

⁵ I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia, for I am going to go through Macedonia. ⁶ Perhaps I will have an extended stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way, wherever I go. ⁷ For I do not wish to see you now in passing. I hope to stay with you for a while, if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will stay on in Ephesus until Pentecost, ⁹ because a door has opened for me, a great opportunity for action, and there are many adversaries.

¹⁰ But if Timothy comes, make sure he has no reason to be afraid while he is with you, for he does the work of the Lord, as I do. ¹¹ Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his way in peace so that he may come to me, because I am expecting him, and so are the brothers with me. ^[1]

¹² Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. It was not at all his desire to go now, but he will when he has an opportunity.

Closing Messages

¹³ Keep alert. Stand firm in the faith. Demonstrate manly courage. Be strong. ¹⁴ Let everything you do be done in love.

¹⁵ Brothers, you know Stephanas and his household. You know that they are the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they volunteered for service to the saints. ¹⁶ I urge that you also submit to them and to everyone who joins in and works hard. ¹⁷ I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus came, because they supplied what was lacking on your part, ¹⁸ and they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such people.

¹⁹ The churches in the province of Asia ^[2] greet you. Aquila and Priscilla ^[3] greet you warmly in the Lord, together with the church that meets in their house. ²⁰ All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹ This greeting is written by me, Paul, with my own hand. ²² If anyone does not love the Lord—let him be under a curse! ^[4] Marana tha! ^{[5] 23} The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ ^[6] be with you. ²⁴ My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen. ^[7]

1 Corinthians 15:1-34

1 Corinthians 15

Christ’s Resurrection Is Foundational

¹ Brothers, I am going to call your attention to the gospel that I preached to you. You received it, and you took your stand on it. ² You are also being saved by that gospel that was expressed in the words I preached to you, if you keep your hold on it—unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:

⁶ After that he appeared to over five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, he appeared also to me, the stillborn child, so to speak. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God’s church. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not ineffective. On the contrary, I worked more than all of them (and yet it wasn’t my doing, but it was the grace of God, which was with me, that did it). ¹¹ So whether it is I or they, that is what we preach, and that is what you believed.

¹² Now if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how is it that some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is pointless, and your faith is pointless too. ¹⁵ Then we are even guilty of giving false testimony about God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if it were true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then it also follows that those who fell asleep in Christ perished. ¹⁹ If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all.

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came by a man, the resurrection of the dead also is going to come by a man. ²² For as in Adam they all die, so also in Christ they all will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ as the firstfruits and then Christ’s people, at his coming. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has done away with every other ruler and every other authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign “until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” ^{[2] 26} Death is the last enemy to be done away with. ²⁷ Certainly, “he has put all things in subjection under his feet.” ^[3] Now when it says that all things have been put in subjection, obviously that does not include the one who subjected all things to him. ²⁸ But when all things have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected ^[4] to the one who subjected all things to him, in order that God may be all in all.

²⁹ Otherwise, what will those people do who get baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why do they even get baptized for them? ³⁰ Why do we live in danger every hour? ³¹ Day by day I face death, as surely as I boast about you, brothers, ^[5] in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³² If I fought wild animals in Ephesus with human motives, what good did it do me? If the dead are not raised, then “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ^{[6] 33} Do not be deceived! “Keeping bad company corrupts good morals.” ^{[7] 34} Use sober judgment, as is right, and do not sin, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

1 Corinthians 13

Love Matters More Than the Other Gifts

¹ If I speak in the tongues ^[1] of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and know all the mysteries and have all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away everything I own, and if I give up my body that I may be burned ^[2] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy. It does not brag. It is not arrogant. ⁵ It does not behave indecently. It is not selfish. It is not irritable. It does not keep a record of wrongs. ⁶ It does not rejoice over unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It bears ^[3] all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ^[4]

⁸ Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophetic gifts, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be done away with. ⁹ For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, ¹⁰ but when that which is complete has come, that which is partial will be done away with. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see indirectly using a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I was fully known.

¹³ So now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 11:2-34

1 Corinthians 11

Concerning Head Coverings at Worship

² I praise you, brothers, ^[1] for remembering me in all things and holding firmly to the teachings ^[2] as I delivered them to you. ³ However, I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and man is woman’s head, and God is Christ’s head. ⁴ Every man who prays or prophesies with a covering hanging down from his head dishonors his head. ⁵ But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is one and the same thing as being a woman with a shaved head. ⁶ Indeed, if a woman does not wear a head covering, she should cut off her hair too. But if it is shameful for a woman to cut off her hair or shave her head, she should wear a head covering.

⁷ For a man ought not to wear a head covering, because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is man’s glory. ⁸ For man is not from woman, but woman from man, ⁹ and man was not created for the woman, but woman for the man. ¹⁰ For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, ^[3] because of the angels.

¹¹ Nevertheless, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. ¹² For as woman came from man, so also man comes through woman, and all things are from God.

¹³ Judge for yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Doesn’t the nature of things itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is disgraceful for him, ¹⁵ whereas if a woman has long hair, it is glorious for her? For her long hair has been given to her as a covering. ¹⁶ But if anyone is inclined to be contentious—we have no such custom, and neither do God’s churches.

A Sinful Practice at the Lord’s Supper Needs to Be Eliminated

¹⁷ Now in giving you this next command, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸ For in the first place, I hear that when you come together in an assembly, there are divisions among you. And to some extent I believe it, ¹⁹ for there also have to be factions among you so that those who are approved may become evident among you. ²⁰ So when you come together in the same place, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat. ²¹ For when you eat, each one goes ahead and takes his own supper, and so one person goes hungry while another is drunk. ²² What, don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise God’s church and humiliate those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I do not praise you!

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ^[4] “This is my body, which is ^[5] for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after the meal, he also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new testament ^[6] in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

²⁷ Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the Lord’s body and blood. ²⁸ Instead, let a person examine himself and after doing so, let him eat of the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ For if anyone eats and drinks in an unworthy way ^[7] because he does not recognize ^[8] the Lord’s ^[9] body, he eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰ Because of this, many among you are weak and sick, and quite a few have fallen asleep. ^{[10] 31} But if we judged ourselves, we would not be undergoing judgment. ³² However, when we undergo judgment, we are being disciplined by the Lord so that we may not be condemned with the world.

³³ Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. ^{[11] 34} If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home so that your coming together may not result in judgment. The rest of my instructions I will give when I come.

1 Corinthians 8 – 9

Love Builds Up

1 Corinthians 8

¹ Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ² If anyone supposes that he knows something, he does not yet know the way he ought to know. ³ But if anyone loves God, this person has been known ^[1] by him.

⁴ So, concerning the eating of food from idol sacrifices, we know that an idol is not anything real in the world and that there is no God but one. ⁵ Indeed, even if there are so-called “gods,” whether in the heavens or on earth (as in fact there are many “gods” and many “lords”), ⁶ nevertheless for us there is one God—the Father, from whom all things exist and we exist for him—and one Lord—Jesus Christ, through whom all things exist and we exist through him.

⁷ However, that knowledge is not in everyone. Instead some, who are still affected by their former habit with the idol, eat the food as something sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

⁸ Food will not bring us closer to God. We do not lack anything if we do not eat, nor are we better off if we do. ⁹ And be careful that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰ For if someone sees you, a person who has knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of this man, weak as he is, be emboldened to eat food from an idol sacrifice? ¹¹ You see, the weak person is being destroyed by your knowledge—the brother for whose sake Christ died! ¹² And when you sin in this way against your brothers and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I do not cause my brother to sin.

What Paul Does With His Rights and Freedom

1 Corinthians 9

¹ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus, our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? ² If I am not an apostle to others, yet at least I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³ This is my defense to those who examine me. ⁴ Do we not have a right to eat and to drink? ⁵ Do we not have a right to take along a wife who is a believer, as the rest of the apostles do, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? ^{[2] 6} Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have no right to be spared from manual labor? ⁷ What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat some of its fruit? Or who takes care of a flock and does not drink milk from the flock? ⁸ Am I saying this just from a human point of view? Doesn’t the law also say this? ⁹ Yes, it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out grain.” ^[3] Is God really concerned about oxen, ¹⁰ or does he say this entirely for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher ought to thresh in hope of getting a share. ¹¹ If we sowed spiritual seed for your good, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? ¹² If others have some right to make this claim on you, don’t we even more? But we did not use this right. Instead, we endure everything so as not to cause any hindrance for the gospel of Christ.

¹³ Do you not know that those who do the work in the temple eat food from the temple, and those who attend to the altar receive a portion from what is on the altar? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel are to receive their living from the gospel. ¹⁵ But I have used none of these things.

I am not writing this to have it done this way in my case, because it is better for me to die than to let anyone deprive me of my boast. ¹⁶ You see, if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, because an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷ If I do this as a volunteer, I receive compensation. But if not, I have been entrusted with a responsibility as a steward. ¹⁸ What then is my compensation? To present the gospel of Christ ^[4] free of charge when I preach it, instead of making use of the right I have when I preach the gospel.

¹⁹ In fact, although I am free from all, I enslaved myself to all so that I might gain many more. ²⁰ To the Jews, I became like a Jew so that I might gain Jews. To those who are under the law, I became like a person under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might gain those who are under the law. ²¹ To those who are without the law, I became like a person without the law (though I am not without God’s law but am within the law of Christ) so that I might gain those who are without the law. ²² To the weak, I became weak so that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all people so that I may save at least some. ²³ And I do everything for the sake of the gospel so that I may share in it along with others.

Christian Effort and Self-Discipline

²⁴ Do you not know that when runners compete in the stadium, they all run, but only one receives the prize? Run like that—to win. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable victor’s wreath, but we do it for an imperishable one. ²⁶ That is why there is nothing aimless about the way I run. There is no pummeling of the air in the way I box. ²⁷ Instead I hit my body hard and make it my slave so that, after preaching to others, I myself will not be rejected.

1 Corinthians 5 – 6

The Need for Church Discipline and Personal Sanctification

1 Corinthians 5

¹ It is actually ^[1] reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and it is a kind of sexual immorality that not even the Gentiles practice: A man has his father’s wife! ² Yet you are proud! Shouldn’t you have been filled with sorrow so that the man who did this deed would be removed from among you? ³ Even though I am absent in body, I am present in spirit, and as one who is present, I have already decided about the man who has done such a thing. ⁴ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, and my spirit is there, along with the power of our Lord Jesus, ^{[2] 5} hand such a man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus. ^[3]

⁶ Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Purge out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, just as you are unleavened. For our Passover lamb has been sacrificed, namely, Christ! ⁸ So let us keep celebrating the festival, not with old yeast, not with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹ When I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with the sexually immoral, ¹⁰ I did not at all mean the sexually immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, for then you would have to leave the world. ¹¹ But in this situation, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother if he is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. ¹² For what business is it of mine to judge people outside the church? Do you not judge those inside? ¹³ God will judge the people outside the church. “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” ^[4]

Lawsuits and Unrighteous Behavior

1 Corinthians 6

¹ If any one of you has a case against another, does he dare to seek judgment before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? ² Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to deal with insignificant lawsuits? ³ Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the matters of this life! ⁴ So if you have lawsuits involving matters of this life, do you appoint those people as your judges whom the church considers of no account? ⁵ I say this to make you feel ashamed. Is it really the case that there is not one wise man among you who would be able to decide a dispute between his brothers? ⁶ Instead, brother sues brother, and that in front of unbelievers! ⁷ The fact that you have lawsuits with one another is already a complete failure on your part. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves do the wronging and defrauding, and you do it to your brothers!

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor males who have sex with males, ^{[5] 10} nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor the verbally abusive, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And some of you were those types of people. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ ^[6] and by the Spirit of our God.

Flee From Sexual Immorality!

¹² “All things are permitted for me”—but not all things are beneficial. “All things are permitted for me”—but I will not allow anything to control me. ¹³ “Foods are for the belly, and the belly is for foods, but God will do away with both of them.” However, the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴ God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. ¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then remove the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Or ^[7] do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For it says, “The two will become one flesh.” ^{[8] 17} But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

1 Corinthians 1:18 – 2:16

1 Corinthians 1

God’s Way of Saving People Seems Foolish to Some

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. ¹⁹ In fact, it is written:

²⁰ Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Jewish law? Where is the probing thinker of the present age? Has God not shown that the wisdom of this world ^[2] is foolish? ²¹ Indeed, since the world through its wisdom did not know God, God in his wisdom decided to save those who believe, through the foolishness of the preached message. ²² Yes, Jews ask for signs, Greeks desire wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified—which is offensive to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ We preach Christ crucified, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For example, consider your call, brothers. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view, not many were powerful, and not many were born with high status. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are strong, ²⁸ and God chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things, and ^[3] the things that are not, to do away with the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before God. ³⁰ But because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us the wisdom from God, namely, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. ³¹ God did this so that, just as it is written, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” ^[4]

1 Corinthians 2

¹ As for me, brothers, when I came to you, I did not come with superior speech or wisdom in order to proclaim to you the testimony ^[5] of God. ² For I had no intention of knowing anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. ³ I came to you ^[6] in weakness, in fear, and with much trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not marked by persuasive words of human ^[7] wisdom, but by a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

In-Depth Wisdom Is for Spiritual People

⁶ Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, but it is not a wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are being reduced to nothing. ⁷ Instead we speak God’s wisdom that has been hidden in mystery—before the ages, God foreordained that this wisdom would result in our glory. ⁸ None of the rulers of this world knew it. (If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.) ⁹ But as it is written:

¹⁰ But God revealed it to us through his ^[9] Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹ Indeed, who among men knows a man’s thoughts except the man’s spirit within him? So also, no one else knows God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit.

¹² What we received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the blessings freely given to us by God. ¹³ We also speak about these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual truths with spiritual words. ^{[10] 14} However, an unspiritual person does not accept the truths taught by God’s Spirit, because they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually evaluated. ¹⁵ But the spiritual person evaluates all things, and he himself is evaluated by no one. ¹⁶ Indeed, “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who will instruct him?” ^[11] But we have the mind of Christ.

Exodus 39 – 40

The Vestments

Exodus 39

¹ From the blue, purple, and scarlet material, they made finely woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, and they made the holy garments for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Special Vest

² He ^[1] made the special vest ^[2] from gold and from blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen. ³ They beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads so that they could work it into the blue, purple, and scarlet material and into the fine linen, the work of a skilled craftsman. ^{[3] 4} They made two shoulder straps for the top, one on each side, so that the vest could be fastened together. ⁵ The decorated sash, which is attached to the vest, was made just like it: of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine woven linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ They took two onyx stones and mounted them in gold settings and engraved on them the names of the sons of Israel, like the engraving on signet seals. ⁷ They mounted them on the shoulder straps of the vest as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Chest Pouch

⁸ Bezalel made a folded pouch, the work of a skillful craftsman. He made it with the same workmanship as the vest. He made it of gold, and of blue, purple, and scarlet material and of fine woven linen. ⁹ It was square, nine inches by nine inches when it was folded double.

¹⁰ They mounted on it four rows of precious stones. The first row was carnelian, diamond, and jacinth; ¹¹ the second row agate, sapphire, and emerald; ¹² the third row beryl, jasper, and ruby; ¹³ and the fourth row topaz, onyx, and turquoise. ^[4] The stones were mounted in gold settings. ¹⁴ There were twelve stones, corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel. Each one was like an engraved seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

¹⁵ They made braided chains of pure gold for the pouch. ¹⁶ They made two gold rings for the pouch and attached the two rings to the top corners of the pouch. ¹⁷ They put the two braided gold chains into the two rings at the top corners of the pouch. ¹⁸ The other ends of the two braided chains they attached to the two settings, and then attached them to the shoulder straps on the front of the vest. ¹⁹ They made two gold rings and put them on the two lower corners of the pouch, on its inside edge, which is toward the vest. ²⁰ They made two more gold rings and attached them to the two shoulder straps of the vest in the front, close to the bottom where it is joined to the sash of the vest. ²¹ They tied the rings of the pouch to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that the pouch was kept right next to the woven sash of the vest and would not swing out from the vest—just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Robe Worn With the Vest

²² The robe that was to be worn under the vest was the work of a weaver. It was all blue. ²³ It had an opening in the middle of its top for the head. It had a woven binding around the opening, like the opening of a collar, ^[5] to prevent it from tearing. ²⁴ For its hem they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material. ²⁵ They put the pomegranates around its hem with gold bells alternating with them ²⁶ (a gold bell, then a pomegranate, a gold bell, then a pomegranate), all around the hem of the robe that was worn when ministering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Tunics and Pants

²⁷ They wove the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons. ²⁸ They made the turban and the small pointed turbans of fine linen, ^[6] and the underwear was made from a special kind of finely woven linen. ^{[7] 29} The sash was made of finely woven linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet material, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Gold Medallion

³⁰ They made a medallion of pure gold to serve as a crest and engraved on it (like the engravings on a seal): Holy to the Lord. ³¹ They put it on a blue cord to fasten it to the turban on the front, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Completion of the Dwelling

³² In this way all the work on the Dwelling, that is, the Tent of Meeting, was finished. The people of Israel did everything exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ They brought the Dwelling to Moses: the tent with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its crossbars, its posts, its socket bases, ³⁴ the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, the covering made from hides of sea cows, the special veil, ³⁵ the Ark of the Testimony with its poles, the atonement seat, ³⁶ the table, all its utensils, the Bread of the Presence, ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand, its lamps (that is, the lamps to be set out in order), all its vessels and utensils, the oil for the Light, ³⁸ the golden altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, the screen for the door of the Tent, ³⁹ the bronze altar, its bronze grate, its poles, all of its utensils, the basin and its pedestal, ⁴⁰ the hangings of the courtyard, its posts, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the courtyard, its ropes, its stakes, all the equipment for the service of the Dwelling (that is, the Tent of Meeting), ⁴¹ the finely woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister in the priest’s office. ⁴² So the people of Israel did all the work according to everything that the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴³ Moses inspected all the work, and he saw that they had done it exactly as the Lord had commanded, so Moses blessed them.

Dedication of the Dwelling

Exodus 40

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ² “On the first day of the first month you are to raise up the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. ³ Put the Ark of the Testimony in it, and screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ Bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be on it. Bring in the lampstand, and light its lamps. ⁵ Set the golden ^[8] altar for incense in front of the Ark of the Testimony, and put the screen in the doorway to the tent. ⁶ Set the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance of the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. ⁷ Set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ Set up the courtyard around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the courtyard. ⁹ Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tent and everything that is in it. You shall make it and all its furniture holy, and it will be holy. ¹⁰ Anoint the altar for burnt offerings with all its utensils. Consecrate the altar, and the altar will be most holy. ¹¹ Anoint the large basin and its pedestal, and consecrate it.

¹² Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and wash them with water. ¹³ Put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. ¹⁴ Bring his sons and put tunics on them. ¹⁵ Anoint them, as you anointed their father, so that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. Their anointing will give them a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.” ¹⁶ Moses did so. He did everything exactly as the Lord had commanded him.

¹⁷ And so in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the Dwelling was raised. ¹⁸ Moses raised the Dwelling. He laid out its socket bases, set up its boards, inserted its crossbars, and raised its posts. ¹⁹ He spread the tent over the Dwelling and put the cover for the tent above it, ^[9] just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁰ He took the Testimony and put it into the ark. He set the poles in place on the ark and placed the atonement seat on top of the ark. ²¹ He brought the ark into the tent. He set up the special veil to screen the Ark of the Testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² He put the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the north side of the tent, outside of the veil. ²³ He set the bread in order on the table in the presence of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁴ He put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tent. ²⁵ He lit the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁶ He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the veil. ²⁷ He burned incense of fragrant spices on it, just as the Lord commanded Moses. ²⁸ He put up the screen for the entryway to the tent. ²⁹ He set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting, and offered the burnt offering and the grain offering on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰ He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it, with which to wash. ³¹ Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons washed their hands and their feet there. ³² When they went into the Tent of Meeting and when they came near the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³³ He erected the courtyard around the tent and the altar and set up the screen of the gate of the courtyard. So Moses completed the work.

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tent. ³⁵ Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed over it, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tent. ³⁶ Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, the people of Israel would move forward. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they would not travel until the day when it was taken up. ³⁸ For in the sight of the whole house of Israel, the cloud of the Lord was above the tent by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, throughout all their journeys.

Exodus 36:8 – 37:9

Exodus 36

The Coverings for the Dwelling

⁸ All the skilled craftsmen among the workers made the dwelling ^[1] out of ten curtains made from finely woven linen ^[2] and with blue, purple, and scarlet material. They ^[3] decorated the curtains with cherubim, which were the work of a skillful craftsman. ⁹ The length of each panel of the curtain was forty-two feet, and the width of each panel was six feet. All the panels were the same size. ¹⁰ One set of five curtains was connected together into one panel, and the other set of five curtains was connected together. ¹¹ They attached blue loops to the edge of the last panel in the first set of curtains. In the same way they attached loops to the edge of the last panel of the second set. ¹² They made fifty loops for the edge of the first set of curtains and fifty loops for the edge of the second set of curtains. The two sets of loops lined up opposite one another. ¹³ They made fifty gold clasps, and they connected one set of curtains to the other with the clasps, so that the tent became one connected piece.

¹⁴ They made a curtain from panels of goats’ hair to serve as a tent over the dwelling. ^[4] They made eleven panels. ¹⁵ The length of each panel was forty-five feet, and the width of each panel was six feet. The eleven panels were the same size. ¹⁶ They connected five panels into one unit, and six panels into another unit. ¹⁷ They made fifty loops for the edge of the last curtain of one set, and fifty loops for the edge of the last curtain in the second set. ¹⁸ They made fifty bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops to join the two pieces of the tent together, so that it was one unit.

¹⁹ They made another cover for the tent from rams’ skins dyed red and another cover from hides of sea cows to go above that one.

The Framework

²⁰ They made upright boards ^[5] of acacia wood for the Dwelling. ²¹ Each board was fifteen feet tall, and the width of each board was twenty-seven inches. ²² There were two pegs on each board to join them to one another. ^[6] This is the way they made all the boards for the Dwelling.

²³ They made twenty boards for the south side of the Dwelling. ²⁴ They made forty socket bases of silver to go under the twenty boards—two sockets under the first board for its two pegs, and two sockets under the next board for its two pegs.

²⁵ For the second side of the Dwelling, the north side, they made twenty boards, ²⁶ with forty socket bases of silver—two sockets under the first board, and two sockets under the next board.

²⁷ For the far side of the Dwelling, the west side, they made six boards. ²⁸ They made two boards for each of the back corners of the Dwelling. ²⁹ These two corner boards were double on the bottom, but they both were joined at the top by one ring. ^[7] Both sets were like this. ³⁰ Altogether there were eight boards with silver socket bases. There were sixteen socket bases—two socket bases under each board.

The Crossbars

³¹ They made crossbars of acacia wood—five for the boards on one side of the Dwelling, ³² five crossbars for the boards on the other side of the Dwelling, and five crossbars for the boards on the back of the Dwelling on the west. ³³ The middle bar, placed halfway up the boards, passed through from one end to the other end. ³⁴ They overlaid the boards with gold and made gold rings to attach to them as a housing for the crossbars, and they overlaid the crossbars with gold.

The Partitions for the Sanctuary

³⁵ They made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen, decorated with cherubim, the work of a skillful craftsman. ³⁶ They made four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. The posts stood on four socket bases of silver. The hooks were made of gold.

³⁷ They made a screen for the entry to the tent out of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen, the work of an embroiderer. ³⁸ They made five posts of acacia to support the screen and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were gold, and they cast five bronze socket bases for them.

The Ark of the Covenant

Exodus 37

¹ Bezalel ^[8] made the ark ^[9] of acacia wood. It was forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ² He overlaid it with pure gold on the inside and the outside, and he made a gold border around it. ³ He cast four gold rings for it and placed them next to its four feet—two rings on one side of it and two rings on the other side. ⁴ He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.

⁶ He made an atonement seat ^[10] of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. ⁷ He made two cherubim of hammered gold for the two ends of the atonement seat, ⁸ one cherub for one end and one cherub for the other. The cherubim on its two ends formed one piece with the atonement seat. ^{[11] 9} The cherubim spread their wings upward so that they covered the atonement seat with their wings, and they faced each other. The faces of the cherubim were looking inward toward the atonement seat.

Exodus 34

New Stone Tablets: A New Copy of the Laws

¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. On these tablets I will write the same words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Be ready by morning, and come up to Mount Sinai in the morning. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. ³ No one may come up with you. In fact, no person is to be seen anywhere on the entire mountain. Do not even let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”

⁴ Moses cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. Moses got up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hand. ⁵ The Lord came down in the cloud. He took his stand there with Moses and proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and overflowing with mercy and truth, ⁷ maintaining mercy for thousands, forgiving guilt and rebellion and sin. He will by no means clear the guilty. He calls their children and their children’s children to account for the guilt of the fathers, even to the third and the fourth generation.”

⁸ Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshipped. ⁹ He said, “If I have now found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go along with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our guilt and our sin, and accept us as your possession.”

The Covenant Repeated

The Covenant Festivals

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words for yourself, for these are the words with which I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

²⁸ Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat any bread or drink any water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. ^[9]

Moses’ Shining Face

²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not realize that the skin of his face was shining because he had been speaking with the Lord. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, they were amazed that the skin of his face was shining, so they were afraid to come close to him. ³¹ Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the rulers of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. ³² Afterward, all the people of Israel came close to him, and he gave them all of the commands that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses was finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out again. Then he would come out and tell the people of Israel what he had been commanded. ³⁵ Whenever the people of Israel saw Moses’ face, they would see that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord again.

Exodus 32

The Gold Calf

¹ When the people saw that it took so long for Moses to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, make a god ^[1] for us, who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what has become of him.”

² Aaron said to them, “Pull off the gold earrings from your wives and sons and daughters and bring them to me.”

³ All the people pulled off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took what they handed him and shaped it with an engraving tool and made it into a bull calf cast out of metal. Then they said, “This is your god, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” ^[2]

⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it, and Aaron made a proclamation. He said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.”

⁶ They got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought fellowship offerings. Then the people sat down to eat and to drink and got up to celebrate wildly.

⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses: “Hurry down, because your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves! ⁸ They have quickly turned from the way which I commanded them. They have made a calf for themselves out of metal and have worshipped it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and they certainly are a stiff-necked people. ^{[3] 10} So now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn hot against them, so that I may consume them and make you into a great nation.”

¹¹ Moses begged the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out for an evil purpose, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn back from your fierce anger and change your mind about inflicting disaster on your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self. You said to them, ‘I will multiply your seed ^[4] like the stars of the sky, and I will give all this land that I have spoken about to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

¹⁴ Then the Lord changed his mind about the disaster which he said he would inflict on his people.

¹⁵ Moses turned and went down the mountain, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand—tablets that were written on both sides, written on one side and on the other. ¹⁶ The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”

¹⁸ Moses said, “It is not the sound of people who shout for victory; neither is it the sound of people who cry because of defeat. But I do hear the sound of people who are celebrating.”

¹⁹ As soon as Moses came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses’ anger burned. So he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water. Then he made the people of Israel drink it.

²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin on them?”

²² Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn. You know these people. They are set on evil, ²³ so they said to me, ‘Make a god for us, who will go ahead of us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, pull it off.’ So they gave it to me. I threw it into the fire and out came this calf.”

²⁵ When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had let them get so out of control that they were disgraced among their enemies), ²⁶ Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me!”

All the descendants of Levi gathered themselves together to Moses. ²⁷ He said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man is to strap his sword on his thigh and go back and forth throughout the camp, from one gate of the camp to the other, and every man is to kill his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’” ²⁸ The Levites did what Moses said, and that day about three thousand men from among the people fell. ²⁹ Moses said, “Begin your service of the Lord today. ^[5] Yes, because every man among you took a stand against his son and against his brother, the Lord is bestowing a blessing on you today.”

³⁰ On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a very serious sin. Now I will go up to the Lord. Perhaps I can gain atonement for your sin.”

³¹ Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Yes, this people has committed a very serious sin: They have made a god of gold for themselves. ³² Yet now, if you will, please forgive their sin—and if not, please erase me from your book, which you have written.”

³³ The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me is the one I will erase from my book. ³⁴ Now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you. Look, my Angel shall go ahead of you. Nevertheless, when the right day comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” ³⁵ The Lord struck the people with a plague, because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron made.

Exodus 29

The Ordination of the Priests

¹ This is what you shall do to them to set them apart as holy, so that they can minister to me in the priest’s office:

Take one young bull and two rams without defect, ² unleavened bread, unleavened rolls mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed ^[1] with oil. Make them from fine wheat flour. ³ Put them into one basket and bring them in the basket when you bring the bull and the two rams. ⁴ Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the garments and put them on Aaron: the tunic, the robe to be worn under the vest, the vest, and the pouch. Clothe him with the sash of the vest. ⁶ Set the turban on his head and put the holy crest on the turban. ⁷ Then take the anointing oil and pour it on his head to anoint him. ⁸ You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. ⁹ Clothe them with sashes—Aaron and his sons—and bind small pointed turbans on them. Then they shall possess the priesthood by means of a perpetual regulation. You shall ordain Aaron and his sons for their work. ^[2]

¹⁰ Bring the bull in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ Slaughter the bull in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ¹² Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹³ Take all the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴ But the meat of the bull, its hide, and its intestines and their contents, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp. This is a sin offering.

¹⁵ Then take the first ram. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁶ Slaughter the ram, and take its blood and splash it all around on the altar. ¹⁷ You shall cut the ram into pieces, wash its internal organs and its legs, and put them with the other pieces and with its head. ¹⁸ You shall burn the whole ram on the altar. This is a whole burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire ^[3] to the Lord.

¹⁹ Then take the other ram. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. ²⁰ Then you shall slaughter the ram. Take some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, and splash the blood all around on the altar. ²¹ Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and spatter it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on the garments of his sons, who are with him. So he and his garments and his sons and his sons’ garments shall be consecrated. ²² From this ram take the fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for this is a ram for the dedication), ²³ and one loaf of bread, one roll made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. ²⁴ You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar for the burnt offering as a pleasant aroma before the Lord. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord.

²⁶ Take the breast from Aaron’s ram of ordination and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion of the sacrifice. ²⁷ Consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the elevated offering, which are waved and lifted up, ^[4] from the ram of ordination. They are for Aaron and for his sons. ²⁸ It shall belong to Aaron and his sons perpetually as their portion of the offering from the people of Israel, because it is an elevated offering. It shall be an elevated offering from the people of Israel from their sacrifices, from their fellowship offerings, that is, their elevated offering to the Lord.

²⁹ The holy garments of Aaron shall belong to his descendants after him, so they are to wear them while they are being anointed and ordained for their work. ³⁰ The son who is to be high priest in Aaron’s place shall put them on for seven days when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

³¹ Take the ram of ordination and boil its meat in a holy place. ³² Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ³³ They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but a non-priest ^[5] shall not eat them, because they are holy. ³⁴ If any of the meat or the bread from the ordination remains until the next morning, you shall burn the remainder with fire. It must not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ This is what you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, exactly as I have commanded you. You shall ordain them ^[6] for seven days. ³⁶ Every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to make it holy. ³⁷ For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar to make it holy. The altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

The Regular Daily Offerings

³⁸ Now this is what you shall offer on the altar regularly, every day: two lambs a year old. ³⁹ The first lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. ^{[7] 40} With the first lamb offer two quarts ^[8] of fine flour mixed with a quart ^[9] of beaten olive oil, ^[10] and a quart of wine for a drink offering. ⁴¹ The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and you shall offer with it the same grain offering and the same drink offering as in the morning, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire ^[11] to the Lord. ⁴² It shall be presented as a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord. There I will meet with you to speak to you. ⁴³ There I will meet with the people of Israel, and the place will be made holy by my glory. ⁴⁴ I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest’s office. ⁴⁵ I will dwell among the people of Israel and I will be their God. ⁴⁶ They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

Exodus 26 – 27

The Curtains and Covers for the Dwelling

Exodus 26

¹ The curtain that forms the dwelling ^[1] itself you shall make with ten panels ^[2] of fine woven linen, ^[3] with blue, purple, and scarlet material. Decorate them with cherubim, which are to be the work of a skillful craftsman. ² The length of each panel of the curtain is to be forty-two feet, and the width of each panel six feet. All the panels are to be the same size. ³ Five panels of the curtain are to be connected together into one panel, and the other five panels are to be connected together into one. ⁴ Attach blue loops to the edge of the last panel in the first set of curtains. In the same way attach loops to the edge of the last panel of the second set. ⁵ Make fifty loops for the edge of the first set of curtains, and make fifty loops for the edge of the second set of curtains. The loops are to be opposite one another. ⁶ Make fifty gold clasps, ^[4] and connect the two sets of curtains to each other with the clasps, so that the dwelling becomes one connected piece.

⁷ You shall make panels for a curtain made from goats’ hair to serve as a tent over the dwelling. Make eleven panels. ⁸ The length of each panel is to be forty-five feet, and the width of each panel six feet. The eleven panels are to be the same size. ⁹ Connect five panels of the curtain into one unit, and connect six panels into another unit. Fold the sixth panel of the curtain over the front edge of the Tent. ^{[5] 10} Attach fifty loops to the edge of the last panel of one set of curtains, and fifty loops to the edge of the last panel in the second set. ¹¹ Make fifty bronze clasps, and put the clasps into the loops to join the two pieces of the tent ^[6] together, so that it forms one unit. ¹² The excess part of the curtains that form the tent, which is left over, that is, the half curtain that is extra, is to hang down over the back of the Dwelling. ¹³ The eighteen inches left over on one side and the eighteen inches left over on the other side, all along the length of the tent coverings, are to be left hanging down over the sides of the Dwelling on either side to cover it. ^[7]

¹⁴ You shall also make a covering for the tent made from rams’ skins dyed red and a covering made from hides of sea cows to go above that one.

The Framework for the Dwelling

¹⁵ You shall make upright boards ^[8] of acacia wood to serve as a framework for the Dwelling. ¹⁶ The length of each board is to be fifteen feet, and the width of each board is to be twenty-seven inches. ¹⁷ There are to be two pegs on each board for connecting them to the next board. ^[9] That is the way you are to make all the boards for the Dwelling.

¹⁸ Make these boards for the Dwelling:

Make twenty boards for the south side. ¹⁹ Make forty socket bases of silver to be placed under the twenty boards—two sockets to go under the first board to hold its two pegs, and two sockets to go under the next board for its two pegs.

²⁰ For the second side of the Dwelling, the north side, make twenty boards, ²¹ with forty socket bases of silver—two sockets to go under the first board, and two sockets to go under the next board.

²² For the far side of the Dwelling, the west side, make six boards. ²³ Then make two boards for each of the back corners of the Dwelling. ²⁴ For the two corners there are to be twin boards from the bottom to the top, but they are to be joined at the top by one ring ^[10]—both cornerpieces are to be made like this. ²⁵ Altogether there will be eight boards with silver socket bases, sixteen socket bases—two socket bases to go under each board.

²⁶ You shall make crossbars of acacia wood—five crossbars for the boards on one side of the Dwelling, ²⁷ five crossbars for the boards on the other side of the Dwelling, and five crossbars for the boards on the backside of the Dwelling on the west. ²⁸ The middle bar, placed halfway up the boards, shall pass through from one end of the boards to the other end. ²⁹ Overlay the boards with gold. Attach gold rings to them to hold the crossbars, and overlay the crossbars with gold.

³⁰ You shall set up the Dwelling according to the design that is being shown to you on the mountain.

The Veil and the Screen

³¹ You shall make a special veil of blue, purple, and scarlet material and of fine woven linen, decorated with cherubim. It shall be made as the work of a skillful craftsman. ³² Hang it on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold, which stand on four socket bases of silver. The hooks are to be made of gold. ³³ Hang up the veil below the spot where the clasps join the two parts of the dwelling. Then bring the Ark of the Testimony inside the veil. The veil shall separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place for you. ³⁴ You shall put the atonement seat on top of the Ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place. ³⁵ You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand opposite the table on the south side of the Dwelling. You shall put the table on the north side.

³⁶ You shall make a screen ^[11] for the entry to the tent from blue, purple, and scarlet material and of fine woven linen, the work of an embroiderer. ³⁷ Make five posts of acacia wood to support the screen, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five bronze socket bases for them.

The Altar for Sacrifices

Exodus 27

¹ You shall make the altar of acacia wood, seven and a half feet long and seven and a half feet wide. The altar shall be square, and it shall be four and a half feet high. ² You shall make horns on its four corners. These horns are to be made as one piece with the altar, and you are to overlay the altar with bronze.

³ Make pails to take away its fat-drenched ashes. Make shovels, basins, meat hooks, ^[12] and fire pans for the altar. Make all its utensils of bronze.

⁴ Make a grate for it which is a latticework of bronze, and make four bronze rings for the four corners of the latticework grate. ⁵ Set the grate in place below the top edge of the altar, so that the grate rests halfway down from the top of the altar. ^[13]

⁶ Make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. ⁷ These poles are to be put through the rings on the two sides of the altar whenever it is carried. ⁸ You are to make the altar hollow, with sides made of boards. They are to make it as it is being shown to you on the mountain.

The Courtyard

⁹ You shall make the courtyard for the Dwelling.

For the south side of the courtyard there shall be hangings of fine woven linen, one hundred fifty feet long for that side. ¹⁰ There shall be twenty posts for it, and their twenty socket bases shall be bronze. The hooks for the posts and the connectors ^[14] shall be silver.

¹¹ In the same way, for the north side there shall be hangings one hundred fifty feet long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze socket bases. The hooks for the posts and their connectors shall be silver.

¹² For the courtyard on the west side there shall be hangings seventy-five feet wide, with ten posts and ten socket bases.

¹³ The width of the courtyard on the east side shall be seventy-five feet. ¹⁴ The hangings on one side of the entry gate shall be twenty-two feet six inches wide with three posts and three socket bases. ¹⁵ For the other side there shall be hangings twenty-two feet six inches wide with three posts and three socket bases.

¹⁶ For the entryway into the courtyard there shall be a screen thirty feet wide, made of blue, purple, and scarlet material and of fine woven linen, the work of an embroiderer. Make four posts for it and four socket bases. ¹⁷ All the posts around the courtyard shall be connected with silver. ^[15] Their hooks shall be silver, and their socket bases bronze. ¹⁸ The length of the courtyard shall be one hundred fifty feet, and the width seventy-five feet on both ends. The height of the hangings of fine woven linen shall be seven and a half feet. Its socket bases shall be bronze. ¹⁹ All the utensils for all the services of the Dwelling, all its tent stakes, and all the stakes for the courtyard shall be bronze.

Oil for the Lamps

²⁰ You shall command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives ^[16] for the Light so that the lamp may burn every night. ^{[17] 21} In the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil which is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend the lamp before the Lord from evening to morning. This shall be a permanent regulation throughout their generations for the people of Israel.