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.

Exodus 23:20 – 24:18

Exodus 23

The Angel of the Lord Will Lead Israel

²⁰ Look, I will send an angel before you to guard you on your way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Pay attention to him. Listen to his voice. Do not provoke him, because he will not pardon your disobedience, for my Name is in him. ²² But if you carefully listen to his voice and carry out all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

²³ Yes, my Angel shall go ahead of you and bring you into the territory of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Then I will cut them off. ²⁴ You shall not bow down to their gods. Do not serve them or follow their practices, but you must completely overthrow them and demolish their sacred memorial stones. ²⁵ You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from your midst. ²⁶ No one will miscarry or be childless ^[1] in your land. I will grant you the full number of your days.

²⁷ I will send my terror before you, and I will spread confusion among all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs and flee from you. ²⁸ I will send the hornet ahead of you. It will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from your presence. ²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in a single year, or the land would become desolate, and the wild animals would become too numerous for you. ³⁰ As you advance, I will drive them out little by little, until you have grown in number and taken possession of the land.

³¹ I will establish your border from the Red Sea ^[2] all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, ^[3] and from the Wilderness ^[4] to the River. ^[5] So I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you. ³² You shall not make a treaty ^[6] with them or with their gods. ³³ They are not to dwell in your land, or they will make you sin against me, because if you serve their gods, this will surely be a trap for you.

The Covenant Is Ratified

Exodus 24

¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, along with Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship me from a distance. ² Only Moses is allowed to come near the Lord, but the others are not to come near, and the people are not to go up with him.”

³ Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do.” ⁴ Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.

He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ He sent young Israelite men, who offered whole burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings of cattle to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and he splashed half of the blood on the altar. ⁷ He took the Book of the Covenant and read it out loud to the people and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do. We will obey.”

⁸ Moses took the blood and splashed it on the people. He said, “Look, here is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord made with you by means of all these words.”

⁹ Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up. ¹⁰ They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet they saw what looked like a pavement of sapphire ^[7] as clear as the sky. ¹¹ The Lord did not lay his hand on the dignitaries of the people of Israel. They gazed at God, and they ate and drank.

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Wait there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commands that I have written, so that you can teach them.”

¹³ Moses set out with his assistant Joshua and went up onto the mountain of God. ¹⁴ He said to the elders, “Wait here for us, until we come back to you. Look, here are Aaron and Hur. They will be with you. Whoever is involved in a dispute can go to them.”

¹⁵ Moses went up onto the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ The Glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses out of the middle of the cloud. ¹⁷ The appearance of the Glory of the Lord looked like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. ¹⁸ Moses entered into the middle of the cloud and climbed up the mountain. Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 21:1-32

Exodus 21

Civil Laws

¹ Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them:

Laws About Servants

² If you purchase a Hebrew servant, he is to serve for six years, but in the seventh he may go free without paying anything. ³ If he comes in by himself, he will go out by himself. If he is married when he comes in, then his wife will go out with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and the servant will go out by himself. ⁵ But if the servant formally declares, “I love my master, my wife, and my children. I do not want to go out free,” ⁶ then his master shall bring him to the judges. ^[1] His master shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and he shall bore through his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve him for the rest of his life.

⁷ If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she may not be sent out of the household as the male servants may be. ⁸ If she does not please her master who has married her, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has not kept his commitment to her. ⁹ If he marries her to his son, he must deal with her as he would deal with a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes a second wife for himself, he must not diminish the food, the clothing, or the marital rights ^[2] of the first wife. ¹¹ If he does not do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.

Laws About Injuries

¹² Anyone who strikes a man so that he dies must certainly be put to death. ¹³ However, if this was not done intentionally but rather was an act of God, for that kind of case I will appoint a place among you to which that man can flee. ¹⁴ But if a man plots and kills his neighbor deliberately, you shall take him from my altar, so that he may be put to death.

¹⁵ Anyone who strikes his father or his mother must certainly be put to death.

¹⁶ If anyone kidnaps someone and sells him, or if the kidnapped person is found in his possession, the kidnapper must certainly be put to death.

¹⁷ Anyone who curses his father or his mother must certainly be put to death.

¹⁸ If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and the victim does not die but is confined to bed— ¹⁹ if the victim gets up and can walk around outside with his staff, then the one who struck him shall not be punished, but he must pay for the victim’s lost work time while he is recuperating, until he is completely healed.

²⁰ If a man strikes his male or his female servant with a club, ^[3] and the servant dies at his hand, he must certainly be punished. ²¹ However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, ^[4] the man shall not be punished, for the servant was his property.

²² If men are fighting and they injure a pregnant woman so that the child comes out, yet no harm follows, they must certainly be fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve. ²³ But if any harm follows, then you are to take life for life, ²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.

²⁶ If a man strikes his male or female servant’s eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free as payment for the eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out his male or female servant’s tooth, he must let the servant go free as payment for the tooth.

²⁸ If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned to death, and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will not be held responsible. ²⁹ If the ox, however, had a habit of goring in the past, and its owner had been warned, but he did not keep it confined, and it then kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner shall also be put to death. ³⁰ But if a redemption payment is imposed on the owner instead of the death penalty, he must pay whatever is imposed on him to save his life. ³¹ This is also the ruling that applies to him if the ox has gored someone’s son or daughter. ³² But if the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to the servant’s owner, and the ox is to be stoned to death.

Romans 16:1-16

Romans 16

Greetings to Christians in Rome

¹ I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea. ² Welcome her in the Lord in a manner that is worthy of saints, and assist her in whatever way she may need your help, for she has certainly been a helper for many people, including me.

³ Greet Prisca ^[1] and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their necks for my life. I am not the only one who is thankful to them. All the churches of the Gentiles are as well.

⁵ Greet also the church that meets at their house.

Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

⁶ Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.

⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, ^[2] my relatives and fellow prisoners, who are highly regarded by the apostles. They were in Christ before I was.

⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.

¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who was tested and approved in Christ.

Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹ Greet Herodion, my relative.

Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

¹² Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who worked hard in the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked very hard for the Lord.

¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who was a mother to me too.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.

¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Romans 15:1-13

Romans 15

Serve One Another As Christ Served You

¹ We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not just to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please his neighbor for the good purpose of building him up. ³ For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who are insulting you fell on me.” ^[1]

⁴ Indeed, whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that, through patient endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we would have hope. ⁵ And may God, the source of patient endurance and encouragement, grant that you agree with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one mind, in one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ For this reason, accept one another as Christ also accepted you to the glory of God. ⁸ For I am saying that Christ became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs. ⁹ He also did this so that the Gentiles would glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 13

Governments Are Established by God

¹ Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. ² Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God’s institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves.

³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you like to have no fear of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will receive praise from him, ⁴ because he is God’s servant for your benefit. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because he does not carry the sword without reason. He is God’s servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore it is necessary to submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience.

⁶ For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God’s ministers, who are employed to do this very thing. ⁷ Pay what you owe to all of them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed.

Love One Another

⁸ Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, ^[1] do not covet ^[2] (and if there is any other commandment)—are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ^{[3] 10} Love does no harm to a neighbor, so love is the fulfillment of the law.

The End of the World Is Approaching

¹¹ And do this since you understand the present time. It is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is almost over, and the day is drawing near. So let us put away the deeds of darkness and put on the weapons of light. ¹³ Let us walk decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual sin and wild living, not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴ Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not give any thought to satisfying the desires of your sinful flesh.

Romans 11:25-36

Romans 11

²⁵ For I do not want you to be uninformed about this mystery, brothers, so that you are not conceited in your opinion of yourselves. There has been a hardening of part of Israel until the full number of Gentiles has come in. ²⁶ And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

The Paradox of How God Shows Mercy

²⁸ In regard to the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But, in regard to election, they are especially dear for the sake of the patriarchs, ²⁹ because God’s gracious gifts and call are not regretted. ³⁰ For just as you were once disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy due to their disobedience, ³¹ so also now they have become disobedient, so that by the mercy shown to you they may be shown mercy too. ³² For God imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may show mercy to all.

Romans 11:1-10

Romans 11

God Graciously Chose a Remnant

¹ So I say, did God reject his people? Absolutely not! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not reject his people whom he foreknew—or don’t you know what Scripture says about Elijah, how he was pleading with God against Israel: ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life.” ^{[1] 4} But what did God’s answer tell him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ^[2]

⁵ So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ^{[3] 6} Now if it is by grace, then it is not the result of works—otherwise grace would no longer be grace. ^[4]

God Planned a Way to Recover Some Hardened Jews

⁷ What then? Israel did not receive what it was striving to get. The elect did, but the rest were hardened. ⁸ Just as it is written:

⁹ And David says:

Romans 9:14-29

Romans 9

¹⁴ What will we say then? Does this mean that God is unjust? Absolutely not! ¹⁵ For God says to Moses:

¹⁶ So then, it does not depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

¹⁷ Indeed, the Scripture says in regard to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I caused you to stand, that I may demonstrate my power in how I deal with you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” ^{[2] 18} So then, God shows mercy to whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.

¹⁹ Then you will say to me, “Why does God still find fault? For who has ever succeeded in resisting his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, a mere human being, to talk back to God? Shall the thing that is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?” No. ²¹ Doesn’t the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay one pot for special use and another for ordinary use?

²² What if God, although he wanted to demonstrate his wrath and make his power known, endured with great patience the objects of wrath—ripe for destruction? ^{[3] 23} And what if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of mercy whom he prepared in advance for glory, ²⁴ including us, whom he called—not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles.

God Shows Mercy to Gentiles and the Remnant of Israel

²⁵ This is also what God says in Hosea: