¹³ But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. ¹⁵ And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and^[a] the day after that we went to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening ^(A)to be at Jerusalem, if possible, ^(B)on the day of Pentecost.

Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders

¹⁷ Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called ^(C)the elders of the church to come to him. ¹⁸ And when they came to him, he said to them:

^(D)“You yourselves know ^(E)how I lived among you the whole time ^(F)from the first day that I set foot in Asia, ^19 (G)serving the Lord ^(H)with all humility and with ^(I)tears and with trials that happened to me through ^(J)the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I ^(K)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and ^(L)teaching you in public and from house to house, ^21 (M)testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of ^(N)repentance toward God and of ^(O)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.^{[b] 22} And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained ^(P)by^[c] the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that ^(Q)the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that ^(R)imprisonment and ^(S)afflictions await me. ²⁴ But ^(T)I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only ^(U)I may finish my course and ^(V)the ministry ^(W)that I received from the Lord Jesus, ^(X)to testify to ^(Y)the gospel of ^(Z)the grace of God. ²⁵ And now, behold, ^(AA)I know that none of you among whom I have gone about ^(AB)proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. ²⁶ Therefore ^(AC)I testify to you this day that ^(AD)I am innocent of the blood of all, ²⁷ for ^(AE)I did not shrink from declaring to you ^(AF)the whole counsel of God. ^28 (AG)Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all ^(AH)the flock, in which ^(AI)the Holy Spirit has made you ^(AJ)overseers, ^(AK)to care for ^(AL)the church of God,^[d] which he ^(AM)obtained ^(AN)with his own blood.^{[e] 29} I ^(AO)know that after my departure ^(AP)fierce wolves will come in among you, ^(AQ)not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and ^(AR)from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore ^(AS)be alert, remembering that ^(AT)for three years I did not cease night or day ^(AU)to admonish every one ^(AV)with tears. ³² And now ^(AW)I commend you to God and to ^(AX)the word of his grace, which is able to ^(AY)build you up and to give you ^(AZ)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ^33 (BA)I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. ^34 (BB)You yourselves know that ^(BC)these hands ministered to my necessities and ^(BD)to those who were with me. ³⁵ In all things ^(BE)I have shown you that ^(BF)by working hard in this way we must ^(BG)help the weak and ^(BH)remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed ^(BI)to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ And when he had said these things, ^(BJ)he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And ^(BK)there was much weeping on the part of all; ^(BL)they embraced Paul and ^(BM)kissed him, ³⁸ being sorrowful most of all because of ^(BN)the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And ^(BO)they accompanied him to the ship.

The Altar of Incense

30 ^(A)“You shall make ^(B)an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ² A cubit^[a] shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. ^(C)Its horns shall be of one piece with it. ³ You shall ^(D)overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. ⁴ And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be ^(E)holders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵ You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^(F)mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ And Aaron shall ^(G)burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he ^(H)dresses the lamps he shall burn it, ⁸ and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer ^(I)unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. ^10 (J)Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the ^(K)sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

The Census Tax

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ^12 (L)“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give ^(M)a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. ¹³ Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel^[b] according to the ^(N)shekel of the sanctuary (the ^(O)shekel is twenty gerahs),^{[c] (P)}half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord's offering. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than ^(Q)the half shekel, when you give the Lord's offering to make atonement for your lives. ¹⁶ You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall ^(R)give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to ^(S)remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “You shall also make a ^(T)basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. ^(U)You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, ¹⁹ with which Aaron and his sons ^(V)shall wash their hands and their feet. ²⁰ When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering^[d] to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. ²¹ They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall ^(W)be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil and Incense

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Take the ^(X)finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of ^(Y)aromatic cane, ²⁴ and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a ^(Z)hin^[e] of olive oil. ²⁵ And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the ^(AA)perfumer; it shall be a ^(AB)holy anointing oil. ^26 (AC)With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, ²⁷ and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, ²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the ^(AD)basin and its stand. ²⁹ You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. ^(AE)Whatever touches them will become holy. ^30 (AF)You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ³¹ And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. ³² It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. ^(AG)It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ^33 (AH)Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ^(AI)“Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), ³⁵ and make an ^(AJ)incense blended as by the ^(AK)perfumer, ^(AL)seasoned with salt, pure and holy. ³⁶ You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting ^(AM)where I shall meet with you. ^(AN)It shall be most holy for you. ³⁷ And the incense that you shall make ^(AO)according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. ^38 (AP)Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”

Oholiab and Bezalel

31 The Lord said to Moses, ² “See, I have called by name ^(AQ)Bezalel the son of Uri, son of ^(AR)Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have ^(AS)filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, ⁴ to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵ in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. ⁶ And behold, I have appointed with him ^(AT)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ^(AU)ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: ^7 (AV)the tent of meeting, and ^(AW)the ark of the testimony, and ^(AX)the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, ^8 (AY)the table and its utensils, and ^(AZ)the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and ^(BA)the altar of incense, ⁹ and ^(BB)the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and ^(BC)the basin and its stand, ¹⁰ and ^(BD)the finely worked garments,^[f] the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, ¹¹ and ^(BE)the anointing oil and the fragrant ^(BF)incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

The Sabbath

¹² And the Lord said to Moses, ¹³ “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. ¹⁴ You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. ^(BG)Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ^15 (BH)Six days shall work be done, but ^(BI)the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. ^(BJ)Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. ¹⁶ Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. ^17 (BK)It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that ^(BL)in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and ^(BM)on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

¹⁸ And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the ^(BN)two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with ^(BO)the finger of God.