Old/New Testament
Chapter 39
The Priestly Vestments. 1 With the blue, purple, and scarlet cloth were made the finely woven vestments for ministering in the sanctuary, as well as the sacred vestments for Aaron as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Ephod. 2 He made the ephod of gold and blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen. 3 The gold was beaten into fine plates and cut into wires and was interwoven into the blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and the linen with skilled craftsmanship. 4 Two shoulder pieces were made for the ephod that were attached to its two ends so that it might be joined together. 5 The skillfully woven band to bind it together that was placed over it was of the same workmanship and the same materials, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and twisted linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 The onyx stones were prepared and set into settings of gold filigree. They were engraved with the names of the children of Israel, like an engraver engraves a signet ring. 7 The two stones were set on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance for the children of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Breastplate. 8 He made the breastplate like the ephod, with fine workmanship. It was made of gold, blue, purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen. 9 It was square and doubled over, a span in length and a span in width. 10 They covered it with settings of precious stones arranged in four rows. The first row had a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald. 11 The second row had a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond. 12 The third row had a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 The fourth row had a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set in gold filigree settings. 14 The stones corresponded to the names of the children of Israel. There were twelve, standing for their names. They were engraved like the engraving of a signet ring, each name corresponding to a name of one of the twelve tribes.
15 They made chains of pure gold on the breastplate in the shape of twisted cords. 16 They also made two filigree settings of gold and two golden rings and placed the two rings at the two edges of the breastplate. 17 They attached the two golden chains to the two rings at the edges of the breastplate. 18 They attached the other ends of the chains to the two filigree settings and they thus attached it to the front part of the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 They made two other golden rings and placed them on the two edges of the breastplate, on its inside edge, next to the ephod. 20 They made two other golden rings and placed them on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at their bottom on the front side, next to the place where it is attached to the skillfully woven band of the ephod.
21 Other Priestly Vestments. They then tied the breastplate with its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue material so that it might lie upon the skillfully woven band of the ephod and that the breastplate might not pull away from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 The Robe. He made a robe of the ephod all in blue 23 with an opening in the middle and a woven border around the opening so that it might not be torn. 24 They made a design of pomegranates on the hem of the garment with blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen. 25 They also made bells out of pure gold and placed the bells in between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe. 26 There was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe used for ministering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
27 Other Vestments. They also wove tunics from fine linen for Aaron and his sons, 28 a turban of fine linen, caps of fine linen, and undergarments of fine twisted linen, 29 and a sash of fine twisted linen, of blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, embroidered with fine needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 The Turban. They made the plate of the holy crown out of pure gold and they wrote on it as an engraver would engrave a signet ring, “Holy to the Lord.” 31 They attached it with a blue cord to the front part of the turban, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32 Moses Inspects the Tabernacle. Thus, all of the work of the tabernacle, of the tent of meeting, was finished. The children of Israel had done everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 They then brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its accessories, its clasps, boards, bars, columns, and bases, 34 the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, the covering of sheep skins, the veil of the screen; 35 the Ark of Testimony with its poles, and the seat of atonement, 36 the table with all its accessories and the bread of the Presence, 37 the lampstand made of pure gold with its lamps, that is, the lamps that were to be placed on top of it, with all its accessories, the oil for light, 38 the altar of gold, the oil of anointing, the fragrant incense; the screen for the entrance to the tent, 39 the altar of bronze with its bronze grating, its poles and all its accessories, the basin and its base, 40 the drapes for the courtyard, their columns, their bases, and the screen for the gate to the courtyard, their cords, their pegs, and all the utensils for ministering in the tabernacle, for the meeting tent; 41 the finely woven vestments for ministering in the sanctuary, the holy vestments for Aaron the priest, and the vestments for his sons in their priestly ministry. 42 Whatever the Lord had commanded Moses, this is how the children of Israel did all their work. 43 Moses examined all the work, and behold, it was done as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
Chapter 40
God Commands Moses To Consecrate the Tabernacle and the Priests. 1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and said to him, 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle, the meeting tent. 3 Put the Ark of Testimony inside, and in front of the Ark hang the veil. 4 Bring in the table and arrange its accessories. Then bring in the lampstand and put on its lamps. 5 Place the altar of gold for incense before the Ark of Testimony and set up the screen at the entrance to the tent.
6 “Set the altar of burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the meeting tent. 7 Place the basin between the meeting tent and the altar, and pour water into it. 8 Set up the courtyard all around, and put up the screen for the entrance to the courtyard.
9 “Take the oil of anointing and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it. Consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will become holy. 10 Also anoint the altar of burnt offerings and all its accessories. Consecrate the altar, and it will become most holy. 11 Also anoint the basin and its base and consecrate them.
12 “Then have Aaron and his sons approach the entrance to the meeting tent and wash them with water. 13 Put the holy vestments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him so that he might serve me as a priest. 14 Also have his sons approach and put their tunics on them. 15 Anoint them, like their father, so that they might exercise my priesthood. In this way their anointing will confer upon them an eternal priesthood, for all their generations.”
16 Moses Carries Out the Orders Received from God. Moses did everything as the Lord had commanded him. 17 Thus, in the second year, the first day of the first month, the tabernacle was set up. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases and set up its boards. He fixed the bars and raised the columns. 19 He then extended the tent over the tabernacle and over that he placed the covering for the tent, just as the Lord had commanded him.
20 He took the Testimony and placed it inside the Ark. He attached the poles to the Ark and put the seat of atonement on the Ark. 21 He then placed the Ark in the tabernacle, setting up the veil as a screen and hanging it in front of the Testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 Moses placed the table in the meeting tent, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. 23 He set up rows of bread upon it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him.
24 He set up the lampstand in the meeting tent, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 25 He placed the lamps on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him.
26 Moses then placed the golden altar in the meeting tent, in front of the veil, 27 and he burned fragrant incense upon it, just as the Lord had commanded him. 28 He placed the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle.
29 He then placed the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tabernacle, the meeting tent, and he offered burnt offerings and grain offerings upon it, just as the Lord had commanded him.
30 He placed the basin between the meeting tent and the altar and he put water in it for ablutions. 31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons then washed their hands and their feet with it. 32 Whenever they entered the meeting tent and approached the altar, they washed themselves, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
33 Finally, Moses erected the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar and put up the screen to the entrance of the courtyard. Thus Moses finished the work.
34 The Glory of God Fills the Tabernacle. Then a cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.[a] 35 Moses could not enter the meeting tent, for the cloud had settled upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36 The Guiding Cloud. Throughout their journeys, whenever the cloud would be taken up and leave the tabernacle, the children of Israel would break camp. 37 If the cloud did not go up, they did not leave until it had gone up. 38 Throughout their journeys the cloud of the Lord remained in the tabernacle during the day, and during the night there was a fire in it, visible to all the households of Israel.
23 [a]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, but you have neglected the more important aspects of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced these without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat and then swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You cleanse the outside of a cup and dish, but you leave the inside full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish so that the outside may also be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs[b] that look beautiful on the outside, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of decay. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 The Judgment of God Has Already Come on This Generation.[c]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the tombs of the Prophets and adorn the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the time of our ancestors, we never would have collaborated with them in shedding the blood of the Prophets.’ 31 Thus, you acknowledge that you are the descendants of those who murdered the Prophets. 32 Go and complete the work that your ancestors began.
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to Gehenna? 34 Behold, therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 As a result, upon you will fall the guilt of all the innocent blood that has been shed upon the earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Amen, I say to you, the guilt for all this will fall upon this generation.
37 The Lament over Jerusalem.[d]“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you murder the Prophets and stone the messengers sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not allow it! 38 Behold, your house has been abandoned and left desolate. 39 I tell you, you will not see me again until you say: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
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