Exodus 37–38; Psalm 43; Luke 7

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Exodus 37–38

Making the Ark

sBezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Two cubits1 and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it. And he cast for it four rings of gold for its tfour feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark. And he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And he made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat, one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.

Making the Table

10 uHe also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it. 12 And he made a rim around it a handbreadth2 wide, and made a molding of gold around the rim. 13 He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 14 Close to the frame were the rings, as holders for the poles to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table, and overlaid them with gold. 16 And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings.

Making the Lampstand

17 vHe also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it. 18 And there were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 19 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branchso for the six branches going out of the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, 21 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it. 22 Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. 23 And he made its seven lamps and its tongs and its trays of pure gold. 24 He made it and all its utensils out of a talent3 of pure gold.

Making the Altar of Incense

25 wHe made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit. It was square, and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it, 27 and made two rings of gold on it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles with which to carry it. 28 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

29 xHe made the holy anointing oil also, and the ypure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.

Making the Altar of Burnt Offering

zHe made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. Five cubits4 was its length, and five cubits its breadth. It was square, and three cubits was its height. He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its utensils of bronze. And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down. He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles. He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it with them. He made it hollow, with boards.

Making the Bronze Basin

aHe made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the bministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Making the Court

cAnd he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits; 10 their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side there were hangings of a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their ten pillars, and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 13 And for the front to the east, fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 And so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. 16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen. 17 And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. 18 And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. 20 And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.

Materials for the Tabernacle

21 These are the records of the tabernacle, dthe tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites eunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22 fBezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses; 23 and with him was fOholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels,5 by gthe shekel of the sanctuary. 25 The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a gbeka6 a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for h603,550 men. 27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the ibases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent a base. 28 And of the 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them. 29 The bronze that was offered was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels; 30 with it he made the jbases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, kthe bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, 31 the lbases around the court, and the mbases of the gate of the court, all the npegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.


Psalm 43

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

rVindicate me, O God, and sdefend my cause

against an ungodly people,

from tthe deceitful and unjust man

deliver me!

For you are uthe God in whom I take refuge;

why have you vrejected me?

Why do I wgo about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

xSend out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your yholy hill

and to your zdwelling!

Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy,

and I will praise you with the lyre,

O God, my God.

aWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

bHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.


Luke 7

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, bhe entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion2 heard about Jesus, che sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, dHe is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us eour synagogue. And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, Lord, fdo not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But gsay the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard these things, hhe marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such ifaith. 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

11 Soon afterward3 he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, jthe only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, khe had compassion on her and lsaid to her, Do not weep. 14 Then he came up and touched mthe bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say to you, narise. 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus4 ogave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and pthey glorified God, saying, qA great prophet has arisen among us! and rGod has visited his people! 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 stThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another? 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another? 21 In that hour whe healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and xon many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ythe blind receive their sight, the lame walk, zlepers5 are cleansed, and athe deaf hear, bthe dead are raised up, cthe poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is dnot offended by me.

24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus6 began to speak to the crowds concerning John: What did you go out einto the wilderness to see? fA reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? gA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,

hBehold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.

28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 (iWhen all the people heard this, and jthe tax collectors too, they declared God just,7 jhaving been baptized with kthe baptism of John, 30 lbut the Pharisees and mthe lawyers nrejected othe purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

31 To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.

33 For John the Baptist has come peating no bread and qdrinking no wine, and you say, He has a demon. 34 The Son of Man has come reating and drinking, and you say, Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, sa friend of tax collectors and sinners! 35 Yet twisdom is justified by all her children.

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 uOne of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 vAnd behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wwiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, If xthis man were ya prophet, he zwould have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. 40 And Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he answered, Say it, Teacher.

41 A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred adenarii, and the other fifty. 42 bWhen they could not pay, he ccancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? 43 Simon answered, The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt. And he said to him, You have judged rightly. 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I entered your house; dyou gave me no water for my feet, but eshe has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 fYou gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to gkiss my feet. 46 hYou did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, iwhich are many, are forgivenfor she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. 48 And he said to her, jYour sins are forgiven. 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among8 themselves, kWho is this, who even forgives sins? 50 And he said to the woman, lYour faith has saved you; mgo in peace.