The Death of John the Baptist

1 ^vAt that time ^wHerod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, ^x“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For ^yHerod had seized John and bound him and ^zput him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,¹ 4 because John had been saying to him, ^a“It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, ^bhe feared the people, because they held him to be ^ca prophet. 6 But when Herod’s ^dbirthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And ^ehis disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this, ^fhe withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he ^gsaw a great crowd, and ^ghe had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; ^hsend the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ⁱyou give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^jhe looked up to heaven and ^ksaid a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Paul in Macedonia and Greece

1 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and ^qdeparted for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when ^ra plot was made against him by the Jews¹ as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, ^sAristarchus and Secundus; and ^sGaius of Derbe, and ^tTimothy; and the Asians, ^uTychicus and ^vTrophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for ^wus at ^xTroas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after ^ythe days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.

Eutychus Raised from the Dead

7 ^zOn the first day of the week, when we were gathered together ^ato break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in ^bthe upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he ^cfell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and ^dbent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, ^e“Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and ^fhad broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

The Bronze Altar

1 “You shall make the ⁿaltar of acacia wood, five cubits¹ long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. 2 And you shall make ^ohorns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and ^pyou shall overlay it with bronze. 3 You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and ^qforks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. 6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 And the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 You shall make it hollow, with boards. ^rAs it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.

The Court of the Tabernacle

9 ^s“You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. 10 Its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, its pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. 13 The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 On the other side the hangings shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 16 For the gate of the court there shall be ^ta screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases. 17 All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. 18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.

Oil for the Lamp

20 ^u“You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 ^vIn the tent of meeting, ^woutside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.

The Priests’ Garments

1 “Then bring near to you ^xAaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, ^yNadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 ^zAnd you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the ^askillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4 These are the garments that they shall make: a ^bbreastpiece, an ^cephod, ^da robe, ^ea coat of checker work, ^ea turban, and ^ea sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. 5 They shall receive ^fgold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.

6 ^g“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. 8 And the ^hskillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. 12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And ⁱAaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders ^jfor remembrance. 13 You shall make settings of gold filigree, 14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.

15 ^k“You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. 16 It shall be square and doubled, a span² its length and a span its breadth. 17 ^lYou shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius,³ topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; 18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. 21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 23 And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 25 The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the ^mskillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29 ⁿSo Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular ^oremembrance before the Lord. 30 And in the breastpiece of judgment ^pyou shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.

31 ^q“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment,⁴ so that it may not tear. 33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. 35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.

36 “You shall make ^ra plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ^s‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall ^tbear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

39 “You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.

40 ^u“For Aaron’s sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them ^vfor glory and beauty. 41 And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall ^wanoint them and ordain them and ^xconsecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 42 You shall make for them ^ylinen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; 43 and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they ^zbear guilt and die. ^aThis shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.

Consecration of the Priests

1 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ^bTake one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, 2 ^cand unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. 3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. 4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^dwash them with water. 5 Then ^eyou shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the ^fskillfully woven band of the ephod. 6 ^gAnd you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 You shall take ^hthe anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. 8 Then you ⁱshall bring his sons and put coats on them, 9 and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with ^jsashes and bind caps on them. And ^kthe priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall ^lordain Aaron and his sons.

10 “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. ^mAaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 12 and ⁿshall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the ^ohorns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of⁵ the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. 13 And you shall take all ^pthe fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire ^qoutside the camp; ^rit is a sin offering.

15 “Then ^syou shall take one of the rams, and ^tAaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 16 and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. 17 Then you shall ^ucut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, 18 and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a ^vpleasing aroma, a food offering⁶ to the Lord.

19 ^w“You shall take the other ram, ^tand Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. 21 Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the ^xanointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons’ garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

22 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the ^yfat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ^zordination), 23 and ^aone loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. 24 You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and ^bwave them for a wave offering before the Lord. 25 Then ^cyou shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a ^dpleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.

26 “You shall take the ^ebreast of the ram of Aaron’s ^fordination and ^gwave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. 27 And you shall consecrate the ^hbreast of the wave offering that is waved and the ⁱthigh of the priests’ portion that is contributed from the ram of ^fordination, from what was Aaron’s and his sons’. 28 It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a ^jperpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a ^gcontribution. It shall be a ^gcontribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.