The Daily Audio Bible

The Holy Tent

26 “Make the Holy Tent with ten pieces of cloth. These pieces must be made of fine linen and blue, purple and red thread. Have a skilled craftsman sew designs of creatures with wings on the pieces of cloth. ² Make each piece the same size. Each piece should be 42 feet long and 6 feet wide. ³ Sew five pieces of cloth together for one set. Sew the other pieces together for the second set. ⁴ Make loops of blue cloth down the edge of the end piece of each set. ⁵ Make 50 loops on the end piece of the first set. And make 50 loops on the end piece of the second set. These loops must be opposite each other. ⁶ And make 50 gold hooks. Use these to join the two sets of cloth. This will make the Holy Tent one piece.

⁷ “Then make another tent that will cover the Holy Tent. Make this tent of 11 pieces of cloth made from goat hair. ⁸ All these pieces of cloth must be the same size. They must be 45 feet long and 6 feet wide. ⁹ Sew five of the pieces together into one set. Then sew the other six pieces together into the second set. Fold the sixth piece double over the front of the Tent. ¹⁰ Make 50 loops down the edge of the end piece of one set. Do the same for the end piece of the other set. ¹¹ Then make 50 bronze hooks. Put these in the loops to join the two sets of cloth. This will make the covering one piece. ¹² Let the extra half piece of cloth hang over the back of the Holy Tent. ¹³ There will be 18 inches hanging over the sides of the Holy Tent. This will protect the Tent. ¹⁴ Make two more coverings for the Holy Tent. One should be made from male sheep skins colored red. The outer covering should be from fine leather.

¹⁵ “Use acacia wood to make upright frames for the Holy Tent. ¹⁶ Each frame must be 15 feet long and 27 inches wide. ¹⁷ Every frame must be made the same way. There must be two pegs side by side in each frame. ¹⁸ Make 20 frames for the south side of the Holy Tent. ¹⁹ Each frame must have 2 silver bases to go under it. A peg fits into each silver base. You must make 40 silver bases for the frames. ²⁰ Make 20 more frames for the north side of the Holy Tent. ²¹ Make 40 silver bases for them. Make 2 bases for each frame. ²² You must make 6 frames for the rear or west end of the Holy Tent. ²³ Make 2 frames for each corner at the rear. ²⁴ The 2 frames at each corner are to be joined together. Hold them together from bottom to top with a metal ring. Both corner frames must be made this way. ²⁵ So there will be a total of 8 frames at the rear of the Tent. And there will be 16 silver bases—2 bases under each frame.

²⁶ “Make crossbars of acacia wood to connect the upright frames of the Holy Tent. Make five crossbars to hold the frames together on one side. ²⁷ Also make five crossbars to hold the frames together on the other side. And make crossbars to hold the frames together on the west end, at the rear. ²⁸ The middle crossbar is to be set halfway up the frames. It is to run along the entire length of each side and rear. ²⁹ Make gold rings on the sides of the frames. Pass the crossbars through the rings. Cover the frames and the crossbars with gold. ³⁰ Set up the Holy Tent by the plan shown to you on the mountain.

³¹ “Make a curtain of fine linen and blue, purple and red thread. Have a skilled craftsman sew designs of creatures with wings on the curtain. ³² Hang the curtain by gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood. Cover these posts with gold and set them in four silver bases. ³³ Hang the curtain from the hooks in the roof. Put the Ark of the Covenant containing the two flat stones behind the curtain. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. ³⁴ Put the lid on the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place.

³⁵ “Outside the curtain, put the table on the north side of the Holy Tent. And put the lampstand on the south side of the Holy Tent. This will be across from the table.

The Entrance of the Holy Tent

³⁶ “Then make a curtain for the entrance of the Tent. Make it with fine linen and blue, purple and red thread. Someone who can sew well is to sew designs on it. ³⁷ Make five posts of acacia wood covered with gold. Make five gold hooks on which to hang the curtain from the posts. And make five bronze bases for the five posts.

The Altar

27 “Make an altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood. Make it 4½ feet high. It should be square: 7½ feet long and 7½ feet wide. ² Make each of the four corners of the altar stick out like a horn. The corners with their horns must be all one piece. Then cover the whole altar with bronze.

³ “Use bronze to make all the tools and dishes that will be used on the altar. Make pots to remove the ashes. Make shovels, bowls for sprinkling blood, meat forks and pans for carrying the burning wood.

⁴ “Make a large, bronze screen to hold the burning wood. And put a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the screen. ⁵ Put the screen inside the altar, under its rim, halfway up from the bottom.

⁶ “Make poles of acacia wood for the altar. And cover them with bronze. ⁷ Put the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar to carry it. ⁸ Make the altar out of boards and leave the inside hollow. Make it as you were shown on the mountain.

The Courtyard of the Holy Tent

⁹ “Make a wall of curtains to form a courtyard around the Holy Tent. The south side should have a wall of fine linen curtains 150 feet long. ¹⁰ Hang the curtain with silver hooks and bands. Put these on 20 bronze posts on 20 bronze bases. ¹¹ The north side must also be 150 feet long. Hang its curtains on silver hooks and bands. Put these on 20 bronze posts on 20 bronze bases.

¹² “The west end of the courtyard must have a wall of curtains 75 feet long. It must have 10 posts and 10 bases on that wall. ¹³ The east end of the courtyard must also be 75 feet long. ¹⁴ On one side of the entry, there is to be a wall of curtains. It is to be 22½ feet long. It is to be held up by 3 posts on 3 bases. ¹⁵ On the other side of the entry, there is to be a wall of curtains. It is to be 22½ feet long. It is to be held up by 3 posts on 3 bases.

¹⁶ “The entry to the courtyard is to be a curtain 30 feet wide. It is to be made of fine linen with blue, purple and red thread. Someone who can sew well is to sew designs on it. It is to be held up by 4 posts on 4 bases. ¹⁷ All the posts around the courtyard must have silver bands and hooks and bronze bases. ¹⁸ The courtyard must be 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. The wall of curtains around it should be 7½ feet high. They must be made of fine linen. The bases in which the posts are set must be bronze. ¹⁹ All the things used in the Holy Tent must be made of bronze. And all the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and the wall around the courtyard must be made of bronze.

Oil for the Lamp

²⁰ “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure olive oil. It is to be made from pressed olives. This is to keep the lamps on the lampstand burning. ²¹ Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This will be in the Meeting Tent. It is outside the curtain which is in front of the Ark of the Covenant. The Israelites and their descendants must obey this rule from now on.

A Story About Ten Girls

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls who went to wait for the bridegroom. They took their lamps with them. ² Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise. ³ The five foolish girls took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. ⁴ The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. ⁵ The bridegroom was very late. All the girls became sleepy and went to sleep.

⁶ “At midnight someone cried out, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’ ⁷ Then all the girls woke up and got their lamps ready. ⁸ But the foolish girls said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “So the five foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.

¹¹ “Later the others came back. They called, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’ ¹² But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

¹³ “So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time the Son of Man will come.

A Story About Three Servants

¹⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was going to another place for a visit. Before he left, he talked with his servants. The man told them to take care of his things while he was gone. ¹⁵ He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. He gave one servant five bags of money. He gave another servant two bags of money. And he gave a third servant one bag of money. Then the man left. ¹⁶ The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money. The five bags of money earned five more. ¹⁷ It was the same with the servant who had two bags of money. He invested the money and earned two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who got one bag of money went out and dug a hole in the ground. Then he hid his master’s money in the hole.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master came home. He asked the servants what they did with his money. ²⁰ The servant who got five bags of money brought five more bags to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used your five bags to earn five more.’ ²¹ The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with small things. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’

²² “Then the servant who got two bags of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of money to care for. So I used your two bags to earn two more.’ ²³ The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with small things. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’

²⁴ “Then the servant who got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew that you were a hard man. You harvest things you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not sow any seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the bag of money you gave me.’ ²⁶ The master answered, ‘You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest things I did not plant, and that I gather crops where I did not sow any seed? ²⁷ So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back with interest.’

²⁸ “So the master told his other servants, ‘Take the bag of money from that servant and give it to the servant who has ten bags of money. ²⁹ Everyone who uses what he has will get more. He will have much more than he needs. But the one who does not use what he has will have everything taken away from him.’ ³⁰ Then the master said, ‘Throw that useless servant outside, into the darkness! There people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’

A Prayer of Faith in Troubled Times

For the director of music. A song of David.

Listen to Wisdom