The Daily Audio Bible
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Appointing the Priests
29 “This is what you must do to ·appoint Aaron and his sons [L them to consecrate them] to serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two ·male sheep [rams] ·that have nothing wrong with them [L without blemish]. 2 Use ·fine [choice] wheat flour ·without yeast to make bread [to make unleavened bread], cakes ·without yeast [unleavened] mixed with olive oil, and wafers ·without yeast [unleavened] brushed with olive oil. 3 Put these in one basket, and bring them along with the bull and two ·male sheep [rams]. 4 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent and wash them with water. 5 Take the clothes and dress Aaron in the inner robe [28:39–41] and the outer robe [28:31–35] of the ·holy vest [ephod; 28:6–14]. Then put on him the ·holy vest [ephod] and the ·chest covering [breastpiece; 28:15–28], and tie the ·holy vest [ephod] on him with its ·skillfully woven belt [embroidered waistband of the ephod]. 6 Put the turban on his head, and put the holy ·crown [diadem] on the turban. 7 Take the special olive oil and pour it on his head to ·make him a priest [L anoint him].
8 “Then bring his sons and put the inner robes on them. 9 ·Put [L Gird them with] the ·headbands [headdresses] on their heads, and tie ·cloth belts around their waists [L sashes on Aaron and his sons]. ·Aaron and his descendants [L They] will be priests in Israel, according to a ·rule that will continue from now on [perpetual statute/ordinance/requirement]. This is how you will ·appoint Aaron and his sons as priests [ordain Aaron and his sons; L fill the hand of Aaron and his sons].
10 “Bring the bull to the front of the Meeting Tent, and Aaron and his sons must ·put [lay] their hands on the bull’s head [C a ritual of identification; the animal stood in the place of the offerer]. 11 Then ·kill [slaughter] the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 12 Use your finger to put some of the bull’s blood on the ·corners [L horns; 27:2] of the altar, and then pour the blood that is left at the ·bottom [base; foundation] of the altar. 13 Take all the fat that covers the inner organs, as well as the ·best part [appendage] of the liver, both kidneys, and the fat around them, and ·burn them [L turn them into smoke] on the altar. 14 Take the bull’s meat, skin, and ·intestines [or dung], and burn them outside the camp. This is an ·offering to take away sin [sin offering; Lev. 4:1–5:13].
15 “Take one of the ·male sheep [rams], and have Aaron and his sons ·put [lay] their hands on its head. 16 ·Kill [Slaughter] it, and take its blood and ·sprinkle [dash] it on all four sides of the altar. 17 Then cut the ram into pieces and wash its inner organs and its legs, putting them with its head and its other pieces. 18 ·Burn [L Turn into smoke] the whole sheep on the altar; it is a burnt offering made by fire [Lev. 1] to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord.
19 “Take the ·other male sheep [second ram], and have Aaron and his sons ·put [lay] their hands on its head [29:10]. 20 ·Kill [Slaughter] it and take some of its blood. Put the blood on the ·bottom [lobe] of the right ears of Aaron and his sons and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet [Lev. 14:14; C the significance is unclear]. Then sprinkle the rest of the blood ·against all four sides of [L all around] the altar. 21 Take some of the blood from the altar, and mix it with the ·special oil used in appointing priests [L anointing oil]. Sprinkle this on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. ·This will show that Aaron [L Then he] and his sons and their clothes ·are given to my service [L will be holy/consecrated].
22 “Then take the fat from the ·male sheep [ram], the fat tail, and the fat that covers the inner organs. In addition, take the best part of the liver, both kidneys, and the fat around them, and the right thigh. (This is the ·male sheep to be used in appointing priests [ordination ram].)
23 “Then take the basket of ·bread that you made without yeast [unleavened bread], which you put before the Lord. From it take a loaf of bread, a cake made with olive oil, and a wafer. 24 Put all of these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and tell them to ·present them as an [L wave them as a wave] offering to the Lord [C a ritual whereby the offerer symbolically waves the offering before God but then uses it]. 25 Then take them from their hands and ·burn them [L turn them into smoke] on the altar with the whole burnt offering. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord; its smell is pleasing to the Lord. 26 Then take the breast of the ·male sheep used to appoint Aaron as priest [ordination ram], and ·present it before the Lord as an offering [L wave it as a wave offering before the Lord]. This part of the animal will be your ·share [portion]. 27 ·Set aside [Consecrate] the breast [L that was waved as a wave offering] and the thigh of the ·sheep that were used to appoint [L ordination ram that was elevated as an elevation offering for] Aaron and his sons as priests. These parts belong to them. 28 They are to be the ·regular share [perpetual statute/ordinance/requirement] which the Israelites will always give to Aaron and his sons. It is the gift the Israelites must give to the Lord from their ·fellowship [or peace] offerings [Lev. 3].
29 “The ·holy [sacred; consecrated] clothes made for Aaron will belong to his ·descendants [sons] so that they can wear these clothes when they are ·appointed as priests [L anointed and ordained]. 30 Aaron’s son, who will become high priest after him, will come to the Meeting Tent to ·serve [minister] in the Holy Place. He is to wear these clothes for seven days.
31 “Take the ·male sheep used to appoint priests [ordination ram] and boil its meat in a place that is holy. 32 Then at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, Aaron and his sons must eat the meat of the ·sheep [ram] and the bread that is in the basket. 33 They should eat these offerings that were used to ·remove their sins [atone] and to ·make them holy when they were made priests [ordain and consecrate]. But no ·stranger [outsider] is to eat them, because they are holy things. 34 If any of the ·meat from that sheep [L ordination meat] or any of the bread is left the next morning, it must be burned. It must not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 “Do all these things that I commanded you to do to Aaron and his sons, and spend seven days ·appointing [ordaining] them. 36 Each day you are to offer a bull ·to remove the sins of [L as a sin offering of atonement for] Aaron and his sons so they will be given for service to the Lord. ·Make the altar ready for service to the Lord [L Offer a sin offering for the altar to make atonement for it], and also ·pour oil on it to make it holy [anoint it to consecrate it]. 37 Spend seven days making ·the altar ready for service to God [L atonement for the altar] and ·making it holy [consecrate it]. Then the altar will become very holy, and anything that touches it must be holy.
The Daily Sacrifices
38 “Every day ·from now on [regularly; continually], offer on the altar two lambs that are one year old. 39 Offer one lamb in the morning and the ·other [second] in the evening ·before dark [at twilight]. 40 ·In the morning, when you offer the [L For the] first lamb, offer also ·two quarts [L a tenth of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with ·one quart [L one fourth of a hin] of oil from ·pressed [or pounded] olives. Pour out a ·quart [L fourth of a hin] of wine as a drink offering. 41 Offer the second lamb ·in the evening [at twilight] with the same ·grain [or gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 3] and drink offering as you did in the morning. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord, and its smell is pleasing to him.
42 “·You must burn these things as an offering [L It is a burnt offering; Lev. 1] to the Lord ·every day [regularly; continuously], ·from now on [L throughout your generations], at the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord. ·When you make the offering, [L …where] I, the Lord, will meet you there and speak to you. 43 I will meet with the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel there, and that place will be holy because of my glory.
44 “So I will make the Meeting Tent and the altar ·holy [consecrated]; I will also make Aaron and his sons ·holy [consecrated] so they may serve me as priests. 45 I will ·live [dwell] with the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel and be their God. 46 And they will know that I am the Lord their God who ·led [brought] them out of Egypt so that I could ·live [dwell] with them. I am the Lord their God.
The Altar for Burning Incense
30 “Make an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense. 2 Make it square—·eighteen inches [L a cubit] long and ·eighteen inches [L a cubit] wide—and make it ·thirty-six inches [L two cubits] high. The ·corners that stick out like horns [L horns; 27:2] must be one piece with the altar. 3 ·Cover [L Overlay] its top, its sides, and its ·corners [L horns] with pure gold, and put a gold ·strip [molding] all around the altar. 4 Make two gold rings beneath the gold ·strip [molding] on opposite sides of the altar, and slide poles through them to carry the altar. 5 Make the poles from acacia wood and ·cover [overlay] them with gold. 6 Put the altar of incense in front of the curtain that is ·near [or above] the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty; L Testimony; 25:10], in front of the ·lid that covers that Ark [mercy seat; atonement cover; 25:17–22]. There I will meet with you.
7 “Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on the altar every morning when he comes to ·take care of [trim; dress; put in good order] the oil lamps. 8 He must burn incense again ·in the evening [at twilight] when he lights the lamps, so incense will burn before the Lord ·every day [regularly; continually] ·from now on [L throughout your generations]. 9 Do not use this altar for offering ·any other [L strange; profane] incense [Lev. 10:1–7], or burnt offering [Lev. 1], or any kind of ·grain [or gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 3], or drink offering. 10 Once a year Aaron must make ·the altar ready for service to God by putting blood on its corners [atonement on its corners/horns]—the blood of the animal ·offered to remove sins [as an atoning sin offering]. He is to do this once a year ·from now on [L throughout your generations]. ·This altar belongs completely to the Lord’s service [L It is most holy/T the holy of holies to the Lord].”
Judas Betrays Jesus(A)
14 Then one of ·the twelve apostles [L the Twelve], [L who was called] Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the ·leading [T chief] priests. 15 He said, “What will you ·pay [give] me for ·giving [betraying; delivering] Jesus to you?” And they ·gave him [weighed/counted out] thirty silver coins [Zech. 11:12]. 16 After that, Judas watched for ·the best time [an opportunity] to ·turn Jesus in [betray him].
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal(B)
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the ·followers [disciples] came to Jesus. They said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
18 Jesus answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: “·The chosen time is near [L My time has come/drawn near]. I will ·have [celebrate; observe] the Passover with my ·followers [disciples] at your house.”’” 19 The ·followers [disciples] did what Jesus told them to do, and they prepared the Passover meal.
20 In the evening Jesus was ·sitting at the table [L reclining; C the posture for a banquet] with his twelve ·followers [disciples]. 21 As they were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will ·turn against [betray] me.”
22 This made the ·followers [disciples] very ·sad [distressed; pained]. Each one began to say to Jesus, “·Surely, Lord, I am not the one, am I [Surely not I, Lord; or Is it I, Lord]?”
23 Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl [C probably not a signal, but means “one who shares close fellowship with me”] is the one who will ·turn against [betray] me. 24 The Son of Man will ·die [go to his fate; L go], just as the Scriptures say. But ·how terrible it will be for [L woe to] the person ·who hands the Son of Man over to be killed [L by whom the Son of Man is betrayed]. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
25 Then Judas, who would ·give Jesus to his enemies [betray him], said to Jesus, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], ·surely I am not the one, am I [surely not I; or is it I]?”
Jesus answered, “·Yes, it is you [L You have said it].”
The Lord’s Supper(C)
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and ·thanked God for [blessed] it and ·broke [divided] it. Then he gave it to his ·followers [disciples] and said, “·Take this bread and eat it [L Take, eat]; this is my body.”
27 Then Jesus took a cup and ·thanked God for it [gave thanks] and gave it to the ·followers [disciples]. He said, “Every one of you drink [L from] this. 28 This is my blood ·which is the new[a] agreement that God makes with his people [or which confirms/establishes the new covenant; L of the new covenant; Ex. 24:8. Jer. 31:31–34]. This blood is poured out for many ·to forgive their [T for the remission of] sins [Is. 53:12]. 29 I tell you this: I will not drink of this ·fruit of the vine [wine] again until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 After singing a hymn [C probably the Hallel psalms (Ps. 113—118), sung during the Passover meal], they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him(D)
31 Jesus told ·his followers [L them], “Tonight you will all ·stumble in your faith [fall away; desert] on account of me, because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will ·kill [strike] the shepherd,
and the sheep [L of the flock] will ·scatter [be scattered]’ [Zech. 13:7].
32 But after ·I rise from the dead [L I am raised], I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33 Peter said, “Everyone else may ·stumble in their faith [fall away; desert] because of you, but I will not.”
34 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows you will ·say three times you don’t know me [deny/disown me three times].”
35 But Peter said, “Even if I must die with you, I will never ·say that I don’t know [deny/disown] you!” And all the other ·followers [disciples] said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone(E)
36 Then Jesus went with his ·followers [disciples] to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very ·sad [sorrowful] and ·troubled [anguished; distressed]. 38 He said to them, “My ·heart [soul] is ·full of sorrow [overwhelmed with grief], to the point of death. Stay here and ·watch [stay awake; be alert] with me.”
39 After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell [with his face] to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, ·do not give me [L let pass from me] this ·cup of suffering [L cup; C suffering is metaphorically portrayed as something bitter to drink]. But do ·what you want [your will], not ·what I want [my will].” 40 Then Jesus went back to his ·followers [disciples] and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “You men could not ·stay awake [watch] with me for one hour? 41 ·Stay awake [Keep watch] and pray for strength ·against temptation [or not to fail the test]. The spirit ·wants to do what is right [is willing], but ·the body [or human nature; T the flesh] is weak.”
42 Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for ·this painful thing [L this thing; C the cup of suffering; v. 39] to be taken from me, and if I must ·do [drink] it, ·I pray that what you want [L may your] will be done.”
43 Then he went back to his ·followers [disciples], and again he found them asleep, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So Jesus left them and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then Jesus went back to his ·followers [disciples] and said, “·Are you still sleeping and resting? [or Go ahead, sleep and have your rest!] The time has come for the Son of Man to be ·handed over to [L betrayed/delivered into the hands of] sinful people. 46 Get up, we must go. Look, here comes ·the man who has turned against me [my betrayer].”
19 How great is your goodness
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you have ·given to [L accomplished for] those who ·trust [have confidence in] you.
·You do this for all to see [L …before humanity].
20 You ·protect [hide] them ·by your [L in the shelter of your] presence
from what people plan against them.
You ·shelter them [L store them in shelter] from ·evil words [contentious/accusing tongues].
21 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord.
His ·love [loyalty; covenant love] to me was wonderful
when ·my city was attacked [or I was like a city under siege].
22 In my ·distress [alarm], I said,
“·God cannot see me [L I am cut off from your eyes]!”
But you heard my ·prayer [supplication]
when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you ·who belong to him [loyal ones; saints].
The Lord protects those who ·truly believe [are faithful],
but he ·punishes [repays] ·the proud as much as they have sinned [L those who act with pride].
24 All you who ·put your hope in [wait for] the Lord
be strong and ·brave [L let your heart be courageous].
14 I have advice and ·good sense [resourcefulness; ability],
and I have understanding and ·power [strength].
15 ·I help kings to govern [L By me kings reign]
and ·rulers [princes] ·to make fair laws [issue just decrees].
16 ·Princes use me to lead [L By me rulers rule],
and ·so do all important people who [nobles] judge fairly [Deut. 34:9; 1 Kin. 3:1–15; Ezra 7:25; Col. 1:16].
17 I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
18 Riches and honor are mine to give.
So are lasting wealth and ·success [or righteousness].
19 What I give is better than gold, even the finest gold,
my ·results [yield] better than the purest silver.
20 I ·do what is right [L walk on the way of righteousness]
·and follow [L in the midst of] the path of justice.
21 I ·give wealth to those who love me [L cause those who love me to inherit substance],
filling their houses with treasures.
22 “The Lord ·begot [or acquired; possessed] me ·when he began his work [L at the beginning of his path],
long before he made anything else.
23 I was ·created [formed; woven; or appointed] in the very beginning,
even before the world began.
24 I was ·born [brought forth] ·before there were oceans [L when there were no deeps],
or springs ·overflowing [heavy] with water,
25 before the hills were ·there [L settled],
before the mountains I was ·born [brought forth].
26 God had not made the earth or ·fields [open country],
not even the first ·dust [mud clods; soil] of the earth.
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