The Daily Audio Bible

The Ark of the Covenant

37 Bezalel made the Ark of the Covenant of acacia wood. The Ark of the Covenant was 45 inches long, 27 inches wide and 27 inches high. ² He covered the inside and outside of the Ark of the Covenant with pure gold. Then he put a gold strip around it. ³ He made four gold rings for it and attached them to its four feet. There were two rings on each side. ⁴ Then he made poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold. ⁵ He put the poles through the rings on each side of the Ark of the Covenant to carry it. ⁶ Then he made a lid of pure gold. It was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. ⁷ Then Bezalel hammered gold to make two creatures with wings. He attached them to each end of the lid. ⁸ He made one creature with wings on one end of the lid. He made the other creature with wings on the other end. He attached them to the lid so that it would be one piece. ⁹ The creatures’ wings were spread out over the lid. The creatures faced each other across the lid.

The Table

¹⁰ Then he made the table of acacia wood. The table was 36 inches long, 18 inches wide and 27 inches high. ¹¹ He covered the table with pure gold. He put a gold strip around it. ¹² Then he made a frame 3 inches high that stood up all around the edge. He put a gold strip around the frame. ¹³ Then he made four gold rings for the table. He attached them to the four corners of the table, where the four legs were. ¹⁴ The rings were put close to the frame around the top of the table. The rings held the poles that were used to carry the table. ¹⁵ The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood. They were covered with gold. ¹⁶ Then he made of pure gold all the things that were used on the table: the plates, bowls, cups and jars used for pouring the drink offerings.

The Lampstand

¹⁷ Then he made the lampstand of pure gold. He hammered out its base and stand. Its flower-like cups, buds and petals were joined together in one piece with the base and stand. ¹⁸ There were three branches on one side of the lampstand and three branches on the other. ¹⁹ Each branch had three cups shaped like almond flowers. Each cup had a bud and a petal. ²⁰ There were four more cups shaped like almond flowers on the lampstand itself. Each cup had its buds and petals. ²¹ Three pairs of branches went out from the lampstand. A bud was under the place where each pair was attached to the lampstand. ²² The buds, branches and lampstand were all one piece of pure, hammered gold. ²³ He made seven pure gold lamps for this lampstand. Then he made pure gold wick trimmers and trays. ²⁴ He used about 75 pounds of pure gold to make the lampstand and all the things that go with it.

The Altar for Burning Incense

²⁵ Then he made the altar of incense of acacia wood. The altar was square. It was 18 inches long, 18 inches wide and 36 inches high. Each corner stuck out like a horn. Each corner was joined into one piece with the altar. ²⁶ He covered the top and all the sides and the corners with pure gold. Then he put gold trim around the altar. ²⁷ He made two gold rings and put them below the trim on opposite sides of the altar. These rings held the poles for carrying the altar. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

²⁹ Then he made the holy olive oil for appointing the priests. He also made the pure, sweet-smelling incense. He made them like a person who mixes perfumes.

The Altar

38 Then he built the altar for burning offerings. He made the altar of acacia wood. The altar was square. It was 7½ feet long, 7½ feet wide and 4½ feet high. ² He made each corner stick out like a horn. The horns and the altar were joined together in one piece. Then he covered the altar with bronze. ³ He made all the tools of bronze to use on the altar: the pots, shovels, bowls for sprinkling blood, meat forks and pans for carrying the fire. ⁴ He made a large bronze screen to hold the burning wood for the altar. He put the screen inside the altar, under its rim, halfway up from the bottom. ⁵ He made bronze rings for holding the poles for carrying the altar. He put the rings at the four corners of the screen. ⁶ Then he made poles of acacia wood and covered them with bronze. ⁷ He put the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar. They were used for carrying the altar. He made the altar of boards and left the inside hollow.

The Bronze Bowl

⁸ He made the bronze bowl for washing. He built it on a bronze stand. He used the bronze of mirrors. These mirrors belonged to the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

The Courtyard of the Holy Tent

⁹ Then he made a wall of curtains to form a courtyard around the Holy Tent. On the south side the curtains were 150 feet long and were made of fine linen. ¹⁰ The curtains hung on silver hooks and bands. These were on 20 bronze posts on 20 bronze bases. ¹¹ On the north side the wall of curtains was also 150 feet long. It hung on silver hooks and bands on 20 posts with 20 bronze bases.

¹² On the west side of the courtyard, the wall of curtains was 75 feet long. It was held up by silver hooks and bands on 10 posts and 10 bases. ¹³ The east side was 75 feet wide. ¹⁴ On one side of the entry there was a wall of curtains that was 22½ feet long. It was held up by 3 posts and 3 bases. ¹⁵ On the other side of the entry there was a wall of curtains 22½ feet long. It was held up by 3 posts and 3 bases. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the courtyard were made of fine linen. ¹⁷ The bases for the posts were made of bronze. The hooks and the bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver also. All the posts in the courtyard had silver bands.

¹⁸ The curtain for the entry of the courtyard was made of blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen. It was sewn by a person who could sew well. The curtain was 30 feet long and 7½ feet high. It was the same height as the curtains around the courtyard. ¹⁹ The curtain was held up by 4 posts and 4 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops on the posts were covered with silver. ²⁰ All the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and for the curtains around the courtyard were made of bronze.

²¹ This is a list of the metals used to make the Holy Tent. This is where the two flat stones with the Ten Commandments are kept. Moses ordered the Levites to make this list. Ithamar son of Aaron was in charge of keeping the list. ²² Bezalel son of Uri made everything the Lord commanded Moses. Uri was the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. ²³ Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan helped him. Oholiab could cut designs into metal and stone. He was a designer. He was also skilled at sewing the blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.

²⁴ The total amount of gold used to build the Holy Tent was presented to the Lord. It weighed over 2,000 pounds, as set by the Holy Place measure.

²⁵ The silver was given by the members of the community who were counted. It weighed 7,550 pounds, as set by the Holy Place measure. ²⁶ All the men 20 years old or older were counted. There were 603,550 men, and each man had to pay ⅕ ounce of silver. This is the weight as set by the Holy Place measure. ²⁷ Of this silver, 7,500 pounds was used to make the 100 bases. These bases were for the Holy Tent and for the curtain. There was 75 pounds of silver in each base. ²⁸ The other 50 pounds of silver was used to make the hooks for the posts. It was also used to cover the tops of the posts and to make the bands on the posts.

²⁹ The bronze which was presented to the Lord weighed about 5,000 pounds. ³⁰ They used the bronze to make the bases at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They also used the bronze to make the altar and the bronze screen. And this bronze was used to make all the tools for the altar. ³¹ This bronze was also used to make bases for the wall of curtains around the courtyard. It was used for the bases for the curtains at the entry to the courtyard. And this bronze was used to make the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and curtains that surrounded the courtyard.

Jesus Rises from Death

28 The day after the Sabbath day was the first day of the week. At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.

² At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel went to the tomb and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. ³ He was shining as bright as lightning. His clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The soldiers guarding the tomb were very frightened of the angel. They shook with fear and then became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, the one who was killed on the cross. ⁶ But he is not here. He has risen from death as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was. ⁷ And go quickly and tell his followers. Say to them: ‘Jesus has risen from death. He is going into Galilee. He will be there before you. You will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”

⁸ The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell Jesus’ followers what had happened. ⁹ Suddenly, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.” The women came up to Jesus, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go on to Galilee. They will see me there.”

The Soldiers Report to the Jewish Leaders

¹¹ The women went to tell Jesus’ followers. At the same time, some of the soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city. They went to tell the leading priests everything that had happened. ¹² Then the priests met with the Jewish elders and made a plan. They paid the soldiers a large amount of money. ¹³ They said to the soldiers, “Tell the people that Jesus’ followers came during the night and stole the body while you were asleep. ¹⁴ If the governor hears about this, we will satisfy him and save you from trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers kept the money and obeyed the priests. And that story is still spread among the Jews even today.

Jesus Talks to His Followers

¹⁶ The 11 followers went to Galilee. They went to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. ¹⁷ On the mountain they saw Jesus and worshiped him. But some of them did not believe that it was really Jesus. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. ¹⁹ So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world.”