The Daily Audio Bible

The Meeting Tent

26 “Make the meeting tent with ten curtains of fine linen, blue and purple and red. Make them with cherubim sewed into them by an able workman. ² Each curtain will be as long as fourteen long steps, and as wide as two long steps, all of them the same. ³ Five curtains will be joined to one another. And the other five curtains will be joined to one another. ⁴ Take small pieces of blue cloth, longer than they are wide. Sew both ends to the side of the last curtain in the first group. Then do the same on the side of the last curtain in the second group. ⁵ Put fifty of these pieces on the one curtain. And put fifty on the side of the other curtain, so that the pieces meet each other. ⁶ Make fifty hooks of gold and join the curtains together with the hooks so the meeting tent will be as one.

⁷ “Make curtains of goat hair for a covering over the meeting tent. Make eleven curtains in all. ⁸ Each curtain will be as long as fifteen long steps, and as wide as two long steps, all of them the same. ⁹ Join five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. Lay the sixth curtain over the front of the meeting tent twice. ¹⁰ Take fifty small pieces of cloth, longer than they are wide. Sew both ends of each to the side of the last curtain in the first group. Then sew fifty pieces onto the side of the last curtain in the second group. ¹¹ Make fifty hooks of brass. Put the hooks through the sewed pieces of cloth and join the tent together as one. ¹² The part that is left of the tent’s curtains, the half curtain, will lie over the back of the meeting tent. ¹³ There will be parts of the tent’s curtains left over on each side, about a cubit. These will hang over each side of the meeting tent to cover it. ¹⁴ Make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins made red, and a covering over that of badgers’ skins.

¹⁵ “Then make the standing pieces of wood for the meeting tent out of acacia wood. ¹⁶ Each piece of wood will be as long as five long steps, and as wide as one step. ¹⁷ Make two joint-pieces in each piece of wood for joining them together. Do this for all the pieces of wood of the meeting tent. ¹⁸ Set up twenty pieces of wood for the south side of the meeting tent. ¹⁹ Make forty silver bases under the twenty pieces of wood, with two holes in each one for joining the two joint-pieces on each piece of wood. ²⁰ Cut twenty pieces of wood for the north side of the meeting tent. ²¹ And make forty silver bases, two under each piece of wood. ²² Then cut six pieces of wood for the back or west side of the meeting tent. ²³ Cut two pieces of wood for the back corners. ²⁴ They will be apart at the bottom, and joined at the top with one ring. They will both be made the same and will make the two corners. ²⁵ There will be eight special pieces of wood and their silver bases with sixteen holes, two holes under each piece of wood.

²⁶ “Then make cross-pieces of acacia wood, five for the pieces of wood on one side of the meeting tent, ²⁷ and five for the pieces of wood on the other side of the meeting tent. Then make five for the pieces of wood at the back of the meeting tent to the west side. ²⁸ The long, cross-piece for the center of the standing pieces of wood will go through from end to end. ²⁹ Cover the standing pieces of wood with gold. Make rings of gold to hold the cross-pieces and cover these pieces with gold. ³⁰ Build the meeting tent by following the plan for it that was shown to you on the mountain.

³¹ “Make a curtain of blue and purple and red cloth and fine linen. It will be made with cherubim sewed into it by an able workman. ³² Hang it on four strong pillars of acacia wood covered with gold. Their hooks will be made of gold also. And the pillars will stand on four silver bases. ³³ Hang the top of the curtain from the hooks. Then bring the box of the Law within the curtain. This curtain will divide the holy place from the Holiest Place of All. ³⁴ Put the mercy-seat on the box of the Law in the Holiest Place of All. ³⁵ Set the table outside the curtain. Put the lamp-stand on the south side of the meeting tent. And put the table on the north side.

³⁶ “Make another curtain of fine linen for the door of the tent. It will be made of blue and purple and red cloth by an able workman. ³⁷ Hang it on five pillars of acacia wood covered with gold. Make their hooks of gold. And make five brass bases for them.

The Altar

27 “Make the altar of acacia wood. It will be as long and as wide as three steps, and as tall as a man’s chest. ² Make horns for it on its four corners. They will be of one piece and covered with brass. ³ Make its pails for taking away its ashes, its tools for picking up the ashes, its pots, meat-hooks and fire-holders. Make all of these out of brass. ⁴ Make a net for it out of brass, with four rings of brass at its four corners. ⁵ Put it under the altar so that the net comes up to the center of the altar. ⁶ Make long, straight pieces of acacia wood for the altar. And cover them with brass. ⁷ Put the long pieces of wood through the rings on each side of the altar when it is carried. ⁸ Make the altar with pieces of wood so it is empty inside. Make it as it was shown to you on the mountain.

The Open Spaces

⁹ “Make the open space of the meeting tent. On the south side there will be curtains for the open space. Make them of fine linen, as long as fifty long steps. ¹⁰ They will hang from twenty pillars which are put on twenty bases of brass. The hooks of the pillars and their rings will be made of silver. ¹¹ Do the same for the north side. There will be curtains as long as fifty long steps, and twenty pillars with twenty bases of brass. The hooks of the pillars and their rings will be made of silver. ¹² On the west side of the open space there will be curtains as long as twenty-five long steps. They will have ten pillars with ten bases. ¹³ And the east side of the open space will be as wide as twenty-five long steps.

¹⁴ “The curtains for one side of the gate will be as long as seven steps. They will have three pillars with three bases. ¹⁵ On the other side there will be curtains as long as seven steps, with three pillars and three bases. ¹⁶ Have an able workman make a curtain out of fine linen for the gate of the open space. It will be blue, purple and red, and as long as ten long steps. It will have four pillars with four bases. ¹⁷ All the pillars around the open space will have silver hooks, silver rings, and their bases of brass. ¹⁸ The open space will be as long as fifty long steps, as wide as twenty-five long steps, and as high as a man raises his hand. It will have curtains of fine linen and the bases will be brass. ¹⁹ All the tools used in the meeting tent, all its nails, and all the nails for the open space will be made of brass.

Care of the Lamp-Stand

²⁰ “Tell the people of Israel to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, so a lamp may burn all the time. ²¹ In the meeting tent, outside the curtain which is in front of the Law, Aaron and his sons will take care of it from evening until morning before the Lord. It will be a law forever for the people of Israel.

The Picture-Story of Ten Young Women

25 “At that time the holy nation of heaven will be like ten women who have never had men. They took their lamps and went out to meet the man soon to be married. ² Five of them were wise and five were foolish. ³ The foolish women took their lamps but did not take oil with them. ⁴ The wise women took oil in a jar with their lamps. ⁵ They all went to sleep because the man to be married did not come for a long time.

⁶ “At twelve o’clock in the night there was a loud call, ‘See! The man soon to be married is coming! Go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all the women got up and made their lamps brighter. ⁸ The foolish women said to the wise women, ‘Give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise women said, ‘No! There will not be enough for us and you. Go to the store and buy oil for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ While they were gone to buy oil, the man soon to be married came. Those who were ready went in with him to the marriage. The door was shut.

¹¹ “Later the foolish women came. They said, ‘Sir, Sir, open the door for us!’ ¹² But he said to them, ‘For sure, I tell you, I do not know you!’ ¹³ So watch! You do not know what day or what hour the Son of Man is coming.

The Picture-Story of the Three Servants and the Money

¹⁴ “For the holy nation of heaven is like a man who was going to a country far away. He called together the servants he owned and gave them his money to use. ¹⁵ He gave to one servant five pieces of money worth much. He gave to another servant two pieces of money worth much. He gave to another servant one piece of money worth much. He gave to each one as he was able to use it. Then he went on his trip. ¹⁶ The servant who had the five pieces of money went out to the stores and traded until he made five more pieces. ¹⁷ The servant who had two pieces of money did the same thing. He made two more pieces. ¹⁸ The servant who had received the one piece of money went and hid the money in a hole in the ground. He hid his owner’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the owner of those servants came back. He wanted to know what had been done with his money. ²⁰ The one who had received the five pieces of money worth much came and handed him five pieces more. He said, ‘Sir, you gave me five pieces of money. See! I used it and made five more pieces.’ ²¹ His owner said to him, ‘You have done well. You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will put many things in your care. Come and share my joy.’ ²² The one who received two pieces of money worth much came also. He said, ‘Sir, you gave me two pieces of money. See! I used it and made two more pieces.’ ²³ His owner said to him, ‘You have done well. You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will put many things in your care. Come and share my joy.’ ²⁴ The one who had received one piece of money worth much came. He said, ‘Sir, I know that you are a hard man. You gather grain where you have not planted. You take up where you have not spread out. ²⁵ I was afraid and I hid your money in the ground. See! Here is your money.’ ²⁶ His owner said to him, ‘You bad and lazy servant. You knew that I gather grain where I have not planted. You knew that I take up where I have not spread out. ²⁷ You should have taken my money to the bank. When I came back, I could have had my own money and what the bank paid for using it. ²⁸ Take the one piece of money from him. Give it to the one who has ten pieces of money.’ ²⁹ For the man who has will have more given to him. He will have more than enough. The man who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ Throw the bad servant out into the darkness. There will be loud crying and grinding of teeth.

Prayer of Trust in God

31 O Lord, in You I have found a safe place. Let me never be ashamed. Set me free, because You do what is right and good. ² Turn Your ear to me, and be quick to save me. Be my rock of strength, a strong place to keep me safe. ³ For You are my rock and my safe place. For the honor of Your name, lead me and show me the way. ⁴ You will free me from the net that they have hidden for me. For You are my strength. ⁵ I give my spirit into Your hands. You have made me free, O Lord, God of truth.

⁶ I hate those who worship false gods. But I trust in the Lord. ⁷ I will be glad and full of joy in Your loving-kindness. For You have seen my suffering. You have known the troubles of my soul. ⁸ You have not given me into the hand of those who hate me. You have set my feet in a large place.

Praising Wisdom

8 Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? ² She takes her stand on the top of the hill beside the way, where the paths meet. ³ Beside the gates in front of the town, at the open doors, she cries out, ⁴ “I call to you, O men. My voice is to the sons of men. ⁵ O child-like ones, learn to use wisdom. O fools, make your mind understand. ⁶ Listen, for I will speak great things. What is right will come from my lips. ⁷ For my mouth will speak the truth. My lips hate wrong-doing. ⁸ All the words of my mouth are right and good. There is nothing in them that is against the truth. ⁹ They are all clear to him who understands, and right to those who find much learning. ¹⁰ Take my teaching instead of silver. Take much learning instead of fine gold. ¹¹ For wisdom is better than stones of great worth. All that you may desire cannot compare with her.