The Daily Audio Bible

Making the Special Box of the Agreement

37 Bezalel made the special box of the agreement of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits tall. ² He covered it inside and out with pure gold. And he made a piece of gold to put on it all around. ³ He made four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet. He put two rings on one side of it and two rings on the other side. ⁴ He made long pieces of acacia wood and covered them with gold. ⁵ Then he put the long pieces of wood through the rings on the sides of the special box to carry it. ⁶ He made a mercy-seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide. ⁷ He made two cherubim out of beaten gold at the two ends of the mercy-seat. ⁸ He made one cherub on one end and one cherub on the other end. He made the cherubim and the mercy-seat of one piece. ⁹ The cherubim had their wings spread up over the mercy-seat. Their faces were toward each other, and toward the mercy-seat. ¹⁰ Then he made a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits tall. ¹¹ He covered it with pure gold and made a gold piece around it. ¹² He made a piece around it as wide as a hand. And he put gold on the side of this piece all around. ¹³ He made four rings of gold for it. He put them on the four corners that were on the table’s four legs. ¹⁴ The rings were close to the sides, to hold the long pieces of wood used to carry the table. ¹⁵ He made the long pieces of acacia wood and covered them with gold. The table was carried with these. ¹⁶ He made of pure gold its plates, its pots and its jars, for pouring gifts of drink.

Making the Lamp-Stand

¹⁷ Then he made the lamp-stand of pure gold and the base of the lamp-stand of beaten gold. Its cups, its buds and its flowers were all made of one piece with it. ¹⁸ Six branches went out of its sides, three branches of the lamp-stand out of one side, and three branches out of its other side. ¹⁹ Three cups were made to look like almond flowers, each with bud and flower, on one branch, and three on the next branch. This was done for all six branches going out of the lamp-stand. ²⁰ In the lamp-stand there were four cups made to look like almond flowers, with their buds and flowers. ²¹ A bud was under each of the six branches going out of the lamp-stand. ²² Their buds and their branches were of one piece with it. All of it was one piece of pure, beaten gold. ²³ He made its seven lamps, the tools for putting out the light, and its dishes of pure gold. ²⁴ He made it and all its objects out of a piece of gold about half the weight of a man.

Making the Altar

²⁵ Then he made the altar for burning special perfume of acacia wood. It was one cubit long, one cubit wide, and as high as a man’s waist. Its horns were of one piece with it. ²⁶ He covered its top, all its sides and its horns with pure gold. And he made a piece of gold to go around it. ²⁷ Then he made two gold rings to put under this piece. He put one on the altar’s left side and one on its right side to hold the long pieces of wood used for carrying it. ²⁸ He made the long pieces of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

Making the Holy Oil and Special Perfume

²⁹ And he made the holy oil for pouring, and the pure, sweet-smelling perfume of spices, the work of an able workman.

Making the Altar for Burnt Gifts

38 Then he made the altar for burnt gifts of acacia wood. It was as long and as wide as three steps, and as tall as a man’s chest. ² He made horns on its four corners of one piece with it and covered it with brass. ³ He made all the objects of the altar, its pails, its tools for picking up the ashes, its pots, meat-hooks and fire-holders of brass. ⁴ He made a net for it of brass. It was put under the altar and it came up half-way. ⁵ He put four rings of brass at the four corners of the net to hold the long pieces of wood. ⁶ He made the long pieces of wood out of acacia wood and covered them with brass. ⁷ He put the long pieces of wood through the rings on each side of the altar for carrying it. He made the altar with pieces of wood so it was empty inside.

Making the Pot of Brass for Washing

⁸ He made the pot for washing and its base of brass. They were made from the mirrors of the women servants who worked at the door of the meeting tent. ⁹ Then he made the open space for the holy tent. On the south side were curtains for the open space. They were made of fine linen, as long as fifty long steps. ¹⁰ They hung from twenty pillars with twenty brass bases. The hooks of the pillar and their rings were made of silver. ¹¹ And on the north side there were curtains as long as fifty long steps, and twenty pillars with twenty brass bases. The hooks of the pillars and their rings were made of silver. ¹² On the west side there were curtains as long as twenty-five long steps. They had ten pillars with ten bases. The hooks of the pillars and their rings were made of silver. ¹³ The east side was as wide as twenty-five long steps. ¹⁴ The curtains for one side of the gate were as long as seven steps. They had three pillars with three bases. ¹⁵ And on the other side there were curtains as long as seven steps, with three pillars and three bases. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the open space were made of fine linen. ¹⁷ The bases for the pillars were made of brass. The hooks of the pillars and their rings were made of silver. Their tops were covered with silver. And the pillars were joined with silver. ¹⁸ The curtain for the gate of the open space was the work of an able workman. It was made of blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen. It was as long as ten long steps, and as high as a man raises his hand, to go with the curtains around the open space. ¹⁹ Its four pillars and their bases were made of brass. Their hooks and rings were made of silver. And their tops were covered with silver. ²⁰ All the nails of the meeting tent and the open space were made of brass.

The Parts Are Weighed

²¹ This is the number of the things for the meeting tent, the meeting tent of the Law, as they were given by the mouth of Moses, for the work of the Levites, under the leading of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the religious leader. ²² Bezalel, the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the family of Judah, made all that the Lord had told Moses. ²³ With him was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the family of Dan. He was an able workman who cut words in stone, gold or silver, and in sewing blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen.

²⁴ All the gold used for the work of the holy tent, the gold given as a gift in worship, weighed as much as twelve men. ²⁵ The silver given by the people weighed as much as forty men. ²⁶ Each one of the men who were twenty years old and older, added up to 603,550 men, gave only a small weight of silver. ²⁷ One hundred heavy weights of silver were used for making the bases for the holy tent and for the curtain in front of the most holy place. One hundred bases were made from the heavy weights of silver. ²⁸ And from the heavy weights of silver he made hooks and joining parts for the pillars, and also covered their tops. ²⁹ The brass that was given weighed as much as thirty men. ³⁰ With it he made the base for the door of the meeting tent, the brass altar and its brass net, and all the objects of the altar. ³¹ He also made bases all around the open space and the base for the gate of the open space, and all the nails of the meeting tent and all around the open space.

Jesus Is Raised from the Dead ^(A)

28 The Day of Rest was over. The sun was coming up on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the grave. ² At once the earth shook and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He came and pushed back the stone from the door and sat on it. ³ His face was bright like lightning. His clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The soldiers were shaking with fear and became as dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus Who was nailed to the cross. ⁶ He is not here! He has risen from the dead as He said He would. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ Run fast and tell His followers that He is risen from the dead. He is going before you to the country of Galilee. You will see Him there as I have told you.” ⁸ They went away from the grave in a hurry. They were afraid and yet had much joy. They ran to tell the news to His followers.

⁹ As they went to tell the followers, Jesus met them and said hello to them. They came and held His feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My followers to go to Galilee. They will see Me there.”

¹¹ While they were on their way, some of the soldiers who were to watch the grave came into the city. They told the head religious leaders everything that had happened. ¹² The soldiers gathered together with the other leaders and talked about what to do. The leaders gave much money to the soldiers. ¹³ They said, “Tell the people, ‘His followers came at night and took His body while we were sleeping.’ ¹⁴ We will see that you do not get into trouble over this if Pilate hears about it.” ¹⁵ They took the money and did as they were told. This story was told among the Jews and is still told today.

Jesus Sends His Followers to Teach ^(B)

¹⁶ Then the eleven followers went to Galilee. They went to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

¹⁷ When they saw Jesus, they worshiped Him. But some did not believe.

¹⁸ Jesus came and said to them, “All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go and make followers of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to do all the things I have told you. And I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. ¹² Who is the man who has a desire for life, and wants to live long so that he may see good things? ¹³ Keep your tongue from sin and your lips from speaking lies. ¹⁴ Turn away from what is sinful. Do what is good. Look for peace and follow it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on those who do what is right and good. His ears are open to their cry. ¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against those who sin. He will keep the people of the earth from remembering them. ¹⁷ Those who are right with the Lord cry, and He hears them. And He takes them from all their troubles. ¹⁸ The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart. And He saves those who are broken in spirit.

¹⁹ A man who does what is right and good may have many troubles. But the Lord takes him out of them all. ²⁰ He keeps all his bones safe. Not one of them is broken. ²¹ Sin will kill the sinful. And those who hate God’s people will be held guilty and punished forever. ²² The Lord saves the soul of those who work for Him. None of those who trust in Him will be held guilty.

⁹ Give teaching to a wise man and he will be even wiser. Teach a man who is right and good, and he will grow in learning. ¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To learn about the Holy One is understanding.