The Tabernacle Erected

40 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “On the ^(A)first day of the first month you shall ^(B)erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³ And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall ^(C)screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ And ^(D)you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and ^(E)you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. ^5 (F)And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ^6 (G)You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, ^7 (H)and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

⁹ “Then you shall take the ^(I)anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. ¹⁰ You shall also anoint ^(J)the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, ^(K)so that the altar may become most holy. ¹¹ You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. ^12 (L)Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water ¹³ and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. ¹⁴ You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, ^15 (M)and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a ^(N)perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

¹⁶ This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did.

The Queen of Sheba

10 ^(A)Now when ^(B)the queen of ^(C)Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came ^(D)to test him with hard questions. ² She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels ^(E)bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ³ And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. ⁴ And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

⁶ And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁷ but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. ^8 (F)Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ^9 (G)Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! ^(H)Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, ^(I)that you may execute justice and righteousness.” ^10 (J)Then she gave the king 120 talents^[a] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹ Moreover, ^(K)the fleet of Hiram, which brought ^(L)gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. ¹² And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

¹³ And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Great Wealth

^14 (M)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁵ besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. ¹⁶ King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels^[b] of gold went into each shield. ¹⁷ And he made 300 ^(N)shields of beaten gold; three minas^[c] of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in ^(O)the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸ The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top,^[d] and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, ²⁰ while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. ²¹ All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of ^(P)the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. ²² For the king had ^(Q)a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[e]

^23 (R)Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²⁴ And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. ²⁵ Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh,^[f] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

^26 (S)And Solomon gathered together ^(T)chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the ^(U)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁷ And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as ^(V)the sycamore of the Shephelah. ²⁸ And Solomon's ^(W)import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price. ²⁹ A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of ^(X)the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

²⁸ “A voice! They ^(A)flee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^(B)to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^(C)his temple.

^29 (D)“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^(E)Encamp around her; let no one escape. ^(F)Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ^(G)proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ^30 (H)Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.

³³ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(M)The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^(N)they refuse to let them go. ^34 (O)Their Redeemer is strong; ^(P)the Lord of hosts is his name. ^(Q)He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

^39 (Z)“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon,^[a] and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. ^40 (AA)As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^(AB)so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

^44 (AD)“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd ^(AE)can stand before me? ⁴⁵ Therefore hear ^(AF)the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^(AG)and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^(AH)Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. ^46 (AI)At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”

God Will Judge with Equity

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Do Not Destroy. ^(B)A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God.^[a]

^2 (B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

^4 (F)John appeared, baptizing in ^(G)the wilderness and proclaiming ^(H)a baptism of ^(I)repentance ^(J)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^(K)confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was ^(L)clothed with camel's hair and ^(M)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^(N)locusts and ^(O)wild honey. ⁷ And he preached, saying, ^(P)“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ^8 (Q)I have baptized you with water, but ^(R)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (S)In those days Jesus ^(T)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^(U)saw ^(V)the heavens being torn open ^(W)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And ^(X)a voice came from heaven, ^(Y)“You are my beloved Son;^[d] with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

^12 (Z)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ^13 (AA)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^(AB)tempted by ^(AC)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^(AD)the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (AE)Now after John was arrested, Jesus ^(AF)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,

The Ministry of Apostles

4 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and ^(A)stewards of the mysteries of God. ² Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ^4 (B)For I am not aware of anything against myself, ^(C)but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore ^(D)do not pronounce judgment before the time, ^(E)before the Lord comes, ^(F)who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. ^(G)Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

⁶ I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,^[a] that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may ^(H)be puffed up in favor of one against another. ⁷ For who sees anything different in you? ^(I)What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

⁸ Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! ⁹ For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, ^(J)like men sentenced to death, because we ^(K)have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. ^10 (L)We are fools for Christ's sake, but ^(M)you are wise in Christ. ^(N)We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. ¹¹ To the present hour ^(O)we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and ^(P)buffeted and ^(Q)homeless, ¹² and we ^(R)labor, working with our own hands. ^(S)When reviled, we bless; ^(T)when persecuted, we endure; ¹³ when slandered, we entreat. ^(U)We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ^(V)the refuse of all things.