Offerings at the Tabernacle's Consecration

7 On the day when Moses had finished ^(A)setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and ^(B)consecrated it with all its furnishings and had anointed and consecrated the altar with all its utensils, ^2 (C)the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers' houses, who were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed, approached ³ and brought their offerings before the Lord, six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the chiefs, and for each one an ox. They brought them before the tabernacle. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁵ “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” ⁶ So Moses took the wagons and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ Two wagons and four oxen ^(D)he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service. ⁸ And four wagons and eight oxen ^(E)he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with ^(F)the service of the holy things that ^(G)had to be carried on the shoulder. ¹⁰ And the chiefs offered offerings for the ^(H)dedication of the altar on the day it was anointed; and the chiefs offered their offering before the altar. ¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “They shall offer their offerings, one chief each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

¹² He who offered his offering the first day was ^(I)Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah. ¹³ And his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels,^[a] one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to ^(J)the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a ^(K)grain offering; ¹⁴ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of ^(L)incense; ^15 (M)one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one male goat for a ^(N)sin offering; ¹⁷ and for ^(O)the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day ^(P)Nethanel the son of Zuar, the chief of Issachar, made an offering. ¹⁹ He offered for his offering one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁰ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ²¹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²² one male goat for a sin offering; ²³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day ^(Q)Eliab the son of Helon, the chief of the people of Zebulun: ²⁵ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ²⁶ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ²⁷ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ²⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ²⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day ^(R)Elizur the son of Shedeur, the chief of the people of Reuben: ³¹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³² one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ³³ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ³⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ³⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day ^(S)Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, the chief of the people of Simeon: ³⁷ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ³⁸ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ³⁹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day ^(T)Eliasaph the son of Deuel, the chief of the people of Gad: ⁴³ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁴⁴ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁴⁵ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

⁴⁸ On the seventh day ^(U)Elishama the son of Ammihud, the chief of the people of Ephraim: ⁴⁹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁰ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁵¹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day ^(V)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, the chief of the people of Manasseh: ⁵⁵ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁶ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁵⁷ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day ^(W)Abidan the son of Gideoni, the chief of the people of Benjamin: ⁶¹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶² one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁶³ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day ^(X)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, the chief of the people of Dan: ⁶⁷ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶⁸ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁶⁹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day ^(Y)Pagiel the son of Ochran, the chief of the people of Asher: ⁷³ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁷⁴ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁷⁵ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ochran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day ^(Z)Ahira the son of Enan, the chief of the people of Naphtali: ⁷⁹ his offering was one silver plate whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver basin of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁸⁰ one golden dish of 10 shekels, full of incense; ⁸¹ one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; ⁸² one male goat for a sin offering; ⁸³ and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day when it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes, ⁸⁵ each silver plate weighing 130 shekels and each basin 70, all the silver of the vessels 2,400 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, ⁸⁶ the twelve golden dishes, full of incense, weighing 10 shekels apiece according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the dishes being 120 shekels; ⁸⁷ all the cattle for the burnt offering twelve bulls, twelve rams, twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offering; and twelve male goats for a sin offering; ⁸⁸ and all the cattle for the sacrifice of peace offerings twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it ^(AA)was anointed.

⁸⁹ And when Moses went into the tent of meeting ^(AB)to speak with the Lord, he heard ^(AC)the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.

The Seven Lamps

8 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” ³ And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. ⁴ And ^(AD)this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing of the Levites

⁵ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. ⁷ Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the ^(AE)water of purification upon them, and ^(AF)let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. ⁸ Then let them take a bull from the herd and ^(AG)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, ^(AH)and you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. ^9 (AI)And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting ^(AJ)and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. ¹⁰ When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel ^(AK)shall lay their hands on the Levites, ¹¹ and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord. ¹² Then the Levites ^(AL)shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer ^(AM)the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as ^(AN)a wave offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and ^(AO)the Levites shall be mine. ¹⁵ And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a ^(AP)wave offering. ¹⁶ For they are ^(AQ)wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. ^(AR)Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. ^17 (AS)For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, ¹⁸ and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. ^19 (AT)And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and ^(AU)to make atonement for the people of Israel, ^(AV)that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. ²¹ And ^(AW)the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and ^(AX)Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²² And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement of the Levites

²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This applies to the Levites: ^(AY)from twenty-five years old and upward they^[b] shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. ²⁶ They minister^[c] to their brothers in the tent of meeting ^(AZ)by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”

Your Throne, O God, Is Forever

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil^[a] of ^(A)the Sons of Korah; a love song.

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ^(A)have been accomplished among us, ^2 (B)just as those who ^(C)from the beginning were ^(D)eyewitnesses and ^(E)ministers of ^(F)the word ^(G)have delivered them to us, ³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^(H)an orderly account for you, ^(I)most excellent ^(J)Theophilus, ⁴ that you may have ^(K)certainty concerning the things ^(L)you have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

^5 (M)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^{[a] (N)}of ^(O)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both ^(P)righteous before God, walking ^(Q)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because ^(R)Elizabeth was barren, and ^(S)both were advanced in years.

⁸ Now ^(T)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(U)his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(V)to enter ^(W)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people ^(X)were praying ^(Y)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(Z)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(AA)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(AB)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(AC)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(AD)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(AE)great before the Lord. And ^(AF)he must not drink wine or strong ^(AG)drink, and ^(AH)he will be ^(AI)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(AJ)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(AK)he will go before him ^(AL)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(AM)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(AN)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(AO)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(AP)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, “I am ^(AQ)Gabriel. ^(AR)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, ^(AS)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(AT)the temple. ²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(AU)the temple. And ^(AV)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(AW)when his time of ^(AX)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(AY)to take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(AZ)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(BA)Nazareth, ^27 (BB)to a virgin betrothed^[b] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(BC)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(BD)O favored one, ^(BE)the Lord is with you!”^{[c] 29} But ^(BF)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(BG)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(BH)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(BI)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(BJ)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(BK)will give to him the throne of ^(BL)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(BM)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[d]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(BN)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(BO)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[e] will be called ^(BP)holy—^(BQ)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^(BR)who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(BS)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^(BT)the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(BU)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(BV)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(BW)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(BX)blessed is ^(BY)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(BZ)my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And ^(CA)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(CY)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And ^(CZ)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother answered, “No; ^(DA)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶² And ^(DB)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³ And he asked for ^(DC)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(DD)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ^64 (DE)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(DF)loosed, and he spoke, ^(DG)blessing God. ⁶⁵ And ^(DH)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(DI)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶ and all who heard them ^(DJ)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(DK)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(DL)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(DM)prophesied, saying,

^80 (EQ)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(ER)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.