²³ For ^(A)the wages of sin is death, but ^(B)the ^[a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹⁵ Thanks be to God ^(A)for His indescribable gift!

⁴ But God, ^(A)who is rich in mercy, because of His ^(B)great love with which He loved us, ^5 (C)even when we were dead in trespasses, ^(D)made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together ^(E)in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in ^(F)His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ^8 (G)For by grace you have been saved ^(H)through faith, and that not of yourselves; ^(I)it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of ^(J)works, lest anyone should ^(K)boast. ¹⁰ For we are ^(L)His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Spiritual Gifts

⁷ But ^(A)to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore He says:

^9 (C)(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also ^[a]first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One ^(D)who ascended far above all the heavens, ^(E)that He might fill all things.)

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, ^(F)for the ^[b]edifying of ^(G)the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith ^(H)and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to ^(I)a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be ^(J)children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of ^(K)deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the ^(L)head—Christ— ^16 (M)from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Articles of the Tabernacle

^10 (A)‘All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded: ^11 (B)the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; ^12 (C)the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering; ¹³ the ^(D)table and its poles, all its utensils, ^(E)and the showbread; ¹⁴ also ^(F)the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light; ^15 (G)the incense altar, its poles, ^(H)the anointing oil, ^(I)the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; ^16 (J)the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base; ^17 (K)the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; ¹⁸ the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords; ^19 (L)the ^[a]garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’ ”

The Tabernacle Offerings Presented

²⁰ And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. ²¹ Then everyone came ^(M)whose heart ^[b]was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they ^(N)brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. ²² They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought ^(O)earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all ^(P)jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the Lord. ²³ And ^(Q)every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair, red skins of rams, and ^[c]badger skins, brought them. ²⁴ Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the Lord’s offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it. ²⁵ All the women who were ^(R)gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. ²⁶ And all the women whose hearts ^[d]stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair. ^27 (S)The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate, ²⁸ and ^(T)spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. ²⁹ The children of Israel brought a ^(U)freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

The Artisans Called by God^(V)

³⁰ And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, ^(W)the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; ³¹ and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, ³² to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, ³³ in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.

³⁴ “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and ^(X)Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. ³⁵ He has ^(Y)filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works.

The Parable of the Talents^(A)

^14 (B)“For the kingdom of heaven is ^(C)like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, ^(D)to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰ “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were ^(E)faithful over a few things, ^(F)I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into ^(G)the joy of your lord.’ ²² He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³ His lord said to him, ^(H)‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into ^(I)the joy of your lord.’

²⁴ “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You ^(J)wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷ So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

^29 (K)‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the unprofitable servant ^(L)into the outer darkness. ^(M)There will be weeping and ^(N)gnashing of teeth.’

²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are ^(A)irrevocable.

Serve God with Spiritual Gifts

³ For I say, ^(A)through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, ^(B)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt ^(C)to each one a measure of faith. ⁴ For ^(D)as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so ^(E)we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is ^(F)given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us ^(G)prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; ^(H)he who teaches, in teaching; ^8 (I)he who exhorts, in exhortation; ^(J)he who gives, with liberality; ^(K)he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, ^(L)with cheerfulness.

Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity

12 Now ^(A)concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: ² You know ^(B)that^[a] you were Gentiles, carried away to these ^(C)dumb^[b] idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus ^[c]accursed, and ^(D)no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

^4 (E)There are ^[d]diversities of gifts, but ^(F)the same Spirit. ^5 (G)There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. ⁶ And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God ^(H)who works ^[e]all in all. ⁷ But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: ⁸ for to one is given ^(I)the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another ^(J)the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, ^9 (K)to another faith by the same Spirit, to another ^(L)gifts of healings by ^[f]the same Spirit, ^10 (M)to another the working of miracles, to another ^(N)prophecy, to another ^(O)discerning of spirits, to another ^(P)different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ But one and the same Spirit works all these things, ^(Q)distributing to each one individually ^(R)as He wills.