The Daily Audio Bible

The Ark^(A)

37 Bezalel made the ark out of acacia wood 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ² He covered it with pure gold inside and out and put a gold molding around it. ³ He cast four gold rings for its four feet, two rings on each side. ⁴ Then he made poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold. ⁵ He put them through the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry it.

⁶ He made the throne of mercy out of pure gold 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. ⁷ Then he made two angels ^[a] out of hammered gold for the two ends of the throne of mercy, ⁸ one on each end. He formed the angels and the throne of mercy out of one piece ⌞of gold⌟. ⁹ The angels had their wings spread above the throne of mercy, overshadowing it. They faced each other, looking at the throne of mercy.

The Table^(B)

¹⁰ He made the table out of acacia wood 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ¹¹ He covered it with pure gold and put a gold molding around it. ¹² He made a rim 3 inches wide around it and put a gold molding around the rim. ¹³ He cast four gold rings for it and fastened the rings to the four corners, where the four legs were. ¹⁴ The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles for carrying the table. ¹⁵ These poles were made out of acacia wood and were covered with gold. ¹⁶ For the table he made plates, dishes, bowls, and pitchers to be used for pouring wine offerings. All of them were made out of pure gold.

The Lamp Stand^(C)

¹⁷ He made the lamp stand out of pure gold. The lamp stand, its base, and its shaft, as well as the flower cups, buds, and petals were hammered out of one piece ⌞of gold⌟. ¹⁸ Six branches came out of its sides, three branches on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹ Each of the six branches coming out of the lamp stand had three flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals. ²⁰ The lamp stand itself had four flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a bud and petals. ²¹ There was a bud under each of the three pairs of branches coming out of the lamp stand. ²² The buds and branches were hammered out of the same piece of pure gold as the lamp stand.

²³ He made the seven lamps, the tongs, and the incense burners out of pure gold. ²⁴ The lamp stand and all the utensils were made out of 75 pounds of pure gold.

The Altar for Incense^(D)

²⁵ He made an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense. It was 18 inches square and 36 inches high. The horns and altar were made out of one piece ⌞of wood⌟. ²⁶ He covered all of it with pure gold—the top, the sides, and the horns—and he put a gold molding around it. ²⁷ He made two gold rings and put them below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles for carrying it. ²⁸ He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

²⁹ He also had a perfumer make the holy oil to be used for anointing and for the pure, sweet-smelling incense.

The Altar for Burnt Offerings^(E)

38 He made the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood 7½ feet square and 4½ feet high. ² He made a horn at each of its four corners. He made the four horns and the altar out of one piece ⌞of wood⌟ covered with bronze.

³ He made all the utensils out of bronze: pots, shovels, bowls, forks, and incense burners.

⁴ He made a grate for the altar out of bronze mesh, ⌞and put it⌟ under the ledge, halfway up the altar. ⁵ He cast four rings to hold the poles (one for each of the four corners of the bronze grate). ⁶ He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with bronze. ⁷ He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it. He made the altar out of boards so that it was hollow inside.

The Bronze Basin^(F)

⁸ He made the basin and stand out of the bronze mirrors given by the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The Courtyard^(G)

⁹ He also made the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard was 150 feet long and had curtains made out of fine linen yarn, ¹⁰ ⌞hung⌟ on 20 posts ⌞set in⌟ 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. ¹¹ The north side was also 150 feet long with 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver.

¹² The west side was 75 feet long and had curtains ⌞hung⌟ on 10 posts ⌞set in⌟ 10 bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. ¹³ The east side, facing the rising sun, was 75 feet ⌞wide⌟.

^14-15 Each side of the entrance to the courtyard was 22½ feet wide with curtains ⌞hung⌟ on three posts ⌞set in⌟ three bases. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the courtyard were made out of fine linen yarn. ¹⁷ The bases for the posts were made of bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver. And the bands on all the posts of the courtyard were made of silver.

¹⁸ The screen for the entrance to the courtyard was made of violet, purple, and bright red yarn embroidered on ⌞fabric made from⌟ fine linen yarn. It was 30 feet long and 7½ feet high, just like the curtains of the courtyard. ¹⁹ It was hung on four posts ⌞set in⌟ four bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver.

²⁰ All the pegs for the tent and the surrounding courtyard were made of bronze.

The Amount of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Used

²¹ This is the amount of material that was used for the tent (the tent of the words of God’s promise). An inventory was ordered by Moses and carried out by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron.

²² Now Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord had commanded Moses. ²³ He was a jeweler, carpenter, designer, and he knew how to embroider violet, purple, and bright red yarn on fine linen. His assistant was Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan.

²⁴ The total amount of gold from the offerings presented to the Lord used in building the holy place weighed over 2,193 pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place.

²⁵ The silver collected when the census of the community was taken weighed 7,544 pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place. ²⁶ This came to one-fifth of an ounce per person, for everyone counted who was at least 20 years old: 603,550 people. ²⁷ He used 7,500 pounds of silver to cast the 100 bases for the holy place and the canopy. This was 75 pounds per base. ²⁸ He used 44 pounds of silver to make the hooks and bands for the posts and the coverings for the tops of the posts.

²⁹ The bronze from the offerings presented to the Lord weighed 5,310 pounds. ³⁰ With this he made the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grate and all its accessories, ³¹ the bases all around the courtyard, the bases for the entrance to the courtyard, all the pegs for the tent, and all the pegs for the surrounding courtyard.

Jesus Comes Back to Life^(A)

28 After the day of rest—a holy day, as the sun rose Sunday morning, Mary from Magdala and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² Suddenly, there was a powerful earthquake. An angel of the Lord had come down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and was sitting on it. ³ He was as bright as lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so deathly afraid of him that they shook.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid! I know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He’s not here. He has been brought back to life as he said. Come, see the place where he was lying. ⁷ Then go quickly, and tell his disciples that he has been brought back to life. He’s going ahead of them into Galilee. There they will see him. Take note that I have told you.”

⁸ They hurried away from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.

⁹ Suddenly, Jesus met them and greeted them. They went up to him, bowed down to worship him, and took hold of his feet.

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go, tell my followers to go to Galilee. There they will see me.”

The Guards Report to the Chief Priests

¹¹ While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city. They told the chief priests everything that had happened.

¹² The chief priests gathered together with the leaders and agreed on a plan. They gave the soldiers a large amount of money ¹³ and told them to say that Jesus’ disciples had come at night and had stolen his body while they were sleeping. ¹⁴ ⌞They added,⌟ “If the governor hears about it, we’ll take care of it, and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

¹⁵ The soldiers took the money and did as they were told. Their story has been spread among the Jewish people to this day.

Jesus Gives Instructions to the Disciples

¹⁶ The eleven disciples went to the mountain in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they bowed down in worship, though some had doubts.

¹⁸ When Jesus came near, he spoke to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to do everything I have commanded you.

“And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”