¹⁸ for the altar of incense made of refined gold and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.^(A)

¹⁸ You shall make two cherubim of gold; you shall make them of hammered work at the two ends of the cover. ¹⁹ Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other; of one piece with the cover you shall make the cherubim at its two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the cover with their wings. They shall face one to another; the faces of the cherubim shall be turned toward the cover.^{(A) 21} You shall put the cover on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I am giving you.^{(B) 22} There I will meet with you, and from above the cover, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the covenant, I will tell you all that I am commanding you for the Israelites.^(C)

The Altar of Incense

30 “You shall make an altar on which to offer incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.^{(A) 2} It shall be one cubit long and one cubit wide; it shall be square and shall be two cubits high; its horns shall be of one piece with it. ³ You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around and its horns, and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. ⁴ And you shall make two golden rings for it; under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall hold the poles for carrying it. ⁵ You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ You shall place it in front of the curtain that is above the ark of the covenant, in front of the cover that is over the covenant, where I will meet with you.^{(B) 7} Aaron shall offer fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall offer it,^{(C) 8} and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening, he shall offer it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer unholy incense on it or a burnt offering or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.^{(D) 10} Once a year Aaron shall perform the rite of atonement on its horns. Throughout your generations he shall perform the atonement for it once a year with the blood of the atoning purification offering. It is most holy to the Lord.”^(E)

⁵ above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.^[a] Of these things we cannot speak now in detail.^(A)

² He said to the man clothed in linen, “Go within the wheelwork underneath the cherubim; fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” He went in as I looked on.^{(A) 3} Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.^{(B) 4} Then the glory of the Lord rose up from the cherub to the entryway of the temple; the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of the Lord.^{(C) 5} The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty^[a] when he speaks.^(D)

⁶ When he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ And a cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, took some of it, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings.

⁹ I looked, and there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like gleaming beryl.^{(E) 10} And as for their appearance, the four looked alike, something like a wheel within a wheel. ¹¹ When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without veering as they moved. ¹² Their entire bodies—backs, hands, and wings—were covered with eyes all around, as were the wheels of the four of them.^{(F) 13} As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing “the wheelwork.” ¹⁴ Each one had four faces: the first face was that of the cherub, the second face was that of a human, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.^(G)

¹⁵ The cherubim rose up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the River Chebar. ¹⁶ When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise up from the earth, the wheels at their side did not veer.^{(H) 17} When they stopped, the others stopped, and when they rose up, the others rose up with them, for a living spirit was in them.^(I)

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord went out from the entryway of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. ¹⁹ The cherubim lifted up their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight as they went out with the wheels beside them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.^(J)

²⁰ These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.^{(K) 21} Each had four faces, each four wings, and underneath their wings something like human hands.^{(L) 22} As for what their faces were like, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the River Chebar. Each one moved straight ahead.^(M)

¹⁵ As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.^{[a](A) 16} As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl, and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel.^{(B) 17} When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved.^{(C) 18} Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.^{(D) 19} When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.^{(E) 20} Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for a living spirit was in the wheels.^{(F) 21} When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for a living spirit was in the wheels.^(G)

²² Over the heads of the living creatures there was something like a dome, shining like crystal,^[b] spread out above their heads.^{(H) 23} Under the dome their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another, and each of the creatures had two wings covering its body. ²⁴ When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the thunder of the Almighty,^[c] a sound of tumult like the sound of an army; when they stopped, they let down their wings.^(I)

Psalm 99

Praise to God for His Holiness

Psalm 80

Prayer for Israel’s Restoration

To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm.