The Covenant Confirmed

24 Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, ^(A)Nadab, and Abihu, and ^(B)seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. ² Moses ^(C)alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.”

³ Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and ^(D)all the rules.^[a] And all the people answered with one voice and said, ^(E)“All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” ⁴ And ^(F)Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve ^(G)pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. ⁶ And ^(H)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. ⁷ Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, ^(I)“All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” ^8 (J)And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

⁹ Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and ^(K)seventy of the elders of Israel ^(L)went up, ¹⁰ and they ^(M)saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of ^(N)sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. ¹¹ And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ^(O)ate and drank.

¹² The Lord said to Moses, ^(P)“Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the ^(Q)tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” ¹³ So Moses rose with his assistant ^(R)Joshua, and Moses went up ^(S)into the mountain of God. ¹⁴ And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and ^(T)Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.”

¹⁵ Then Moses went up on the mountain, and ^(U)the cloud covered the mountain. ^16 (V)The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a ^(W)devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. ¹⁸ Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses ^(X)was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Contributions for the Sanctuary

25 The Lord said to Moses, ^2 (Y)“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From ^(Z)every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. ³ And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, ^4 (AA)blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair, ⁵ tanned ^(AB)rams' skins, goatskins,^[b] acacia wood, ^6 (AC)oil for the lamps, ^(AD)spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ⁷ onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ^(AE)ephod and for the breastpiece. ⁸ And let them make me a ^(AF)sanctuary, that ^(AG)I may dwell in their midst. ^9 (AH)Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the ^(AI)tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

The Ark of the Covenant

^10 (AJ)“They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits^[c] and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. ¹¹ You shall overlay it with ^(AK)pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. ¹² You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its ^(AL)four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. ¹³ You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. ¹⁵ The ^(AM)poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. ^16 (AN)And you shall put into the ark the ^(AO)testimony that I shall give you.

^17 (AP)“You shall make a mercy seat^[d] of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. ¹⁸ And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of ^(AQ)hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. ¹⁹ Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. ^(AR)Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. ^20 (AS)The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. ²¹ And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. ^22 (AT)There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from ^(AU)between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

The Table for Bread

^23 (AV)“You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. ²⁴ You shall overlay it with ^(AW)pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. ²⁵ And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth^[e] wide, and a molding of gold around the rim. ²⁶ And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. ²⁷ Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as ^(AX)holders for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸ You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these. ²⁹ And you shall make its plates and ^(AY)dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. ³⁰ And you shall set the ^(AZ)bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

The Golden Lampstand

^31 (BA)“You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. ³² And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; ³³ three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. ³⁴ And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, ³⁵ and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. ³⁶ Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. ³⁷ You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps ^(BB)shall be set up so as ^(BC)to give light on the space in front of it. ³⁸ Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold. ³⁹ It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent^[f] of pure gold. ⁴⁰ And ^(BD)see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

Greeting

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of ^(A)the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² according to ^(B)the foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(C)in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and ^(D)for sprinkling with his blood:

May ^(E)grace and ^(F)peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

^3 (G)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^(H)According to his great mercy, ^(I)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^(J)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to ^(K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(L)unfading, ^(M)kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God's power are being guarded ^(N)through faith for a salvation ^(O)ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^(P)various trials, ⁷ so that ^(Q)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^(R)though it is tested by ^(S)fire—may be found to result in ^(T)praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ^8 (U)Though you have not seen him, you love him. ^(V)Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining ^(W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, ^(X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring ^(Y)what person or time^{[a] (Z)}the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating ^(AA)when he predicted ^(AB)the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ^12 (AC)It was revealed to them that ^(AD)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^(AE)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^(AF)things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

¹³ Therefore, ^(AG)preparing your minds for action,^[b] and ^(AH)being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, ^(AI)do not be conformed to the passions ^(AJ)of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but ^(AK)as he who called you is holy, you also be holy ^(AL)in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, ^(AM)“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ And if you ^(AN)call on him as Father who ^(AO)judges ^(AP)impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves ^(AQ)with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸ knowing that you ^(AR)were ransomed from ^(AS)the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but ^(AT)with the precious blood of Christ, like that of ^(AU)a lamb ^(AV)without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but ^(AW)was made manifest ^(AX)in the last times for the sake of you ^21 (AY)who through him are believers in God, ^(AZ)who raised him from the dead and ^(BA)gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(BB)a sincere brotherly love, ^(BC)love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ^23 (BD)since you have been born again, ^(BE)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(BF)the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

And this word ^(BI)is the good news that was preached to you.

A Living Stone and a Holy People

2 ^(BJ)So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ^2 (BK)Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^(BL)milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have ^(BM)tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone ^(BN)rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ^5 (BO)you yourselves like living stones are being built up as ^(BP)a spiritual house, to be ^(BQ)a holy priesthood, ^(BR)to offer spiritual sacrifices ^(BS)acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

⁷ So the honor is for you who ^(BV)believe, but for those who ^(BW)do not believe,

⁸ and

They stumble because they disobey the word, ^(BZ)as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are ^(CA)a chosen race, ^(CB)a royal ^(CC)priesthood, ^(CD)a holy nation, ^(CE)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(CF)out of darkness into ^(CG)his marvelous light. ^10 (CH)Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you ^(CI)as sojourners and exiles ^(CJ)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^(CK)which wage war against your soul. ^12 (CL)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^(CM)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^(CN)the day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

^13 (CO)Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,^[d] whether it be to the emperor^[e] as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him ^(CP)to punish those who do evil and ^(CQ)to praise those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, ^(CR)that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ^16 (CS)Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but ^(CT)living as servants^[f] of God. ^17 (CU)Honor everyone. ^(CV)Love the brotherhood. ^(CW)Fear God. Honor the emperor.

^18 (CX)Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. ¹⁹ For this is a gracious thing, when, ^(CY)mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But ^(CZ)if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ²¹ For ^(DA)to this you have been called, ^(DB)because Christ also suffered for you, ^(DC)leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ^22 (DD)He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ^23 (DE)When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, ^(DF)but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ^24 (DG)He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we ^(DH)might die to sin and ^(DI)live to righteousness. ^(DJ)By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For ^(DK)you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to ^(DL)the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.