Vestments for the Priesthood

28 “Then bring near to you your brother Aaron and his sons with him, from among the Israelites, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.^{(A) 2} You shall make sacred vestments for the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron.^{(B) 3} And you shall speak to all who are skillful, whom I have endowed with skill, so that they make Aaron’s vestments to consecrate him for my priesthood.^{(C) 4} These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash. When they make these sacred vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests,^(D)

²⁹ So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart when he goes into the holy place, for a continual remembrance before the Lord.^{(A) 30} In the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the Israelites on his heart before the Lord continually.^(B)

Other Priestly Vestments

³¹ “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.^{(C) 32} It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around its edge, like the opening in a garment,^[a] so that it may not be torn. ³³ On its lower hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, all around the lower hem, with bells of gold between them all around— ³⁴ a golden bell and a pomegranate alternating all around the lower hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron shall wear it when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he may not die.

³⁶ “You shall make a rosette of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’^{(D) 37} You shall fasten it on the turban with a blue cord; it shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take on himself any guilt incurred in the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred donations; it shall always be on his forehead, in order that they may find favor before the Lord.^(E)

³⁹ “You shall make the checkered tunic of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.

⁴⁰ “For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics and sashes and headdresses; you shall make them for their glorious adornment.^{(F) 41} You shall put them on your brother Aaron and on his sons with him and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests.^(G)

Is This the Christ?

²⁵ Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? ²⁶ And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah?^{[a] 27} Yet we know where this man is from, but when the Messiah^[b] comes no one will know where he is from.”^{(A) 28} Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him.^{(B) 29} I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.”^{(C) 30} Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him because his hour had not yet come.^{(D) 31} Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, “When the Messiah^[c] comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?”^[d](E)

Officers Are Sent to Arrest Jesus

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. ³³ Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.^{(F) 34} You will search for me, but you will not find me, and where I am, you cannot come.”^{(G) 35} The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?^{(H) 36} What does he mean by saying, ‘You will search for me, but you will not find me’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

Rivers of Living Water

³⁷ On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,^{(I) 38} and let the one who believes in me drink. As^[e] the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart^[f] shall flow rivers of living water.’ ”^{(J) 39} Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive, for as yet there was no Spirit^[g] because Jesus was not yet glorified.^(K)

Division among the People

⁴⁰ When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” ⁴¹ Others said, “This is the Messiah.”^[h] But some asked, “Surely the Messiah^[i] does not come from Galilee, does he?^{(L) 42} Has not the scripture said that the Messiah^[j] is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”^{(M) 43} So there was a division in the crowd because of him. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The Unbelief of Those in Authority

⁴⁵ Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” ⁴⁶ The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” ⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? ⁴⁸ Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?^{(N) 49} But this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed.” ⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus^[k] before and who was one of them, asked, ⁵¹ “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?”^{(O) 52} They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

The Woman Caught in Adultery

[[⁵³ Then each of them went home,

The Daily Offerings

³⁸ “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old regularly each day.^{(A) 39} One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, ⁴⁰ and with the first lamb one-tenth of a measure of choice flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering. ⁴¹ And the other lamb you shall offer in the evening and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire^[a] to the Lord. ⁴² It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.^{(B) 43} I will meet with the Israelites there, and it shall be sanctified by my glory;^{(C) 44} I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.^{(D) 45} I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God.^{(E) 46} And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.^(F)

The Altar of Incense

30 “You shall make an altar on which to offer incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.^{(G) 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.^{(H) 7} Aaron shall offer fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall offer it,^{(I) 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.^{(J) 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.”^(K)

The Half Shekel for the Sanctuary

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ¹² “When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, at registration all of them shall give a ransom for their lives to the Lord, so that no plague may come upon them for being registered.^{(L) 13} This is what each one who is registered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord.^{(M) 14} Each one who is registered, from twenty years old and up, shall give the Lord’s offering. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than the half shekel, when you bring this offering to the Lord to make atonement for your lives.^{(N) 16} You shall take the atonement money from the Israelites and shall designate it for the service of the tent of meeting; before the Lord it will be a reminder to the Israelites of the ransom given for your lives.”^(O)