The Tabernacle Erected

40 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “On the ^(A)first day of the first month you shall ^(B)erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³ And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall ^(C)screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ And ^(D)you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and ^(E)you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. ^5 (F)And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ^6 (G)You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, ^7 (H)and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

⁹ “Then you shall take the ^(I)anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. ¹⁰ You shall also anoint ^(J)the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, ^(K)so that the altar may become most holy. ¹¹ You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. ^12 (L)Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water ¹³ and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. ¹⁴ You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, ^15 (M)and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a ^(N)perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

¹⁶ This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. ¹⁷ In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, ^(O)the tabernacle was erected. ¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ He ^(P)took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and ^(Q)set up the veil of the screen, and screened ^(R)the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^22 (S)He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, ²³ and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^24 (T)He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, ^25 (U)and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^26 (V)He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, ²⁷ and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^28 (W)He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ^29 (X)And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the ^(Y)grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^30 (Z)He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, ³¹ with which Moses and ^(AA)Aaron and his sons ^(AB)washed their hands and their feet. ³² When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. ^33 (AC)And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So ^(AD)Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

³⁴ Then ^(AE)the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and ^(AF)the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Throughout all their journeys, ^(AG)whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. ³⁷ But ^(AH)if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

Laws for Burnt Offerings

1 ^(AI)The Lord called Moses and spoke to him ^(AJ)from the tent of meeting, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(AK)When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.

³ “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer ^(AL)a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. ^4 (AM)He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be ^(AN)accepted for him ^(AO)to make atonement for him. ⁵ Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood ^(AP)and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁶ Then he shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces, ⁷ and the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and ^(AQ)arrange wood on the fire. ⁸ And Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; ⁹ but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as ^(AR)a burnt offering, a food offering^[a] with a ^(AS)pleasing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁰ “If his gift for a burnt offering is from the flock, from the sheep or goats, he shall bring a male without blemish, ^11 (AT)and he shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹² And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar, ¹³ but the entrails and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is ^(AU)a burnt offering, a food offering with ^(AV)a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴ “If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of ^(AW)turtledoves or pigeons. ¹⁵ And the priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ He shall remove its crop with its contents^[b] and cast it ^(AX)beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes. ¹⁷ He shall tear it open by its wings, but ^(AY)shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Laws for Grain Offerings

2 “When anyone brings a ^(AZ)grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. ^(BA)He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it ² and bring it to Aaron's sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its ^(BB)memorial portion on the altar, a food ^(BC)offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ³ But the ^(BD)rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; ^(BE)it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings.

⁴ “When you bring a grain offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be ^(BF)unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers smeared with oil. ⁵ And if your offering is a grain offering ^(BG)baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. ⁶ You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷ And if your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. ⁸ And you shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. ⁹ And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food ^(BH)offering with a ^(BI)pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁰ But the ^(BJ)rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; ^(BK)it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings.

¹¹ “No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with ^(BL)leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food offering to the Lord. ^12 (BM)As an offering of firstfruits you may bring them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma. ¹³ You ^(BN)shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the ^(BO)salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; ^(BP)with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

¹⁴ “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ^(BQ)ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain. ¹⁵ And ^(BR)you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ And the priest shall burn as its ^(BS)memorial portion some of the crushed grain and some of the oil with all of its frankincense; it is a food offering to the Lord.

Laws for Peace Offerings

3 “If his offering is ^(BT)a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, ^(BU)he shall offer it ^(BV)without blemish before the Lord. ² And ^(BW)he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. ³ And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the Lord, he shall offer ^(BX)the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, ^4 (BY)and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. ⁵ Then Aaron's sons ^(BZ)shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

⁶ “If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it ^(CA)without blemish. ⁷ If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord, ⁸ lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. ⁹ Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the Lord its fat; he shall remove the whole ^(CB)fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails ¹⁰ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove ^(CC)with the kidneys. ¹¹ And the priest shall burn it on the altar as ^(CD)a food offering to the Lord.

¹² “If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord ¹³ and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹⁴ Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the Lord, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails ¹⁵ and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove ^(CE)with the kidneys. ¹⁶ And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a ^(CF)food offering with a pleasing aroma. ^(CG)All fat is the Lord's. ¹⁷ It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither ^(CH)fat nor ^(CI)blood.”

The Jerusalem Council

15 ^(A)But some men came down from Judea and were teaching ^(B)the brothers, “Unless you are ^(C)circumcised ^(D)according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^(E)debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and ^(F)some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ^(G)the apostles and the elders about this question. ³ So, ^(H)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(I)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and ^(J)brought great joy to all ^(K)the brothers.^{[a] 4 (L)}When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and ^(M)the apostles and the elders, and ^(N)they declared all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some believers who belonged to ^(O)the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ^(P)“It is necessary ^(Q)to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

^6 (R)The ^(S)apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. ⁷ And after there had been much ^(T)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^(U)that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^(V)the word of ^(W)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(X)who knows the heart, ^(Y)bore witness to them, ^(Z)by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and ^(AA)he made no distinction between us and them, ^(AB)having cleansed their hearts ^(AC)by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why ^(AD)are you putting God to the test ^(AE)by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^(AF)that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we ^(AG)believe that we will be ^(AH)saved through ^(AI)the grace of the Lord Jesus, ^(AJ)just as they will.”

¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul ^(AK)as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ After they finished speaking, ^(AL)James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. ^14 (AM)Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ^(AN)a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁹ Therefore ^(AS)my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^(AT)turn to God, ²⁰ but should write to them ^(AU)to abstain from ^(AV)the things polluted by idols, and from ^(AW)sexual immorality, and from ^(AX)what has been strangled, and from ^(AY)blood. ²¹ For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^(AZ)for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers

²² Then it seemed good to ^(BA)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called ^(BB)Barsabbas, and ^(BC)Silas, leading men among ^(BD)the brothers, ²³ with the following letter: ^(BE)“The brothers, both ^(BF)the apostles and the elders, to the brothers^[c] who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ^(BG)greetings. ²⁴ Since we have heard that ^(BH)some persons have gone out from us and ^(BI)troubled you^[d] with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, ²⁵ it has seemed good to us, having come ^(BJ)to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our ^(BK)beloved Barnabas and Paul, ^26 (BL)men who have ^(BM)risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ We have therefore sent ^(BN)Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. ²⁸ For it has seemed good ^(BO)to the Holy Spirit and ^(BP)to us ^(BQ)to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: ^29 (BR)that you abstain from ^(BS)what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰ So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. ³² And Judas and Silas, who were themselves ^(BT)prophets, encouraged and ^(BU)strengthened ^(BV)the brothers with many words. ³³ And after they had spent some time, they were sent off ^(BW)in peace by ^(BX)the brothers to those who had sent them.^{[e] 35} But ^(BY)Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Paul and Barnabas Separate

³⁶ And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit ^(BZ)the brothers ^(CA)in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Now Barnabas wanted to take with them ^(CB)John called Mark. ³⁸ But Paul thought best not to take with them one ^(CC)who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ And there arose ^(CD)a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. ^(CE)Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and departed, ^(CF)having been commended by ^(CG)the brothers to ^(CH)the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ^(CI)strengthening the churches.