Clothing for the Priests

39 The craftsmen made beautiful sacred garments of blue, purple, and scarlet cloth—clothing for Aaron to wear while ministering in the Holy Place, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Ephod

² Bezalel^[a] made the ephod of finely woven linen and embroidered it with gold and with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. ³ He made gold thread by hammering out thin sheets of gold and cutting it into fine strands. With great skill and care, he worked it into the fine linen with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.

⁴ The ephod consisted of two pieces, front and back, joined at the shoulders with two shoulder-pieces. ⁵ The decorative sash was made of the same materials: finely woven linen embroidered with gold and with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁶ They mounted the two onyx stones in settings of gold filigree. The stones were engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel, just as a seal is engraved. ⁷ He fastened these stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod as a reminder that the priest represents the people of Israel. All this was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Chestpiece

⁸ Bezalel made the chestpiece with great skill and care. He made it to match the ephod, using finely woven linen embroidered with gold and with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. ⁹ He made the chestpiece of a single piece of cloth folded to form a pouch nine inches^[b] square. ¹⁰ They mounted four rows of gemstones^[c] on it. The first row contained a red carnelian, a pale-green peridot, and an emerald. ¹¹ The second row contained a turquoise, a blue lapis lazuli, and a white moonstone. ¹² The third row contained an orange jacinth, an agate, and a purple amethyst. ¹³ The fourth row contained a blue-green beryl, an onyx, and a green jasper. All these stones were set in gold filigree. ¹⁴ Each stone represented one of the twelve sons of Israel, and the name of that tribe was engraved on it like a seal.

¹⁵ To attach the chestpiece to the ephod, they made braided cords of pure gold thread. ¹⁶ They also made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings and attached them to the top corners of the chestpiece. ¹⁷ They tied the two gold cords to the rings on the chestpiece. ¹⁸ They tied the other ends of the cords to the gold settings on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod. ¹⁹ Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the inside edges of the chestpiece next to the ephod. ²⁰ Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the front of the ephod, below the shoulder-pieces, just above the knot where the decorative sash was fastened to the ephod. ²¹ They attached the bottom rings of the chestpiece to the rings on the ephod with blue cords. In this way, the chestpiece was held securely to the ephod above the decorative sash. All this was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Additional Clothing for the Priests

²² Bezalel made the robe that is worn with the ephod from a single piece of blue woven cloth, ²³ with an opening for Aaron’s head in the middle of it. The opening was reinforced with a woven collar^[d] so it would not tear. ²⁴ They made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and attached them to the hem of the robe. ²⁵ They also made bells of pure gold and placed them between the pomegranates along the hem of the robe, ²⁶ with bells and pomegranates alternating all around the hem. This robe was to be worn whenever the priest ministered before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁷ They made tunics for Aaron and his sons from fine linen cloth. ²⁸ The turban and the special head coverings were made of fine linen, and the undergarments were also made of finely woven linen. ²⁹ The sashes were made of finely woven linen and embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰ Finally, they made the sacred medallion—the badge of holiness—of pure gold. They engraved it like a seal with these words: Holy to the lord. ³¹ They attached the medallion with a blue cord to Aaron’s turban, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Moses Inspects the Work

³² And so at last the Tabernacle^[e] was finished. The Israelites had done everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ And they brought the entire Tabernacle to Moses:

⁴² So the people of Israel followed all of the Lord’s instructions to Moses. ⁴³ Then Moses inspected all their work. When he found it had been done just as the Lord had commanded him, he blessed them.

Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar

3 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. ² As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

⁴ Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. ⁶ But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,^[a] get up and^[b] walk!”

⁷ Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. ⁸ He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

⁹ All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. ¹⁰ When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! ¹¹ They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

Peter Preaches in the Temple

¹² Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? ¹³ For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. ¹⁴ You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. ¹⁵ You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!

¹⁶ “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.

¹⁷ “Friends,^[c] I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. ¹⁸ But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. ¹⁹ Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. ²⁰ Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. ²¹ For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’^{[d] 23} Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’^[e]

²⁴ “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. ²⁵ You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants^[f] all the families on earth will be blessed.’ ²⁶ When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”

Peter and John before the Council

4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. ² These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. ³ They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. ⁴ But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.

⁵ The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. ⁷ They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, ⁹ are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? ¹⁰ Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,^[g] the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

¹² There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

¹³ The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say. ¹⁵ So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber^[i] and conferred among themselves.

¹⁶ “What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. ¹⁷ But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” ¹⁸ So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? ²⁰ We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”

²¹ The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God ²² for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.

The Believers Pray for Courage

²³ As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. ²⁴ When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— ²⁵ you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,

²⁷ “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. ²⁸ But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. ²⁹ And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

The Believers Share Their Possessions

³² All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. ³³ The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. ³⁴ There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them ³⁵ and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

³⁶ For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. ³⁷ He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.

Book three (Psalms 73–89)

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.