Arrangement of the Lamps^(A)

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you ^(B)arrange the lamps, the seven ^(C)lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ ” ³ And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses. ^4 (D)Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was ^(E)hammered work. ^(F)According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing and Dedication of the Levites

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. ⁷ Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle ^(G)water of purification on them, and ^(H)let^[a] them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. ⁸ Then let them take a young bull with ^(I)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. ^9 (J)And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, ^(K)and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. ¹⁰ So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel ^(L)shall lay their hands on the Levites; ¹¹ and Aaron shall ^[b]offer the Levites before the Lord like a ^(M)wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord. ^12 (N)Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.

¹³ “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Thus you shall ^(O)separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be ^(P)Mine. ¹⁵ After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting. So you shall cleanse them and ^(Q)offer them like a wave offering. ¹⁶ For they are ^(R)wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself ^(S)instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. ^17 (T)For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I ^[c]sanctified them to Myself. ¹⁸ I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. ¹⁹ And ^(U)I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, ^(V)that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. ^21 (W)And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ^22 (X)After that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons; ^(Y)as the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “This is what pertains to the Levites: ^(Z)From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting; ²⁵ and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. ²⁶ They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, ^(AA)to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties.”

The Second Passover^(AB)

9 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: ² “Let the children of Israel keep ^(AC)the Passover at its appointed ^(AD)time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month, ^[d]at twilight, you shall ^[e]keep it at its appointed time. According to all its ^[f]rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.” ⁴ So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. ⁵ And ^(AE)they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.

⁶ Now there were certain men who were ^(AF)defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; ^(AG)and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. ⁷ And those men said to him, “We became defiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the children of Israel?”

⁸ And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that ^(AH)I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your ^[g]posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord’s Passover. ¹¹ On ^(AI)the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall ^(AJ)eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ^12 (AK)They shall leave none of it until morning, ^(AL)nor break one of its bones. ^(AM)According to all the ^[h]ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. ¹³ But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person ^(AN)shall be cut off from among his people, because he ^(AO)did not bring the offering of the Lord at its appointed time; that man shall ^(AP)bear his sin.

¹⁴ ‘And if a stranger ^[i]dwells among you, and would keep the Lord’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and according to its ceremony; ^(AQ)you shall have one ^[j]ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ”

The Cloud and the Fire^(AR)

¹⁵ Now ^(AS)on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud ^(AT)covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; ^(AU)from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. ¹⁶ So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷ Whenever the cloud ^(AV)was ^[k]taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. ¹⁸ At the ^[l]command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; ^(AW)as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel ^(AX)kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey. ²⁰ So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the Lord they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the Lord they would journey. ²¹ So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. ²² Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel ^(AY)would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. ²³ At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they ^(AZ)kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil

The Great Tribulation^(A)

^14 (B)“So when you see the ^(C)‘abomination of desolation,’ ^[a]spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then ^(D)let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. ¹⁶ And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ^17 (E)But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ And pray that your flight may not be in winter. ^19 (F)For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. ²⁰ And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

^21 (G)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. ²² For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and ^(H)wonders to deceive, if possible, even the ^[b]elect. ²³ But ^(I)take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

The Coming of the Son of Man^(J)

^24 (K)“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be ^(L)shaken. ^26 (M)Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send His angels, and gather together His ^[c]elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

The Parable of the Fig Tree^(N)

^28 (O)“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So you also, when you see these things happening, know that ^[d]it is near—at the doors! ³⁰ Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(P)My words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour^(Q)

³² “But of that day and hour ^(R)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the ^(S)Father. ^33 (T)Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. ^34 (U)It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave ^(V)authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. ^35 (W)Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— ³⁶ lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”