Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of ^(J)Ascents.

The Altar

¹³ “These are the measurements of ^(A)the altar by cubits (the cubit being ^(B)a cubit and a handbreadth):^[a] its base shall be one cubit high^[b] and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span^[c] around its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar: ¹⁴ from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; ¹⁵ and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from the altar hearth projecting upward, ^(C)four horns. ¹⁶ The altar hearth shall be ^(D)square, twelve cubits long by twelve broad. ¹⁷ The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. ^(E)The steps of the altar shall face east.”

¹⁸ And he said to me, ^(F)“Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and ^(G)for throwing blood against it, ¹⁹ you shall give to ^(H)the Levitical priests ^(I)of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord God, ^(J)a bull from the herd for a sin offering. ²⁰ And ^(K)you shall take some of its blood and put it on ^(L)the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon ^(M)the rim all around. ^(N)Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it. ²¹ You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and ^(O)it shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area. ²² And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull. ²³ When you have finished ^(P)purifying it, you shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish and ^(Q)a ram from the flock without blemish. ²⁴ You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests ^(R)shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. ^25 (S)For seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided. ²⁶ Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.^{[d] 27} And when they have completed these days, then ^(T)from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your ^(U)peace offerings, and ^(V)I will accept you, declares the Lord God.”

The Gate for the Prince

44 Then he brought me ^(W)back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, ^(X)which faces east. And it was shut. ² And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for ^(Y)the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. ³ Only ^(Z)the prince may sit in it ^(AA)to eat bread before the Lord. He ^(AB)shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”

⁴ Then he brought me by way of ^(AC)the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, ^(AD)the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And ^(AE)I fell on my face. ⁵ And the Lord said to me, ^(AF)“Son of man, mark well, ^(AG)see with your eyes, ^(AH)and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning ^(AI)all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well ^(AJ)the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary. ⁶ And say to ^(AK)the rebellious house,^[e] to the ^(AL)house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: O house of Israel, ^(AM)enough of all your abominations, ⁷ in ^(AN)admitting foreigners, ^(AO)uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, ^(AP)profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You^[f] have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. ⁸ And ^(AQ)you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.

⁹ “Thus says the Lord God: ^(AR)No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary. ¹⁰ But ^(AS)the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols ^(AT)when Israel went astray, ^(AU)shall bear their punishment.^{[g] 11} They shall be ^(AV)ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight ^(AW)at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and ^(AX)they shall stand before the people, to minister to them. ¹² Because they ministered to them before their idols and became ^(AY)a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have ^(AZ)sworn concerning them, declares the Lord God, and they shall bear their punishment. ¹³ They ^(BA)shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but ^(BB)they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed. ¹⁴ Yet I will appoint them to keep ^(BC)charge of the temple, ^(BD)to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

^15 (A)“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ^(B)ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them ^(C)by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, ^(D)every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ^19 (E)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them ^(F)by their fruits.

I Never Knew You

^21 (G)“Not everyone who ^(H)says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will ^(I)enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who ^(J)does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ^22 (K)On that day ^(L)many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not ^(M)prophesy in your name, and cast out demons ^(N)in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ^23 (O)And then will I declare to them, ‘I ^(P)never knew you; ^(Q)depart from me, ^(R)you workers of lawlessness.’

Build Your House on the Rock

^24 (S)“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like ^(T)a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like ^(U)a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

The Authority of Jesus

²⁸ And when Jesus finished these sayings, ^(V)the crowds were astonished at his teaching, ^29 (W)for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

8 When he came down from the mountain, ^(X)great crowds followed him. ^2 (Y)And behold, a leper^[a] came to him and ^(Z)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³ And Jesus^[b] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus said to him, ^(AA)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(AB)show yourself to the priest and ^(AC)offer the gift that Moses commanded, ^(AD)for a proof to them.”