The Daily Audio Bible

The lampstand

8 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you set them up, the seven lamps will give light in front of the lampstand.

³ Aaron did so. He set up its lamps in front of the lampstand as the Lord commanded Moses. ⁴ This is how the lampstand was made: it was hammered gold; from its base to its flower it was hammered. Moses made the lampstand according to the vision that the Lord had shown Moses.

Dedication of the Levites

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ Separate the Levites from the Israelites and cleanse them. ⁷ This is what you will do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purification on them, have them shave their bodies, wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves. ⁸ They will take a bull from the herd, with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil. You will take a second bull from the herd for a purification offering. ⁹ You will bring the Levites before the meeting tent and gather the entire Israelite community. ¹⁰ Then you will bring the Levites into the Lord’s presence, and the Israelites will lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹ Aaron will present the Levites as an uplifted offering in the Lord’s presence from the Israelites so that they may do the Lord’s service. ¹² Then the Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and Aaron will offer one as a purification offering and the other as an entirely burned offering to the Lord in order to seek reconciliation for the Levites.

¹³ You will have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and you will present them as an uplifted offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ You will separate the Levites from the Israelites, and the Levites will be mine. ¹⁵ The Levites will enter to serve the meeting tent, after you have cleansed them and presented them as an uplifted offering. ¹⁶ They are given over to me from the Israelites in place of all the newborn, the oldest of all the Israelites. I take them for myself. ¹⁷ Every oldest male among the Israelites is mine, whether human or animal. When I killed all the oldest males in the land of Egypt, I dedicated them to myself. ¹⁸ I have taken the Levites in place of all the oldest among the Israelites. ¹⁹ I have selected the Levites from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons to perform the service of the Israelites in the meeting tent and to seek reconciliation for the Israelites so that there will not be a plague when the Israelites approach the sanctuary.

²⁰ Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community carried out for the Levites everything the Lord had commanded Moses. That is what the Israelites did for the Levites. ²¹ The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Aaron presented them as an uplifted offering in the Lord’s presence, and he sought reconciliation for them in order to cleanse them. ²² After this the Levites went in to perform their service in the meeting tent before Aaron and his sons. They did for the Levites just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning them.

²³ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁴ This rule applies^[a] to the Levites: Everyone 25 years old and above will enter into service, performing the duties for the meeting tent. ²⁵ At 50 years old each will retire from service. They will perform their duties no longer. ²⁶ Each may assist his fellow Levites in the meeting tent with some responsibilities, but he may not perform service. This is how you should assign responsibilities to the Levites.

Passover

9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert in the first month^[b] of the second year after they had left the land of Egypt: ² Let the Israelites keep the Passover at its appointed time. ³ On the fourteenth day of this month at twilight you will keep it at its appointed time. Keep it according to all its regulations and its customary practices.

⁴ Moses instructed the Israelites to keep the Passover. ⁵ At twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month^[c] they kept the Passover in the Sinai desert. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁶ But there were persons who were unclean from contact with a human corpse, and they were unable to keep the Passover on that day. They approached Moses and Aaron that day. ⁷ These persons said to him, “Although we are unclean from contact with a human corpse, why must we be prohibited from presenting the Lord’s offering at its appointed time with the rest of the Israelites?”

⁸ Moses said to them, “Wait while I listen for what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁰ Tell the Israelites: When any of you or your descendants are unclean from contact with a corpse or are on a long trip, they may still keep the Passover to the Lord. ¹¹ They will keep it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month.^[d] They will eat the Passover lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² They must not leave any of it until morning, nor break any of its bones. They will keep the Passover according to all its regulations. ¹³ But any persons who are clean and not on a trip, yet don’t keep the Passover, those persons will be cut off from their people, because they didn’t present the Lord’s offering at its appointed time. Those persons will bear their sin. ¹⁴ If an immigrant resides among you and wishes to keep the Passover to the Lord, that one also will keep it according to its regulations and its customary practices. There will be one set of regulations for both of you, for the immigrant and for the native of the land.

Cloud over the dwelling

¹⁵ On the day the dwelling was erected, the cloud covered the dwelling, the covenant tent. At night until morning, the cloud appeared with lightning over the dwelling. ¹⁶ It was always there. The cloud covered it by day,^[e] appearing with lightning at night. ¹⁷ Whenever the cloud ascended from the tent, the Israelites would march. And the Israelites would camp wherever the cloud settled. ¹⁸ At the Lord’s command, the Israelites would march, and at the Lord’s command they would camp. As long as the cloud settled on the dwelling, they would camp. ¹⁹ When the cloud lingered on the meeting tent for many days, the Israelites would observe the Lord’s direction and they wouldn’t march. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud would be over the dwelling for a number of days, so they would camp at the Lord’s command, marching again only at the Lord’s command. ²¹ Sometimes the cloud would settle only overnight, and they would march when the cloud ascended in the morning. Whether it was day or night, they would march when the cloud ascended. ²² Whether it was two days, or a month, or a long time, the Israelites would camp so long as the cloud lingered on the dwelling and settled on it. They wouldn’t march. But when it ascended, they would march. ²³ They camped at the Lord’s command and they marched at the Lord’s command. They followed the Lord’s direction according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

¹⁴ “When you see the disgusting and destructive thing standing where it shouldn’t be (the reader should understand this), then those in Judea must escape to the mountains. ¹⁵ Those on the roof shouldn’t come down or enter their houses to grab anything. ¹⁶ Those in the field shouldn’t come back to grab their clothes. ¹⁷ How terrible it will be at that time for women who are pregnant and for women who are nursing their children. ¹⁸ Pray that it doesn’t happen in winter. ¹⁹ In those days there will be great suffering such as the world has never before seen and will never again see. ²⁰ If the Lord hadn’t shortened that time, no one would be rescued. But for the sake of the chosen ones, the ones whom God chose, he has cut short the time.

²¹ “Then if someone says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. ²² False christs and false prophets will appear, and they will offer signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, those whom God has chosen. ²³ But you, watch out! I’ve told you everything ahead of time.

²⁴ “In those days, after the suffering of that time, the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. ²⁵ The stars will fall from the sky, and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁶ Then they will see the Human One^[a] coming in the clouds with great power and splendor. ²⁷ Then he will send the angels and gather together his chosen people from the four corners of the earth, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.

A lesson from the fig tree

²⁸ “Learn this parable from the fig tree. After its branch becomes tender and it sprouts new leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that he’s near, at the door. ³⁰ I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.

³² “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. ³³ Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming. ³⁴ It is as if someone took a trip, left the household behind, and put the servants in charge, giving each one a job to do, and told the doorkeeper to stay alert. ³⁵ Therefore, stay alert! You don’t know when the head of the household will come,whether in the evening or at midnight, or when the rooster crows in the early morning or at daybreak. ³⁶ Don’t let him show up when you weren’t expecting and find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert!”

Psalm 50

A psalm of Asaph.