The Daily Audio Bible

Making the Covenant Box^(A)

37 Bezalel made the Covenant Box out of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ² He covered it with pure gold inside and out and put a gold border all around it. ³ He made four carrying rings of gold for it and attached them to its four feet, with two rings on each side. ⁴ He made carrying poles of acacia wood, covered them with gold, ⁵ and put them through the rings on each side of the Box. ⁶ He made a lid of pure gold, 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. ⁷ He made two winged creatures of hammered gold, ⁸ one for each end of the lid. He made them so that they formed one piece with the lid. ⁹ The winged creatures faced each other across the lid, and their outspread wings covered it.

Making the Table for the Bread Offered to God^(B)

¹⁰ He made the table out of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ¹¹ He covered it with pure gold and put a gold border around it. ¹² He made a rim 3 inches wide around it and put a gold border around the rim. ¹³ He made four carrying rings of gold for it and put them at the four corners, where the legs were. ¹⁴ The rings to hold the poles for carrying the table were placed near the rim. ¹⁵ He made the poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold. ¹⁶ He made the dishes of pure gold for the table: the plates, the cups, the jars, and the bowls to be used for the wine offering.

Making the Lampstand^(C)

¹⁷ He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made its base and its shaft of hammered gold; its decorative flowers, including buds and petals, formed one piece with it. ¹⁸ Six branches extended from its sides, three from each side. ¹⁹ Each of the six branches had three decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. ²⁰ The shaft of the lampstand had four decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. ²¹ There was one bud below each of the three pairs of branches. ²² The buds, the branches, and the lampstand were a single piece of pure hammered gold. ²³ He made seven lamps for the lampstand, and he made its tongs and trays of pure gold. ²⁴ He used seventy-five pounds of pure gold to make the lampstand and all its equipment.

Making the Altar for Burning Incense^(D)

²⁵ He made an altar out of acacia wood, for burning incense. It was square, 18 inches long and 18 inches wide, and it was 36 inches high. Its projections at the four corners formed one piece with it. ²⁶ He covered its top, all four sides, and its projections with pure gold and put a gold border around it. ²⁷ He made two gold carrying rings for it and attached them below the border on the two sides, to hold the poles with which it was to be carried. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

Making the Anointing Oil and the Incense^(E)

^29 (F)He also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure sweet-smelling incense, mixed like perfume.

Making the Altar for Burning Offerings^(G)

38 For burning offerings, he made an altar out of acacia wood. It was square, 7½ feet long and 7½ feet wide, and it was 4½ feet high. ² He made the projections at the top of the four corners, so that they formed one piece with the altar. He covered it all with bronze. ³ He also made all the equipment for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the bowls, the hooks, and the fire pans. All this equipment was made of bronze. ⁴ He made a bronze grating and put it under the rim of the altar, so that it reached halfway up the altar. ⁵ He made four carrying rings and put them on the four corners. ⁶ He made carrying poles of acacia wood, covered them with bronze, ⁷ and put them in the rings on each side of the altar. The altar was made of boards and was hollow.

Making the Bronze Basin^(H)

^8 (I)He made the bronze basin and its bronze base out of the mirrors belonging to the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence.

The Enclosure for the Tent of the Lord's Presence^(J)

⁹ For the Tent of the Lord's presence he made the enclosure out of fine linen curtains. On the south side the curtains were 50 yards long, ¹⁰ supported by twenty bronze posts in twenty bronze bases, with hooks and rods made of silver. ¹¹ The enclosure was the same on the north side. ¹² On the west side there were curtains 25 yards long, with ten posts and ten bases and with hooks and rods made of silver. ¹³ On the east side, where the entrance was, the enclosure was also 25 yards wide. ^14-15 On each side of the entrance there were 7½ yards of curtains, with three posts and three bases. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the enclosure were made of fine linen. ¹⁷ The bases for the posts were made of bronze, and the hooks, the rods, and the covering of the tops of the posts were made of silver. All the posts around the enclosure were connected with silver rods. ¹⁸ The curtain for the entrance of the enclosure was made of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and decorated with embroidery. It was 10 yards long and 2½ yards high, like the curtains of the enclosure. ¹⁹ It was supported by four posts in four bronze bases. Their hooks, the covering of their tops, and their rods were made of silver. ²⁰ All the pegs for the Tent and for the surrounding enclosure were made of bronze.

Metals Used in the Tent of the Lord's Presence

²¹ Here is a list of the amounts of the metals used in the Tent of the Lord's presence, where the two stone tablets were kept on which the Ten Commandments were written. The list was ordered by Moses and made by the Levites who worked under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

²² Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur from the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded. ²³ His helper, Oholiab son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, was an engraver, a designer, and a weaver of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool.

²⁴ All the gold that had been dedicated to the Lord for the sacred Tent weighed 2,195 pounds, weighed according to the official standard. ^25 (K)The silver from the census of the community weighed 7,550 pounds, weighed according to the official standard. ^26 (L)This amount equaled the total paid by all persons enrolled in the census, each one paying the required amount, weighed according to the official standard. There were 603,550 men twenty years old or older enrolled in the census. ²⁷ Of the silver, 7,500 pounds were used to make the hundred bases for the sacred Tent and for the curtain, 75 pounds for each base. ²⁸ With the remaining 50 pounds of silver Bezalel made the rods, the hooks for the posts, and the covering for their tops. ²⁹ The bronze which was dedicated to the Lord amounted to 5,310 pounds. ³⁰ With it he made the bases for the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence, the bronze altar with its bronze grating, all the equipment for the altar, ³¹ the bases for the surrounding enclosure and for the entrance of the enclosure, and all the pegs for the Tent and the surrounding enclosure.

The Resurrection^(A)

28 After the Sabbath, as Sunday morning was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. ² Suddenly there was a violent earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid that they trembled and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel spoke to the women. “You must not be afraid,” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has been raised, just as he said. Come here and see the place where he was lying. ⁷ Go quickly now, and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from death, and now he is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him!’ Remember what I have told you.”

⁸ So they left the tomb in a hurry, afraid and yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Peace be with you.” They came up to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to them. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

¹¹ While the women went on their way, some of the soldiers guarding the tomb went back to the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² The chief priests met with the elders and made their plan; they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “You are to say that his disciples came during the night and stole his body while you were asleep. ¹⁴ And if the Governor should hear of this, we will convince him that you are innocent, and you will have nothing to worry about.”

¹⁵ The guards took the money and did what they were told to do. And so that is the report spread around by the Jews to this very day.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples^(B)

^16 (C)The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted. ¹⁸ Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ^19 (D)Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”

⁹ Anything you say to the wise will make them wiser. Whatever you tell the righteous will add to their knowledge.

^10 (A)To be wise you must first have reverence for the Lord. If you know the Holy One, you have understanding.