The Daily Audio Bible

The Tent of the Lord's Presence^{[a] (A)}

26 “Make the interior of the sacred Tent, the Tent of my presence, out of ten pieces of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool. Embroider them with figures of winged creatures. ² Make each piece the same size, 14 yards long and 2 yards wide. ³ Sew five of them together in one set, and do the same with the other five. ⁴ Make loops of blue cloth on the edge of the outside piece in each set. ⁵ Put fifty loops on the first piece of the first set and fifty loops matching them on the last piece of the second set. ⁶ Make fifty gold hooks with which to join the two sets into one piece.

⁷ “Make a cover for the Tent out of eleven pieces of cloth made of goats' hair. ⁸ Make them all the same size, 15 yards long and 2 yards wide. ⁹ Sew five of them together in one set, and the other six in another set. Fold the sixth piece double over the front of the Tent. ¹⁰ Put fifty loops on the edge of the last piece of one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other set. ¹¹ Make fifty bronze hooks and put them in the loops to join the two sets so as to form one cover. ¹² Hang the extra half piece over the back of the Tent. ¹³ The extra half yard on each side of the length is to hang over the sides of the Tent to cover it.

¹⁴ “Make two more coverings, one of rams' skin dyed red and the other of fine leather, to serve as the outer cover.

¹⁵ “Make upright frames for the Tent out of acacia wood. ¹⁶ Each frame is to be 15 feet long and 27 inches wide, ¹⁷ with two matching projections, so that the frames can be joined together. All the frames are to have these projections. ¹⁸ Make twenty frames for the south side ¹⁹ and forty silver bases to go under them, two bases under each frame to hold its two projections. ²⁰ Make twenty frames for the north side of the Tent ²¹ and forty silver bases, two under each frame. ²² For the back of the Tent on the west, make six frames, ²³ and two frames for the corners. ²⁴ These corner frames are to be joined at the bottom and connected all the way to the top. The two frames that form the two corners are to be made in this way. ²⁵ So there will be eight frames with their sixteen silver bases, two under each frame.

²⁶ “Make fifteen crossbars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of the Tent, ²⁷ five for the frames on the other side, and five for the frames on the west end, at the back. ²⁸ The middle crossbar, set halfway up the frames, is to extend from one end of the Tent to the other. ²⁹ Cover the frames with gold and fit them with gold rings to hold the crossbars, which are also to be covered with gold. ³⁰ Set up the Tent according to the plan that I showed you on the mountain.

³¹ “Make a curtain of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool. Embroider it with figures of winged creatures. ³² Hang it on four posts of acacia wood covered with gold, fitted with hooks, and set in four silver bases. ^33 (B)Place the curtain under the row of hooks in the roof of the Tent, and put behind the curtain the Covenant Box containing the two stone tablets. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. ³⁴ Put the lid on the Covenant Box. ³⁵ Outside the Most Holy Place put the table against the north side of the Tent and the lampstand against the south side.

³⁶ “For the entrance of the Tent make a curtain of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and decorated with embroidery. ³⁷ For this curtain make five posts of acacia wood covered with gold and fitted with gold hooks; make five bronze bases for these posts.

The Altar^(C)

27 “Make an altar out of acacia wood. It is to be square, 7½ feet long and 7½ feet wide, and it is to be 4½ feet high. ² Make projections at the top of the four corners. They are to form one piece with the altar, and the whole is to be covered with bronze. ³ Make pans for the greasy ashes, and make shovels, bowls, hooks, and fire pans. All this equipment is to be made of bronze. ⁴ Make a bronze grating and put four bronze carrying rings on its corners. ⁵ Put the grating under the rim of the altar, so that it reaches halfway up the altar. ⁶ Make carrying poles of acacia wood, cover them with bronze, ⁷ and put them in the rings on each side of the altar when it is carried. ⁸ Make the altar out of boards and leave it hollow, according to the plan that I showed you on the mountain.

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

⁹ “For the Tent of my presence make an enclosure out of fine linen curtains. On the south side the curtains are to be 50 yards long, ¹⁰ supported by twenty bronze posts in twenty bronze bases, with hooks and rods made of silver. ¹¹ Do the same on the north side of the enclosure. ¹² On the west side there are to be curtains 25 yards long, with ten posts and ten bases. ¹³ On the east side, where the entrance is, the enclosure is also to be 25 yards wide. ^14-15 On each side of the entrance there are to be 7½ yards of curtains, with three posts and three bases. ¹⁶ For the entrance itself there is to be a curtain 10 yards long made of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and decorated with embroidery. It is to be supported by four posts in four bases. ¹⁷ All the posts around the enclosure are to be connected with silver rods, and their hooks are to be made of silver and their bases of bronze. ¹⁸ The enclosure is to be 50 yards long, 25 yards wide, and 2½ yards high. The curtains are to be made of fine linen and the bases of bronze. ¹⁹ All the equipment that is used in the Tent and all the pegs for the Tent and for the enclosure are to be made of bronze.

Taking Care of the Lamp^(E)

²⁰ “Command the people of Israel to bring you the best olive oil for the lamp, so that it can be lit each evening. ²¹ Aaron and his sons are to set up the lamp in the Tent of my presence outside the curtain which is in front of the Covenant Box. There in my presence it is to burn from evening until morning. This command is to be kept forever by the Israelites and their descendants.

The Parable of the Ten Young Women

25 ^(A)“At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there were ten young women who took their oil lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and the other five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any extra oil with them, ⁴ while the wise ones took containers full of oil for their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was late in coming, so they began to nod and fall asleep.

⁶ “It was already midnight when the cry rang out, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come and meet him!’ ⁷ The ten young women woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ Then the foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Let us have some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ ‘No, indeed,’ the wise ones answered, ‘there is not enough for you and for us. Go to the store and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ So the foolish ones went off to buy some oil; and while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The five who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was closed.

^11 (B)“Later the others arrived. ‘Sir, sir! Let us in!’ they cried out. ¹² ‘Certainly not! I don't know you,’ the bridegroom answered.”

¹³ And Jesus concluded, “Watch out, then, because you do not know the day or the hour.

The Parable of the Three Servants^(C)

^14 (D)“At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. ¹⁵ He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip. ¹⁶ The servant who had received five thousand coins went at once and invested his money and earned another five thousand. ¹⁷ In the same way the servant who had received two thousand coins earned another two thousand. ¹⁸ But the servant who had received one thousand coins went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The servant who had received five thousand coins came in and handed over the other five thousand. ‘You gave me five thousand coins, sir,’ he said. ‘Look! Here are another five thousand that I have earned.’ ²¹ ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’ ²² Then the servant who had been given two thousand coins came in and said, ‘You gave me two thousand coins, sir. Look! Here are another two thousand that I have earned.’ ²³ ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’ ²⁴ Then the servant who had received one thousand coins came in and said, ‘Sir, I know you are a hard man; you reap harvests where you did not plant, and you gather crops where you did not scatter seed. ²⁵ I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the ground. Look! Here is what belongs to you.’ ²⁶ ‘You bad and lazy servant!’ his master said. ‘You knew, did you, that I reap harvests where I did not plant, and gather crops where I did not scatter seed? ²⁷ Well, then, you should have deposited my money in the bank, and I would have received it all back with interest when I returned. ²⁸ Now, take the money away from him and give it to the one who has ten thousand coins. ^29 (E)For to every person who has something, even more will be given, and he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing, even the little that he has will be taken away from him. ^30 (F)As for this useless servant—throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and gnash his teeth.’

A Prayer of Trust in God^[a]

In Praise of Wisdom