Old/New Testament
Chapter 27
The Altar for Burnt Offerings. 1 You shall make an altar(A) of acacia wood, on a square, five cubits long and five cubits wide; it shall be three cubits high. 2 At the four corners make horns[a] that are of one piece with the altar. You shall then plate it with bronze. 3 Make pots for removing the ashes, as well as shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans; all these utensils you shall make of bronze. 4 Make for it a grating,[b] a bronze network; make four bronze rings for it, one at each of its four corners. 5 Put it down around the altar, on the ground. This network is to be half as high as the altar. 6 You shall also make poles of acacia wood for the altar, and plate them with bronze. 7 These poles are to be put through the rings, so that they are on either side of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar itself in the form of a hollow[c] box. Just as it was shown you on the mountain, so it is to be made.
Court of the Tabernacle. 9 (B)You shall also make a court for the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings, of fine linen twined, a hundred cubits long, 10 with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze; the hooks and bands on the columns shall be of silver. 11 On the north side there shall be similar hangings, a hundred cubits long, with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze; the hooks and bands on the columns shall be of silver. 12 On the west side, across the width of the court, there shall be hangings, fifty cubits long, with ten columns and ten pedestals. 13 The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. 14 On one side there shall be hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals; 15 on the other side there shall be hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals.
16 At the gate of the court there shall be a variegated curtain, twenty cubits long, woven of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined. It shall have four columns and four pedestals.
17 All the columns around the court shall have bands and hooks of silver, and pedestals of bronze. 18 The court is to be one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and five cubits high. Fine linen twined must be used, and the pedestals must be of bronze. 19 All the fittings of the tabernacle, whatever be their use, as well as all its tent pegs and all the tent pegs of the court, must be of bronze.
Oil for the Lamps. 20 You shall command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of crushed olives, to be used for the light, so that you may keep lamps burning always.(C) 21 From evening to morning Aaron and his sons shall maintain them before the Lord in the tent of meeting, outside the veil which hangs in front of the covenant. This shall be a perpetual statute for the Israelites throughout their generations.
Chapter 28
The Priestly Vestments. 1 (D)Have your brother Aaron, and with him his sons, brought to you, from among the Israelites, that they may be my priests: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2 For the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron you shall have sacred vestments made. 3 Therefore, tell the various artisans whom I have endowed with skill[d] to make vestments for Aaron to consecrate him as my priest. 4 These are the vestments they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a brocade tunic, a turban, and a sash. In making these sacred vestments which your brother Aaron and his sons are to wear in serving as my priests, 5 they shall use gold, violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.
The Ephod and Breastpiece. 6 The ephod[e] they shall make of gold thread and of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, embroidered on cloth of fine linen twined.(E) 7 It shall have a pair of shoulder straps joined to its two upper ends. 8 The embroidered belt of the ephod shall extend out from it and, like it, be made of gold thread, of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined.
9 Get two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: 10 six of their names on one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 As a gem-cutter engraves a seal, so shall you have the two stones engraved with the names of the sons of Israel and then mounted in gold filigree work. 12 Set these two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod as memorial stones of the sons of Israel. Thus Aaron shall bear their names on his shoulders as a reminder before the Lord. 13 Make filigree rosettes of gold,(F) 14 as well as two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, and fasten the cordlike chains to the filigree rosettes.
15 (G)The breastpiece[f] of decision you shall also have made, embroidered like the ephod with gold thread and violet, purple, and scarlet yarn on cloth of fine linen twined. 16 It is to be square when folded double, a span high and a span wide. 17 [g]On it you shall mount four rows of precious stones: in the first row, a carnelian, a topaz, and an emerald; 18 in the second row, a garnet, a sapphire, and a beryl; 19 in the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 in the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. These stones are to be mounted in gold filigree work, 21 twelve of them to match the names of the sons of Israel, each stone engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
22 When the chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, have been made for the breastpiece, 23 you shall then make two rings of gold for it and fasten them to the two upper ends of the breastpiece. 24 The gold cords are then to be fastened to the two rings at the upper ends of the breastpiece, 25 the other two ends of the cords being fastened in front to the two filigree rosettes which are attached to the shoulder straps of the ephod. 26 Make two other rings of gold and put them on the two lower ends of the breastpiece, on its edge that faces the ephod. 27 Then make two more rings of gold and fasten them to the bottom of the shoulder straps next to where they join the ephod in front, just above its embroidered belt. 28 Violet ribbons shall bind the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod, so that the breastpiece will stay right above the embroidered belt of the ephod and not swing loose from it.
29 Whenever Aaron enters the sanctuary, he will thus bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastpiece of decision over his heart as a constant reminder before the Lord. 30 In this breastpiece of decision(H) you shall put the Urim and Thummim,[h] that they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus he shall always bear the decisions for the Israelites over his heart in the presence of the Lord.
Other Vestments. 31 The robe of the ephod(I) you shall make entirely of violet material. 32 It shall have an opening for the head in the center, and around this opening there shall be a selvage, woven as at the opening of a shirt, to keep it from being torn. 33 At the hem at the bottom you shall make pomegranates, woven of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen twined, with gold bells between them; 34 a gold bell, a pomegranate, a gold bell, a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron shall wear it when ministering, that its sound may be heard as he enters and leaves the Lord’s presence in the sanctuary; else he will die.
36 You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, as on a seal engraving, “Sacred to the Lord.” 37 This plate is to be tied over the turban with a violet ribbon in such a way that it rests on the front of the turban,(J) 38 over Aaron’s forehead. Since Aaron bears whatever guilt the Israelites may incur in consecrating any of their sacred gifts, this plate must always be over his forehead, so that they may find favor with the Lord.
39 (K)The tunic of fine linen shall be brocaded. The turban shall be made of fine linen. The sash shall be of variegated work.
40 Likewise, for the glorious adornment of Aaron’s sons you shall have tunics and sashes and skullcaps made, for glorious splendor. 41 With these you shall clothe your brother Aaron and his sons. Anoint and install them,[i] consecrating them as my priests. 42 You must also make linen pants for them, to cover their naked flesh from their loins to their thighs.(L) 43 Aaron and his sons shall wear them whenever they go into the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest they incur guilt and die. This shall be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants.
Chapter 21
The Entry into Jerusalem.[a] 1 (A)When they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage[b] on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her.[c] Untie them and bring them here to me. 3 And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’ Then he will send them at once.” 4 [d]This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:
5 (B)“Say to daughter Zion,
‘Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. 7 [e]They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. 8 [f](C)The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. 9 (D)The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying:
“Hosanna[g] to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest.”
10 And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken[h] and asked, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet,[i] from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The Cleansing of the Temple.[j] 12 (E)Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.[k](F) 13 (G)And he said to them, “It is written:
‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’[l]
but you are making it a den of thieves.”
14 (H)The blind and the lame[m] approached him in the temple area, and he cured them. 15 When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wondrous things[n] he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant 16 [o](I)and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; and have you never read the text, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany, and there he spent the night.
The Cursing of the Fig Tree.[p] 18 (J)When he was going back to the city in the morning, he was hungry. 19 (K)Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went over to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again.” And immediately the fig tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed and said, “How was it that the fig tree withered immediately?” 21 [q](L)Jesus said to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith and do not waver, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 (M)Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”
The Authority of Jesus Questioned.[r]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.