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Old/New Testament

Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament.
Duration: 365 days
Living Bible (TLB)
Version
Exodus 25-26

25 1-7 Jehovah said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel that everyone who wants to may bring me an offering from this list: gold, silver, bronze, blue cloth, purple cloth, scarlet cloth, fine-twined linen, goats’ hair, red-dyed rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, olive oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.

“For I want the people of Israel to make me a sacred Temple where I can live among them.

“This home of mine shall be a tent pavilion—a Tabernacle. I will give you a drawing of the construction plan and the details of each furnishing.

10 “Using acacia wood, make an Ark 3-3/4 feet long, 2-1/4 feet wide, and 2-1/4 feet high. 11 Overlay it inside and outside with pure gold, with a molding of gold all around it. 12 Cast four rings of gold for it and attach them to the four lower corners, two rings on each side. 13-14 Make poles from acacia wood overlaid with gold, and fit the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it. 15 These carrying poles shall never be taken from the rings, but are to be left there permanently. 16 When the Ark is finished, place inside it the tablets of stone I will give you, with the Ten Commandments engraved on them.[a]

17 “And make a lid of pure gold, 3-3/4 feet long and 2-1/4 feet wide. This is the place of mercy for your sins.[b] 18 Then make two statues of Guardian Angels[c] using beaten gold, and place them at the two ends of the lid of the Ark. 19 They shall be one piece with the mercy place, one at each end. 20 The Guardian Angels shall be facing each other, looking down upon the place of mercy, and shall have wings spread out above the gold lid. 21 Install the lid upon the Ark, and place within the Ark the tablets of stone I shall give you. 22 And I will meet with you there and talk with you from above the place of mercy between the Guardian Angels; and the Ark will contain the laws of my covenant. There I will tell you my commandments for the people of Israel.

23 “Then make a table of acacia wood 3 feet long, 1-1/2 feet wide, and 2-1/4 feet high. 24 Overlay it with pure gold, and run a rib of gold around it. 25 Put a molding four inches wide around the edge of the top, and a gold ridge along the molding, all around. 26-27 Make four gold rings and put the rings at the outside corner of the four legs, close to the top; these are rings for the poles that will be used to carry the table. 28 Make the poles from acacia wood overlaid with gold. 29 And make gold dishes, spoons, pitchers, and flagons; 30 and always keep the special Bread of the Presence on the table before me.

31 “Make a lampstand of pure, beaten gold. The entire lampstand and its decorations shall be one piece—the base, shaft, lamps, and blossoms. 32-33 It will have three branches going out from each side of the center shaft, each branch decorated with three almond flowers. 34-35 The central shaft itself will be decorated with four almond flowers—one placed between each set of branches; also, there will be one flower above the top set of branches and one below the bottom set. 36 These decorations and branches and the shaft are all to be one piece of pure, beaten gold. 37 Then make seven lamps for the lampstand, and set them so that they reflect their light forward. 38 The snuffers and trays are to be made of pure gold. 39 You will need about 95 pounds[d] of pure gold for the lampstand and its accessories.

40 “Be sure that everything you make follows the pattern I am showing you here on the mountain.

26 1-2 “Make the tabernacle-tent from ten colored sheets of fine linen, 42 feet long and 6 feet wide, dyed blue, purple, and scarlet, with figures of Guardian Angels embroidered on them. Join five sheets end to end for each side of the tent, forming two long pieces, one for each side. 4-5 Use loops at the edges to join these two long pieces together side by side. There are to be fifty loops on each side, opposite each other. Then make fifty gold clasps to fasten the loops together, so that the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, becomes a single unit.

7-8 “The roof of the Tabernacle is made of goats’ hair tarpaulins. There are to be eleven of these tarpaulins, each 45 feet across and 6 feet wide. Connect five of these tarpaulins into one wide section; and use the other six for another wide section. (The sixth tarpaulin will hang down to form a curtain across the front of the sacred tent.) 10-11 Use fifty loops along the edges of each of these two wide pieces, to join them together with fifty bronze clasps. Thus the two widths become one. 12 There will be a 1-1/2-foot length of this roof covering hanging down from the back of the tent, 13 and a 1-1/2-foot length at the front. 14 On top of these blankets is placed a layer of rams’ skins, dyed red, and over them a top layer of goatskins. This completes the roof covering.

15-16 “The framework of the sacred tent shall be made from acacia wood, each frame piece being 15 feet high and 2-1/4 feet wide, standing upright, 17 with grooves on each side to mortise into the next upright piece. 18-19 Twenty of these frames will form the south side of the sacred tent, with forty silver bases for the frames to fit into—two bases under each piece of the frame. 20 On the north side there will also be twenty of these frames, 21 with their forty silver bases, two bases for each frame, one under each edge. 22 On the west side there will be six frames, 23 and two frames at each corner. 24 These corner frames will be connected at the bottom and top with clasps. 25 So, in all, there will be eight frames on that end of the building with sixteen silver bases for the frames—two bases under each frame.

26-27 “Make bars of acacia wood to run across the frames, five bars on each side of the Tabernacle. Also five bars for the rear of the building, facing westward. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, runs all the way from end to end of the Tabernacle. 29 Overlay the frames with gold, and make gold rings to hold the bars; and also overlay the bars with gold. 30 Set up this Tabernacle-tent in the manner I showed you on the mountain.

31 “Inside the Tabernacle,[e] make a curtain from fine linen, with blue, purple, and scarlet Guardian Angels embroidered into the cloth. 32 Hang this curtain on gold hooks set into four pillars made from acacia wood overlaid with gold. The pillars are to be set in silver bases. 33 Behind this curtain place the Ark containing the stone tablets engraved with God’s laws. The curtain will separate the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

34 “Now install the mercy place—the golden lid of the Ark—in the Most Holy Place. 35 Place the table and lampstand across the room from each other on the outer side of the veil, the lampstand on the south and the table on the north.

36 “As a screen for the door of the sacred tent, make another curtain from fine linen, skillfully embroidered in blue, purple, and scarlet. 37 Hang this curtain on gold hooks set into posts made from acacia wood overlaid with gold. The posts are to rest on bronze bases.

Matthew 20:17-34

17 As Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside 18 and talked to them about what would happen to him when they arrived.

“I[a] will be betrayed to the chief priests and other Jewish leaders, and they will condemn me to die. 19 And they will hand me over to the Roman government, and I will be mocked and crucified, and the third day I will rise to life again.”

20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, brought them to Jesus and respectfully asked a favor.

21 “What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, will you let my two sons sit on two thrones[b] next to yours?”

22 But Jesus told her, “You don’t know what you are asking!” Then he turned to James and John and asked them, “Are you able to drink from the terrible cup I am about to drink from?”

“Yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

23 “You shall indeed drink from it,” he told them. “But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. Those places are reserved for the persons my Father selects.”

24 The other ten disciples were indignant when they heard what James and John had asked for.

25 But Jesus called them together and said, “Among the heathen, kings are tyrants and each minor official lords it over those beneath him. 26 But among you it is quite different. Anyone wanting to be a leader among you must be your servant. 27 And if you want to be right at the top, you must serve like a slave. 28 Your attitude[c] must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”

29 As Jesus and the disciples left the city of Jericho, a vast crowd surged along behind.

30 Two blind men were sitting beside the road, and when they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Sir, King David’s Son, have mercy on us!”

31 The crowd told them to be quiet, but they only yelled the louder.

32-33 When Jesus came to the place where they were, he stopped in the road and called, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Sir,” they said, “we want to see!”

34 Jesus was moved with pity for them and touched their eyes. And instantly they could see, and followed him.

Living Bible (TLB)

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.