Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

This is a song that David wrote.

The storm^[a]

¹⁶ Moses did all these things, as the Lord had commanded him.

¹⁷ So they put up the tabernacle on the first day of the first month. It was in the second year after they had left Egypt. ¹⁸ When Moses put up the tabernacle, he first put the metal bases in their right places. Then he put up the boards, the bars to hold them, and the poles. ¹⁹ Then he covered the tabernacle with the tent and he put the leather covers over the tent. He did this in the way that the Lord had commanded him.

²⁰ Moses took the two flat stones with God's special commands on them. He put them inside the Covenant Box. He put the poles through the rings on the box. He put the special lid on top of the box. ²¹ Then he brought the Covenant Box into the tabernacle. He hung the special curtain to hide it, so that nobody could see it. He did this in the way that the Lord had commanded him.

²² Moses put the special table inside the Tent of Meeting. He put it outside the curtain, on the north side of the Holy Place. ²³ He put the special bread on the table as an offering to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him.

²⁴ He also put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting. He put it on the south side of the Holy Place, opposite the table. ²⁵ Then he put the lamps in their places in front of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him.

²⁶ Moses put the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that hid the Covenant Box. ²⁷ He burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded him. ²⁸ Then he hung the curtain at the entrance of the tent.

²⁹ He put the altar for burnt offerings outside the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. He offered a burnt offering and a grain offering on it, as the Lord had commanded him.

³⁰ Moses put the large bowl for water between the Tent of Meeting and the altar. He put water in it for the priests to wash themselves. ³¹ Moses and Aaron and Aaron's sons used the water to wash their hands and their feet. ³² They washed themselves every time that they went into the Tent of Meeting. They also washed themselves before they went to offer sacrifices at the altar. They did what the Lord had commanded Moses to do.

³³ Moses also made the yard around the tabernacle and round the altar. He hung the curtain at the entrance of the yard.

In that way, Moses finished the work.

The glory of the Lord

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ Moses could not go into the Tent of Meeting because of the cloud and the bright glory of the Lord.

³⁶ The Israelites followed the cloud during all their journeys. Every time that the cloud rose up from the tabernacle, they would continue on their journey. ³⁷ But if the cloud remained on the tabernacle, the Israelites did not travel. They stayed where they were until the day when the cloud rose up. ³⁸ So the cloud stayed over the tabernacle during the day, to show that the Lord was with them. During the night, there was fire in the cloud. All the Israelites could see the cloud during all their journeys.

³⁵ The next morning, the important officers sent their police to the prison with a message for the guard. They told him, ‘Let those men go free.’ ³⁶ The guard went to Paul and he told him, ‘The city officers have sent a message to me. They said, “Let Paul and Silas go free.” So now you can leave the prison. Nobody will hurt you any more.’

³⁷ But Paul spoke to the police who had brought the message. He said, ‘The city officers did not find that we had done anything wrong. But they commanded their soldiers to hit us with sticks in front of everybody. We are citizens of Rome but they still did this to us. They even put us into prison. Now they want us to leave the prison and go away. They want to send us away secretly. We will not agree! The Roman officers must come here to the prison themselves. Then they must lead us out for everyone to see.’

³⁸ The police returned to the city officers. They told them what Paul had said. The officers now understood that Paul and Silas were citizens of Rome. This made them very afraid. ³⁹ So they went to see Paul and Silas in the prison. They told Paul and Silas that they were very sorry. Then they led Paul and Silas out of the prison. They asked them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ After Paul and Silas left the prison, they went to Lydia's house. There they met the other believers. They spoke to the believers to make them strong. Then Paul and Silas left Philippi.^[a]