Exodus 27; Exodus 28; Matthew 21:1-22

1 "Make an altar of acacia wood, four and one- half feet high. It should be square -- seven and one-half feet long and seven and one-half feet wide.

2 Make each of the four corners of the altar stick out like a horn, in such a way that the corners with their horns are all one piece. Then cover the whole altar with bronze.

3 "Use bronze to make all the tools and dishes that will be used on the altar: the pots to remove the ashes, the shovels, the bowls for sprinkling blood, the meat forks, and the pans for carrying the burning wood.

4 "Make a large bronze screen to hold the burning wood, and put a bronze ring at each of the four corners of it.

5 Put the screen inside the altar, under its rim, halfway up from the bottom.

6 "Make poles of acacia wood for the altar, and cover them with bronze.

7 Put the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar to carry it.

8 Make the altar out of boards and leave the inside hollow. Make it as you were shown on the mountain.

9 "Make a wall of curtains to form a courtyard around the Holy Tent. The south side should have a wall of fine linen curtains one hundred fifty feet long.

10 Hang the curtains with silver hooks and bands on twenty bronze posts with twenty bronze bases.

11 The north side must also be one hundred fifty feet long. Hang its curtains on silver hooks and bands on twenty bronze posts with twenty bronze bases.

12 "The west end of the courtyard must have a wall of curtains seventy-five feet long, with ten posts and ten bases on that wall.

13 The east end of the courtyard must also be seventy-five feet long.

14 On one side of the entry, there is to be a wall of curtains twenty-two and one-half feet long, held up by three posts on three bases.

15 On the other side of the entry, there is also to be a wall of curtains twenty-two and one-half feet long, held up by three posts on three bases.

16 "The entry to the courtyard is to be a curtain thirty feet wide, made of fine linen with blue, purple, and red thread. Someone who can sew well is to sew designs on it. It is to be held up by four posts on four bases.

17 All the posts around the courtyard must have silver bands and hooks and bronze bases.

18 The courtyard must be one hundred fifty feet long and seventy-five feet wide, with a wall of curtains around it seven and one-half feet high, made of fine linen. The bases in which the posts are set must be bronze.

19 All the things used in the Holy Tent and all the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and the wall around the courtyard must be made of bronze.

20 "Command the people of Israel to bring you pure olive oil, made from pressed olives, to keep the lamps on the lampstand burning.

21 Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This will be in the Meeting Tent, outside the curtain which is in front of the Ark. The Israelites and their descendants must obey this rule from now on.

1 "Tell your brother Aaron to come to you, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Separate them from the other Israelites to serve me as priests.

2 Make holy clothes for your brother Aaron to give him honor and beauty.

3 Tell all the skilled craftsmen to whom I have given wisdom to make special clothes for Aaron -- clothes to show that he belongs to me so that he may serve me as a priest.

4 These are the clothes they must make: a chest covering, a holy vest, an outer robe, a woven inner robe, a turban, and a cloth belt. The craftsmen must make these holy clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then they may serve me as priests.

5 The craftsmen must use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.

6 "Use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen to make the holy vest; skilled craftsmen are to make it.

7 At each top corner of this holy vest there will be a pair of shoulder straps tied together over each shoulder.

8 "The craftsmen will very carefully weave a belt on the holy vest that is made with the same materials -- gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.

9 "Take two onyx stones and write the names of the twelve sons of Israel on them,

10 six on one stone and six on the other. Write the names in order, from the oldest son to the youngest.

11 Carve the names of the sons of Israel on these stones in the same way a person carves words and designs on a seal. Put gold around the stones to hold them on the holy vest.

12 Then put the two stones on the two straps of the holy vest as reminders of the twelve sons of Israel. Aaron is to wear their names on his shoulders in the presence of the Lord as reminders of the sons of Israel.

13 Make two gold pieces to hold the stones

14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted together like a rope. Attach the chains to the two gold pieces that hold the stones.

15 "Make a chest covering to help in making decisions. The craftsmen should make it as they made the holy vest, using gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.

16 The chest covering must be square -- nine inches long and nine inches wide -- and folded double to make a pocket.

17 Put four rows of beautiful gems on the chest covering: The first row must have a ruby, topaz, and yellow quartz;

18 the second must have turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;

19 the third must have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

20 the fourth must have a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. Put gold around these jewels to attach them to the chest covering.

21 There must be twelve jewels on the chest covering -- one jewel for each of the names of the sons of Israel. Carve the name of one of the twelve tribes on each of the stones as you would carve a seal.

22 "Make chains of pure gold, twisted together like rope, for the chest covering.

23 Make two gold rings and put them on the two upper corners of the chest covering.

24 Attach the two gold chains to the two rings at the upper corners of the chest covering.

25 Attach the other ends of the two chains to the two gold pieces on the shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest.

26 "Make two gold rings and put them at the two lower corners of the chest covering, on the inside edge next to the holy vest.

27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest. Put them close to the seam above the woven belt of the holy vest.

28 Join the rings of the chest covering to the rings of the holy vest with blue ribbon, connecting it to the woven belt so the chest covering will not swing out from the holy vest.

29 "When Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will wear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart, on the chest covering that helps in making decisions. This will be a continual reminder before the Lord.

30 And put the Urim and Thummim inside the chest covering so that they will be on Aaron's heart when he goes before the Lord. They will help in making decisions for the Israelites. So Aaron will always carry them with him when he is before the Lord.

31 "Make the outer robe to be worn under the holy vest, using only blue cloth.

32 Make a hole in the center for Aaron's head, with a woven collar around the hole so it will not tear.

33 Make balls like pomegranates of blue, purple, and red thread, and hang them around the bottom of the outer robe with gold bells between them.

34 All around the bottom of the outer robe there should be a gold bell and a pomegranate ball, a gold bell and a pomegranate ball.

35 Aaron must wear this robe when he serves as priest. The ringing of the bells will be heard when he enters and leaves the Holy Place before the Lord so that Aaron will not die.

36 "Make a strip of pure gold and carve these words on it as you would carve a seal: 'Holy to the Lord.'

37 Use blue ribbon to tie it to the turban; put it on the front of the turban.

38 Aaron must wear this on his forehead. In this way, he will be blamed if anything is wrong with the gifts of the Israelites. Aaron must always wear this on his head so the Lord will accept the gifts of the people.

39 "Make the woven inner robe of fine linen, and make the turban of fine linen also. Make the cloth belt with designs sewn on it.

40 Also make woven inner robes, cloth belts, and headbands for Aaron's sons, to give them honor and beauty.

41 Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, and pour olive oil on their heads to appoint them as priests. Make them belong to me so they may serve me as priests.

42 "Make for them linen underclothes to cover them from the waist to the upper parts of the legs.

43 Aaron and his sons must wear these underclothes when they enter the Meeting Tent and anytime they come near the altar to serve as priests in the Holy Place. If they do not wear these clothes, they will be guilty of wrong, and they will die. This will be a law that will last from now on for Aaron and all his descendants.

1 As Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem, they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers

2 and said to them, "Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will quickly find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me.

3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, say that the Master needs them, and he will send them at once."

4 This was to bring about what the prophet had said:

5 "Tell the people of Jerusalem, 'Your king is coming to you. He is gentle and riding on a donkey, on the colt of a donkey.'"

6 The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do.

7 They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus and laid their coats on them, and Jesus sat on them.

8 Many people spread their coats on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9 The people were walking ahead of Jesus and behind him, shouting, "Praisen to the Son of David! God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was filled with excitement. The people asked, "Who is this man?"

11 The crowd said, "This man is Jesus, the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee."

12 Jesus went into the Temple and threw out all the people who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables of those who were exchanging different kinds of money, and he upset the benches of those who were selling doves.

13 Jesus said to all the people there, "It is written in the Scriptures, 'My Temple will be called a house for prayer.' But you are changing it into a 'hideout for robbers.'"

14 The blind and crippled people came to Jesus in the Temple, and he healed them.

15 The leading priests and the teachers of the law saw that Jesus was doing wonderful things and that the children were praising him in the Temple, saying, "Praisen to the Son of David." All these things made the priests and the teachers of the law very angry.

16 They asked Jesus, "Do you hear the things these children are saying?" Jesus answered, "Yes. Haven't you read in the Scriptures, 'You have taught children and babies to sing praises'?"

17 Then Jesus left and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

18 Early the next morning, as Jesus was going back to the city, he became hungry.

19 Seeing a fig tree beside the road, Jesus went to it, but there were no figs on the tree, only leaves. So Jesus said to the tree, "You will never again have fruit." The tree immediately dried up.

20 When his followers saw this, they were amazed. They asked, "How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?"

21 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I did to this tree and even more. You will be able to say to this mountain, 'Go, fall into the sea.' And if you have faith, it will happen.

22 If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer."