Exodus 36; Exodus 37; Exodus 38; Matthew 23:1-22

Exodus 36

1 [Moses continued,] "So Bezalel and Oholiab will do the work as the LORD has commanded. They will do this with the help of every other craftsman to whom the LORD has given the necessary skills and talents. They will know how to do all the work for constructing the holy place."

2 Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every other craftsman to whom the LORD had given these skills and who was willing to come and do the work.

3 Moses turned over to them all the contributions the Israelites had brought for the work of constructing the holy place. But the people still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning.

4 Finally, all the skilled craftsmen who were working on the holy place stopped what they were doing. They all came to Moses.

5 They said, "The people are bringing much more than we need for doing the work the LORD commanded us to do."

6 So Moses gave instructions to have the following message announced all over camp: "No man or woman needs to make anything more to give as their special contribution to the holy place." Then the people stopped bringing gifts.

7 The material they had was more than enough to do the job.

8 All the skilled craftsmen among the workers made the inner tent with ten sheets made from fine linen yarn and violet, purple, and bright red yarn. An angel design was creatively worked into the fabric.

9 Each sheet was 42 feet long and 6 feet wide--all the same size.

10 Five of the sheets were sewn together, and the other five were also sewn together.

11 Then they made 50 violet loops along the edge of the end sheet in each set,

12 placing the loops opposite each other.

13 They also made 50 gold fasteners. They used them to link the [two sets of] sheets together so that the inner tent was a single unit.

14 They made 11 sheets of goats' hair to form an outer tent over the inner tent.

15 Each of the 11 sheets was 45 feet long and 6 feet wide.

16 Five of the sheets were sewn together into one set, and the remaining six into another set.

17 Then they made 50 loops along the edge of the end sheet in each set.

18 They also made 50 bronze fasteners to link the inner tent together as a single unit.

19 They made a cover out of rams' skins that had been dyed red for the outer tent, and over that they put a cover made of fine leather.

20 They made a framework out of acacia wood for the inner tent.

21 Each frame was 15 feet long and 27 inches wide,

22 with two identical pegs. They made all the frames for the inner tent this same way.

23 They made 20 frames for the south side of the inner tent.

24 Then they made 40 silver sockets at the bottom of the 20 frames, two sockets at the bottom of each frame for the two pegs.

25 For the north side of the inner tent [they made] 20 frames

26 and 40 silver sockets, two at the bottom of each frame.

27 They made six frames for the far end, the west side.

28 They made two frames for [each of] the corners at the far end of the inner tent.

29 They were held together at the bottom and held tightly at the top by a single ring. Both corner frames were made this way.

30 There were eight frames with 16 silver sockets, two at the bottom of each frame.

31 They also made crossbars out of acacia wood. Five were for the frames on one side of the inner tent,

32 five were for those on the other side, and five were for the frames on the far side of the inner tent, the west side.

33 They made the middle crossbar so that it ran from one end to the other, halfway up the frames.

34 They covered the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also covered the crossbars with gold.

35 They made the canopy out of violet, purple, and bright red yarn and fine linen yarn. An angel design was creatively worked into the fabric.

36 They made four posts of acacia wood for it and covered them with gold. They made gold hooks for the posts, and they cast four silver bases for them.

37 They made a screen out of fine linen yarn for the entrance to the outer tent. It was embroidered with violet, purple, and bright red yarn.

38 They also made five posts with hooks for [hanging] the screen. They covered the tops of the posts and the bands with gold, but the five bases for the posts were made of bronze.

Exodus 37

1 Bezalel made the ark out of acacia wood 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

2 He covered it with pure gold inside and out and put a gold molding around it.

3 He cast four gold rings for its four feet, two rings on each side.

4 Then he made poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

5 He put them through the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry it.

6 He made the throne of mercy out of pure gold 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.

7 Then he made two angels out of hammered gold for the two ends of the throne of mercy,

8 one on each end. He formed the angels and the throne of mercy out of one piece [of gold].

9 The angels had their wings spread above the throne of mercy, overshadowing it. They faced each other, looking at the throne of mercy.

10 He made the table out of acacia wood 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

11 He covered it with pure gold and put a gold molding around it.

12 He made a rim 3 inches wide around it and put a gold molding around the rim.

13 He cast four gold rings for it and fastened the rings to the four corners, where the four legs were.

14 The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles for carrying the table.

15 These poles were made out of acacia wood and were covered with gold.

16 For the table he made plates, dishes, bowls, and pitchers to be used for pouring wine offerings. All of them were made out of pure gold.

17 He made the lamp stand out of pure gold. The lamp stand, its base, and its shaft, as well as the flower cups, buds, and petals were hammered out of one piece [of gold].

18 Six branches came out of its sides, three branches on one side and three on the other.

19 Each of the six branches coming out of the lamp stand had three flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals.

20 The lamp stand itself had four flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a bud and petals.

21 There was a bud under each of the three pairs of branches coming out of the lamp stand.

22 The buds and branches were hammered out of the same piece of pure gold as the lamp stand.

23 He made the seven lamps, the tongs, and the incense burners out of pure gold.

24 The lamp stand and all the utensils were made out of 75 pounds of pure gold.

25 He made an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense. It was 18 inches square and 36 inches high. The horns and altar were made out of one piece [of wood].

26 He covered all of it with pure gold--the top, the sides, and the horns--and he put a gold molding around it.

27 He made two gold rings and put them below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles for carrying it.

28 He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

29 He also had a perfumer make the holy oil to be used for anointing and for the pure, sweet-smelling incense.

Exodus 38

1 He made the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood 7½ feet square and 4½ feet high.

2 He made a horn at each of its four corners. He made the four horns and the altar out of one piece [of wood] covered with bronze.

3 He made all the utensils out of bronze: pots, shovels, bowls, forks, and incense burners.

4 He made a grate for the altar out of bronze mesh, [and put it] under the ledge, halfway up the altar.

5 He cast four rings to hold the poles (one for each of the four corners of the bronze grate).

6 He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with bronze.

7 He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it. He made the altar out of boards so that it was hollow inside.

8 He made the basin and stand out of the bronze mirrors given by the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

9 He also made the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard was 150 feet long and had curtains made out of fine linen yarn,

10 [hung] on 20 posts [set in] 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver.

11 The north side was also 150 feet long with 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver.

12 The west side was 75 feet long and had curtains [hung] on 10 posts [set in] 10 bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver.

13 The east side, facing the rising sun, was 75 feet [wide].

14 Each side of the entrance to the courtyard was 22½ feet wide with curtains [hung] on three posts [set in] three bases.

15

16 All the curtains around the courtyard were made out of fine linen yarn.

17 The bases for the posts were made of bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver. And the bands on all the posts of the courtyard were made of silver.

18 The screen for the entrance to the courtyard was made of violet, purple, and bright red yarn embroidered on [fabric made from] fine linen yarn. It was 30 feet long and 7½ feet high, just like the curtains of the courtyard.

19 It was hung on four posts [set in] four bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver.

20 All the pegs for the tent and the surrounding courtyard were made of bronze.

21 This is the amount of material that was used for the tent (the tent of the words of God's promise). An inventory was ordered by Moses and carried out by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron.

22 Now Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything the LORD had commanded Moses.

23 He was a jeweler, carpenter, designer, and he knew how to embroider violet, purple, and bright red yarn on fine linen. His assistant was Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan.

24 The total amount of gold from the offerings presented to the LORD used in building the holy place weighed over 2,193 pounds using the standard weight of the holy place.

25 The silver collected when the census of the community was taken weighed 7,544 pounds using the standard weight of the holy place.

26 This came to one-fifth of an ounce per person, for everyone counted who was at least 20 years old: 603,550 people.

27 He used 7,500 pounds of silver to cast the 100 bases for the holy place and the canopy. This was 75 pounds per base.

28 He used 44 pounds of silver to make the hooks and bands for the posts and the coverings for the tops of the posts.

29 The bronze from the offerings presented to the LORD weighed 5,310 pounds.

30 With this he made the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grate and all its accessories,

31 the bases all around the courtyard, the bases for the entrance to the courtyard, all the pegs for the tent, and all the pegs for the surrounding courtyard.

Matthew 23:1-22

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

2 "The scribes and the Pharisees teach with Moses' authority.

3 So be careful to do everything they tell you. But don't follow their example, because they don't practice what they preach.

4 They make loads that are hard to carry and lay them on the shoulders of the people. However, they are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

5 "They do everything to attract people's attention. They make their headbands large and the tassels on their shawls long.

6 They love the place of honor at dinners and the front seats in synagogues.

7 They love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have people call them Rabbi.

8 But don't make others call you Rabbi, because you have only one teacher, and you are all followers.

9 And don't call anyone on earth your father, because you have only one Father, and he is in heaven.

10 Don't make others call you a leader, because you have only one leader, the Messiah.

11 The person who is greatest among you will be your servant.

12 Whoever honors himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be honored.

13 "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don't enter it yourselves, and you don't permit others to enter when they try.

14

15 "How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You cross land and sea to recruit a single follower, and when you do, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.

16 "How horrible it will be for you, you blind guides! You say, 'To swear an oath by the temple doesn't mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gold in the temple means a person must keep his oath.'

17 You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the temple that made the gold holy?

18 Again you say, 'To swear an oath by the altar doesn't mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gift on the altar means a person must keep his oath.'

19 You blind men! What is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy?

20 To swear an oath by the altar is to swear by it and by everything on it.

21 To swear an oath by the temple is to swear by it and by the one who lives there.

22 And to swear an oath by heaven is to swear by God's throne and the one who sits on it.