Click here to listen to an audio version of the Daily Bible Reading for today.

Exodus 37

(Click here to view commentary on this chapter)

Building the Ark of the Covenant

37 Next Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood—a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ^2 He overlaid it inside and outside with pure gold, and he ran a molding of gold all around it. ^3 He cast four gold rings and attached them to its four feet, two rings on each side. ^4 Then he made poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ^5 He inserted the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it.

^6 Then he made the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. ^7 He made two cherubim from hammered gold and placed them on the two ends of the atonement cover. ^8 He molded the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold. ^9 The cherubim faced each other and looked down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they protected it.

Building the Table

^10 Then Bezalel made the table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ^11 He overlaid it with pure gold and ran a gold molding around the edge. ^12 He decorated it with a 3-inch border all around, and he ran a gold molding along the border. ^13 Then he cast four gold rings for the table and attached them at the four corners next to the four legs.^14 The rings were attached near the border to hold the poles that were used to carry the table. ^15 He made these poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ^16 Then he made special containers of pure gold for the table—bowls, pans, jars, and pitchers—to be used in pouring out liquid offerings.

Building the Lampstand

^17 Then Bezalel made the lampstand of pure, hammered gold. He made the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece—the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals. ^18 The lampstand had six branches going out from the center stem, three on each side. ^19 Each of the six branches had three lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. ^20 The center stem of the lampstand was crafted with four lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. ^21 There was an almond bud beneath each pair of branches where the six branches extended from the center stem, all made of one piece. ^22 The almond buds and branches were all of one piece with the center stem, and they were hammered from pure gold.

^23 He also made seven lamps for the lampstand, lamp snuffers, and trays, all of pure gold. ^24 The entire lampstand, along with its accessories, was made from seventy-five pounds of pure gold.

Building the Incense Altar

^25 Then Bezalel made the incense altar of acacia wood. It was 18 inches square and 36 inches high, with horns at the corners carved from the same piece of wood as the altar itself. ^26 He overlaid the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and he ran a gold molding around the entire altar. ^27 He made two gold rings and attached them on opposite sides of the altar below the gold molding to hold the carrying poles. ^28 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

^29 Then he made the sacred anointing oil and the fragrant incense, using the techniques of a skilled incense maker.

Exodus 38

(Click here to view commentary on this chapter)

Building the Altar of Burnt Offering

38 Next Bezalel used acacia wood to construct the square altar of burnt offering. It was 7 1â„2 feet wide, 7 1â„2 feet long, and 4 1â„2 feet high. ^2 He made horns for each of its four corners so that the horns and altar were all one piece. He overlaid the altar with bronze. ^3 Then he made all the altar utensils of bronze—the ash buckets, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans.^4 Next he made a bronze grating and installed it halfway down the side of the altar, under the ledge. ^5 He cast four rings and attached them to the corners of the bronze grating to hold the carrying poles. ^6 He made the poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. ^7 He inserted the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar. The altar was hollow and was made from planks.

Building the Washbasin

^8 Bezalel made the bronze washbasin and its bronze stand from bronze mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

Building the Courtyard

^9 Then Bezalel made the courtyard, which was enclosed with curtains made of finely woven linen. On the south side the curtains were 150 feet long. ^10 They were held up by twenty posts set securely in twenty bronze bases. He hung the curtains with silver hooks and rings. ^11 He made a similar set of curtains for the north side—150 feet of curtains held up by twenty posts set securely in bronze bases. He hung the curtains with silver hooks and rings. ^12 The curtains on the west end of the courtyard were 75 feet long, hung with silver hooks and rings and supported by ten posts set into ten bases. ^13 The east end, the front, was also 75 feet long.

^14 The courtyard entrance was on the east end, flanked by two curtains. The curtain on the right side was 22 1â„2 feet longand was supported by three posts set into three bases. ^15 The curtain on the left side was also 22 1â„2 feet long and was supported by three posts set into three bases. ^16 All the curtains used in the courtyard were made of finely woven linen.^17 Each post had a bronze base, and all the hooks and rings were silver. The tops of the posts of the courtyard were overlaid with silver, and the rings to hold up the curtains were made of silver.

^18 He made the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard of finely woven linen, and he decorated it with beautiful embroidery in blue, purple, and scarlet thread. It was 30 feet long, and its height was 7 1â„2 feet, just like the curtains of the courtyard walls. ^19 It was supported by four posts, each set securely in its own bronze base. The tops of the posts were overlaid with silver, and the hooks and rings were also made of silver.

^20 All the tent pegs used in the Tabernacle and courtyard were made of bronze.

Inventory of Materials

^21 This is an inventory of the materials used in building the Tabernacle of the Covenant. The Levites compiled the figures, as Moses directed, and Ithamar son of Aaron the priest served as recorder. ^22 Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^23 He was assisted by Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, a craftsman expert at engraving, designing, and embroidering with blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth.

^24 The people brought special offerings of gold totaling 2,193 pounds, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. This gold was used throughout the Tabernacle.

^25 The whole community of Israel gave 7,545 pounds of silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. ^26 This silver came from the tax collected from each man registered in the census. (The tax is one beka, which is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel.) The tax was collected from 603,550 men who had reached their twentieth birthday. ^27 The hundred bases for the frames of the sanctuary walls and for the posts supporting the inner curtain required 7,500 pounds of silver, about 75 pounds for each base. ^28 The remaining 45 pounds of silver was used to make the hooks and rings and to overlay the tops of the posts.

^29 The people also brought as special offerings 5,310 pounds of bronze, ^30 which was used for casting the bases for the posts at the entrance to the Tabernacle, and for the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all the altar utensils. ^31 Bronze was also used to make the bases for the posts that supported the curtains around the courtyard, the bases for the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard, and all the tent pegs for the Tabernacle and the courtyard.

Matthew 23

(Click here to view commentary on this chapter)

Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ^2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. ^3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. ^4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

^5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. ^6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. ^7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

^8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. ^9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. ^10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. ^11 The greatest among you must be a servant. ^12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

^13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

^15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

^16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ ^17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? ^18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding.^19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ^20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. ^21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. ^22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

^23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. ^24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

^25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! ^26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

^27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. ^28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

^29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. ^30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

^31 “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. ^33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

^34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. ^35 As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. ^36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.

Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem

^37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. ^38 And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. ^39 For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’â€