The One Year Bible TLB (36 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
“Listen to my counsel—oh, don’t refuse it—and be wise.
34
Happy is the man who is so anxious to be with me that he watches for me daily at my gates, or waits for me outside my home!
35
For whoever finds me finds life and wins approval from the Lord.
36
But the one who misses me has injured himself irreparably. Those who refuse me show that they love death.”
February 12The Lord told Moses, “Prepare two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write upon them the same commands that were on the tablets you broke.
2
Be ready in the morning to come up into Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain.
3
No one shall come with you and no one must be anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds feed close to the mountain.”
4
So Moses took two tablets of stone like the first ones, and was up early and climbed Mount Sinai, as the Lord had told him to, taking the two stone tablets in his hands.
5-6
Then the Lord descended in the form of a pillar of cloud and stood there with him, and passed in front of him and announced the meaning of his name.
*
“I am Jehovah, the merciful and gracious God,” he said, “slow to anger and rich in steadfast love and truth.
7
I, Jehovah, show this steadfast love to many thousands by forgiving their sins;
*
or else I refuse to clear the guilty, and require that a father’s sins be punished in the sons and grandsons, and even later generations.”
8
Moses fell down before the Lord and worshiped.
9
And he said, “If it is true that I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, then please go with us to the Promised Land; yes, it is an unruly, stubborn people, but pardon our iniquity and our sins, and accept us as your own.”
10
The Lord replied, “All right, this is the contract I am going to make with you. I will do miracles such as have never been done before anywhere in all the earth, and all the people of Israel shall see the power of the Lord—the terrible power I will display through you.
11
Your part of the agreement is to obey all of my commandments; then I will drive out from before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
12
“Be very, very careful never to compromise with the people there in the land where you are going, for if you do, you will soon be following their evil ways.
13
Instead, you must break down their heathen altars, smash the obelisks they worship, and cut down their shameful idols.
*
14
For you must worship no other gods, but only Jehovah, for he is a God who claims absolute loyalty and exclusive devotion.
15
“No, do not make a peace treaty of any kind with the people living in the land, for they are spiritual prostitutes, committing adultery against me by sacrificing to their gods.
*
If you become friendly with them and one of them invites you to go with him and worship his idol, you are apt to do it.
16
And you would accept their daughters, who worship other gods, as wives for your sons—and then your sons would commit adultery against me by worshiping their wives’ gods.
17
You must have nothing to do with idols.
18
“Be sure to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, just as I instructed you, at the dates appointed each year in March; that was the month you left Egypt.
19
“Every firstborn male
*
is mine—cattle, sheep, and goats.
20
The firstborn colt of a donkey may be redeemed by giving a lamb in its place. If you decide not to redeem it, then its neck must be broken. But your sons must all be redeemed. And no one shall appear before me without a gift.
21
“Even during plowing and harvest times, work only six days, and rest on the seventh.
22
“And you must remember to celebrate these three annual religious festivals: the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of the First Wheat, and the Harvest Festival.
23
On each of these three occasions all the men and boys of Israel shall appear before the Lord.
24
No one will attack and conquer your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God those three times each year. For I will drive out the nations from before you and enlarge your boundaries.
25
“You must not use leavened bread with your sacrifices to me, and none of the meat of the Passover lamb may be kept over until the following morning.
26
And you must bring the best of the first of each year’s crop to the Tabernacle of the Lord your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27
And the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these laws
*
that I have given you, for they represent the terms of my covenant with you and with Israel.”
28
Moses was up on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, and in all that time he neither ate nor drank. At that time God
*
wrote out the Covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.
29
Moses didn’t realize as he came back down the mountain with the tablets that his face glowed from being in the presence of God.
30
Because of this radiance upon his face, Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to come near him.
31
But Moses called them over to him, and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation came and talked with him.
32
Afterwards, all the people came to him, and he gave them the commandments the Lord had given him upon the mountain.
33
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face;
*
34
but whenever he went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he removed the veil until he came out again; then he would pass on to the people whatever instructions God had given him,
35
and the people would see his face aglow. Afterwards he would put the veil on again until he returned to speak with God.
35:
1
Now Moses called a meeting of all the people and told them, “These are the laws of Jehovah you must obey.
2
“Work six days only; the seventh day is a day of solemn rest, a holy day to be used to worship Jehovah; anyone working on that day must die.
3
Don’t even light the fires in your homes that day.”
4
Then Moses said to all the people, “This is what the Lord has commanded:
5-9
All of you who wish to, all those with generous hearts, may bring these offerings to Jehovah:
Gold, silver, and bronze;
Blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, made of fine-twined linen or of goats’ hair;
Tanned rams’ skins and specially treated goatskins;
Acacia wood;
Olive oil for the lamps;
Spices for the anointing oil and for the incense;
Onyx stones and stones to be used for the ephod and chestpiece.”
Now the governor’s custom was to release one Jewish prisoner each year during the Passover celebration—anyone they wanted.
16
This year there was a particularly notorious criminal in jail named Barabbas,
17
and as the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning he asked them, “Which shall I release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus your Messiah?”
*
18
For he knew very well that the Jewish leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy because of his popularity with the people.
19
Just then, as he was presiding over the court, Pilate’s wife sent him this message: “Leave that good man alone; for I had a terrible nightmare concerning him last night.”
20
Meanwhile the chief priests and Jewish officials persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas’s release, and for Jesus’ death.
21
So when the governor asked again,
*
“Which of these two shall I release to you?” the crowd shouted back their reply: “Barabbas!”
22
“Then what shall I do with Jesus, your Messiah?” Pilate asked.
And they shouted, “Crucify him!”
23
“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What has he done wrong?” But they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify!”
24
When Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing, he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this good man. The responsibility is yours!”
25
And the mob yelled back, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26
Then Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after he had whipped Jesus, he gave him to the Roman soldiers to be taken away and crucified.
27
But first they took him into the armory and called out the entire contingent.
28
They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,
29
and made a crown from long thorns and put it on his head, and placed a stick in his right hand as a scepter and knelt before him in mockery. “Hail, King of the Jews,” they yelled.
30
And they spat on him and grabbed the stick and beat him on the head with it.
31
After the mockery, they took off the robe and put his own garment on him again, and took him out to crucify him.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his own.
13-15
The Lord gazes down upon mankind from heaven where he lives. He has made their hearts and closely watches everything they do.
16-17
The best-equipped army cannot save a king—for great strength is not enough to save anyone. A war horse is a poor risk for winning victories—it is strong, but it cannot save.
18-19
But the eyes of the Lord are watching over those who fear him, who rely upon his steady love. He will keep them from death even in times of famine!
20
We depend upon the Lord alone to save us. Only he can help us; he protects us like a shield.
21
No wonder we are happy in the Lord! For we are trusting him. We trust his holy name.
22
Yes, Lord, let your constant love surround us, for our hopes are in you alone.
Wisdom has built a palace supported on seven pillars,
2
and has prepared a great banquet, and mixed the wines,
3
and sent out her maidens inviting all to come. She calls from the busiest intersections in the city,
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“Come, you simple ones without good judgment;
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come to wisdom’s banquet and drink the wines that I have mixed.
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Leave behind your foolishness and begin to live; learn how to be wise.”
February 13“Come, all of you who are skilled craftsmen having special talents, and construct what God has commanded us:
The Tabernacle-tent, and its coverings, clasps, frames, bars, pillars, and bases;
The Ark and its poles;
The place of mercy;
The curtain to enclose the Holy Place;
The table, its carrying poles, and all of its utensils;
The Bread of the Presence;
Lamp holders, with lamps and oil;
The incense altar and its carrying poles;
The anointing oil and sweet incense;
The curtain for the door of the Tabernacle;
The altar for the burnt offerings;
The bronze grating of the altar, and its carrying poles and utensils;
The basin with its pedestal;
The drapes for the walls of the court;
The pillars and their bases;
Drapes for the entrance to the court;
The posts of the Tabernacle court, and their cords;
The beautiful clothing for the priests, to be used when ministering in the Holy Place;
The holy garments for Aaron the priest, and for his sons.”
20
So all the people went to their tents to prepare their gifts.
21
Those whose hearts were stirred by God’s Spirit returned with their offerings of materials for the Tabernacle, its equipment, and for the holy garments.
22
Both men and women came, all who had willing hearts. They brought to the Lord their offerings of gold, jewelry—earrings, rings from their fingers, necklaces—and gold objects of every kind.
23
Others brought blue, purple, and scarlet cloth made from the fine-twined linen or goats’ hair; and rams’ skins dyed red, and specially treated goatskins.
24
Others brought silver and bronze as their offering to the Lord; and some brought the acacia wood needed in the construction.
25
The women skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread and cloth, and fine-twined linen, and brought them in.
26
Some other women gladly used their special skill to spin the goats’ hair into cloth.
27
The leaders brought onyx stones to be used for the ephod and the chestpiece;
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and spices, and oil—for the light, and for compounding the anointing oil and the sweet incense.
29
So the people of Israel—every man and woman who wanted to assist in the work given to them by the Lord’s command to Moses—brought their freewill offerings to him.
30-31
And Moses told them, “Jehovah has specifically appointed Bezalel (the son of Uri and grandson of Hur of the tribe of Judah) as general superintendent of the project.
32
He will be able to create beautiful workmanship from gold, silver, and bronze;
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he can cut and set stones like a jeweler and can do beautiful carving; in fact, he has every needed skill.
34
And God has made him and Oholiab gifted teachers of their skills to others. (Oholiab is the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.)
35
God has filled them both with unusual skills as jewelers, carpenters, embroidery designers in blue, purple, and scarlet on linen backgrounds, and as weavers—they excel in all the crafts we will be needing in the work.
36:
1-2
“All the other craftsmen with God-given abilities are to assist Bezalel and Oholiab in constructing and furnishing the Tabernacle.” So Moses told Bezalel and Oholiab and all others who felt called to the work to begin.
3
Moses gave them the materials donated by the people and additional gifts were received each morning.
4-7
But finally the workmen all left their task to meet with Moses and told him, “We have more than enough materials on hand now to complete the job!” So Moses sent a message throughout the camp announcing that no more donations were needed. Then at last the people were restrained from bringing more!
8-9
The skilled weavers first made ten sheets from fine linen, then embroidered into them blue, purple, and scarlet Guardian Angels. Each sheet was 42 feet long and 6 feet wide.
10
Five of these sheets were attached end to end, then five others similarly attached, forming two long roofsheets.
11-12
Fifty blue ribbons were looped along the edges of these two long sheets, each loop being opposite its mate on the other long sheet.
13
Then fifty clasps of gold were made to connect the loops, thus tying the two long sheets together to form the ceiling of the Tabernacle.
14-15
Above the ceiling was a second layer formed by eleven draperies made of goats’ hair (uniformly 45 feet long and 6 feet wide).
16
Bezalel coupled five of these draperies together to make one long piece, and six others to make another long piece.
17
Then he made fifty loops along the end of each
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and fifty small bronze clasps to couple the loops so that the draperies were firmly attached to each other.
19
The top layer of the roof was made of rams’ skins, dyed red, and tanned goatskins.
20
For the sides of the Tabernacle he used frames of acacia wood standing on end.
21
The height of each frame was 15 feet and the width 2
1
/
4
feet.
22
Each frame had two clasps joining it to the next.
23
There were twenty frames on the south side,
24
with the bottoms fitting into forty silver bases. Each frame was connected to its base by two clasps.
25-26
There were also twenty frames on the north side of the Tabernacle, with forty silver bases, two for each frame.
27
The west side of the Tabernacle, which was its rear, was made from six frames,
28
plus another at each corner.
29
These frames, including those at the corners, were linked to each other at both top and bottom by rings.
30
So, on the west side, there were a total of eight frames with sixteen silver bases beneath them, two for each frame.
31-32
Then he made five sets of bars from acacia wood to tie the frames together along the sides, five for each side of the Tabernacle.
33
The middle bar of the five was halfway up the frames, along each side, running from one end to the other.
34
The frames and bars were all overlaid with gold, and the rings were pure gold.
35
The blue, purple, and scarlet inner
*
curtain was made from woven linen, with Guardian Angels skillfully embroidered into it.
36
The curtain was then attached to four gold hooks set into four posts of acacia wood, overlaid with gold and set into four silver bases.
37
Then he made a drapery for the entrance to the Tabernacle; it was woven from finespun linen, embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet.
38
This drapery was connected by five hooks to five posts. The posts and their capitals and rods were overlaid with gold; their five bases were molded from bronze.
As they were on the way to the execution grounds they came across a man from Cyrene, in Africa—Simon was his name—and forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.
33
Then they went out to an area known as Golgotha, that is, “Skull Hill,”
34
where the soldiers gave him drugged wine to drink; but when he had tasted it, he refused.
35
After the crucifixion, the soldiers threw dice to divide up his clothes among themselves.
36
Then they sat around and watched him as he hung there.
37
And they put a sign above his head, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38
Two robbers were also crucified there that morning, one on either side of him.
39
And the people passing by hurled abuse, shaking their heads at him and saying,
40
“So! You can destroy the Temple and build it again in three days, can you? Well, then, come on down from the cross if you are the Son of God!”
41-43
And the chief priests and Jewish leaders also mocked him. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So you are the King of Israel, are you? Come down from the cross and we’ll believe you! He trusted God—let God show his approval by delivering him! Didn’t he say, ‘I am God’s Son’?”
44
And the robbers also threw the same in his teeth.
45
That afternoon, the whole earth
*
was covered with darkness for three hours, from noon until three o’clock.
46
About three o’clock, Jesus shouted, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47
Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for Elijah.
48
One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine and put it on a stick and held it up to him to drink.
49
But the rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see whether Elijah will come and save him.”
50
Then Jesus shouted out again, dismissed his spirit, and died.
51
And look! The curtain secluding the Holiest Place
*
in the Temple was split apart from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and rocks broke,
52
and tombs opened, and many godly men and women who had died came back to life again.
53
After Jesus’ resurrection, they left the cemetery and went into Jerusalem, and appeared to many people there.
54
The soldiers at the crucifixion and their sergeant were terribly frightened by the earthquake and all that happened. They exclaimed, “Surely this was God’s Son.”
*
55
And many women who had come down from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance.
56
Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John (the sons of Zebedee).
57
When evening came, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, one of Jesus’ followers,
58
went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him.
59
Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60
and placed it in his own new rock-hewn tomb, and rolled a great stone across the entrance as he left.
61
Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting nearby watching.
62
The next day—at the close of the first day of the Passover ceremonies
*
—the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate,
63
and told him, “Sir, that liar once said, ‘After three days I will come back to life again.’
64
So we request an order from you sealing the tomb until the third day, to prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”
65
“Use your own Temple police,” Pilate told them. “They can guard it safely enough.”
66
So they sealed the stone
*
and posted guards to protect it from intrusion.
I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of his glories and grace.
*
2
I will boast of all his kindness to me. Let all who are discouraged take heart.
3
Let us praise the Lord together and exalt his name.
4
For I cried to him and he answered me! He freed me from all my fears.
5
Others too were radiant at what he did for them. Theirs was no downcast look of rejection!
6
This poor man cried to the Lord—and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles.
7
For the Angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him.
8
Oh, put God to the test and see how kind he is! See for yourself the way his mercies shower down on all who trust in him.
9
If you belong to the Lord, reverence him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs.
10
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing.
If you rebuke a mocker, you will only get a smart retort; yes, he will snarl at you. So don’t bother with him; he will only hate you for trying to help him. But a wise man, when rebuked, will love you all the more.