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Exodus 27

The Altar for Burnt Offerings.

1You shall make an altar^a of acacia wood, on a square, five cubits long and five cubits wide; it shall be three cubits high.

2At the four corners make horns^* that are of one piece with the altar. You shall then plate it with bronze.

3Make pots for removing the ashes, as well as shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans; all these utensils you shall make of bronze.

4Make for it a grating,^* a bronze network; make four bronze rings for it, one at each of its four corners.

5Put it down around the altar, on the ground. This network is to be half as high as the altar.

6You shall also make poles of acacia wood for the altar, and plate them with bronze.

7These poles are to be put through the rings, so that they are on either side of the altar when it is carried.

8Make the altar itself in the form of a hollow^* box. Just as it was shown you on the mountain, so it is to be made.

Court of the Tabernacle.

9^b You shall also make a court for the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings, of fine linen twined, a hundred cubits long,

10with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze; the hooks and bands on the columns shall be of silver.

11On the north side there shall be similar hangings, a hundred cubits long, with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze; the hooks and bands on the columns shall be of silver.

12On the west side, across the width of the court, there shall be hangings, fifty cubits long, with ten columns and ten pedestals.

13The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits.

14On one side there shall be hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals;

15on the other side there shall be hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals.

16At the gate of the court there shall be a variegated curtain, twenty cubits long, woven of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined. It shall have four columns and four pedestals.

17All the columns around the court shall have bands and hooks of silver, and pedestals of bronze.

18The court is to be one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and five cubits high. Fine linen twined must be used, and the pedestals must be of bronze.

19All the fittings of the tabernacle, whatever be their use, as well as all its tent pegs and all the tent pegs of the court, must be of bronze.

Oil for the Lamps.

20You shall command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of crushed olives, to be used for the light, so that you may keep lamps burning always.^c

21From evening to morning Aaron and his sons shall maintain them before the LORD in the tent of meeting, outside the veil which hangs in front of the covenant. This shall be a perpetual statute for the Israelites throughout their generations.

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Exodus 28

The Priestly Vestments.

1^a Have your brother Aaron, and with him his sons, brought to you, from among the Israelites, that they may be my priests: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

2For the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron you shall have sacred vestments made.

3Therefore, tell the various artisans whom I have endowed with skill^* to make vestments for Aaron to consecrate him as my priest.

4These are the vestments they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a brocade tunic, a turban, and a sash. In making these sacred vestments which your brother Aaron and his sons are to wear in serving as my priests,

5they shall use gold, violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.

The Ephod and Breastpiece.

6The ephod^* they shall make of gold thread and of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, embroidered on cloth of fine linen twined.^b

7It shall have a pair of shoulder straps joined to its two upper ends.

8The embroidered belt of the ephod shall extend out from it and, like it, be made of gold thread, of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined.

9Get two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:

10six of their names on one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth.

11As a gem-cutter engraves a seal, so shall you have the two stones engraved with the names of the sons of Israel and then mounted in gold filigree work.

12Set these two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod as memorial stones of the sons of Israel. Thus Aaron shall bear their names on his shoulders as a reminder before the LORD.

13Make filigree rosettes of gold,^c

14as well as two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, and fasten the cordlike chains to the filigree rosettes.

15^d The breastpiece^* of decision you shall also have made, embroidered like the ephod with gold thread and violet, purple, and scarlet yarn on cloth of fine linen twined.

16It is to be square when folded double, a span high and a span wide.

17^* On it you shall mount four rows of precious stones: in the first row, a carnelian, a topaz, and an emerald;

18in the second row, a garnet, a sapphire, and a beryl;

19in the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

20in the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. These stones are to be mounted in gold filigree work,

21twelve of them to match the names of the sons of Israel, each stone engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

22When the chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, have been made for the breastpiece,

23you shall then make two rings of gold for it and fasten them to the two upper ends of the breastpiece.

24The gold cords are then to be fastened to the two rings at the upper ends of the breastpiece,

25the other two ends of the cords being fastened in front to the two filigree rosettes which are attached to the shoulder straps of the ephod.

26Make two other rings of gold and put them on the two lower ends of the breastpiece, on its edge that faces the ephod.

27Then make two more rings of gold and fasten them to the bottom of the shoulder straps next to where they join the ephod in front, just above its embroidered belt.

28Violet ribbons shall bind the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod, so that the breastpiece will stay right above the embroidered belt of the ephod and not swing loose from it.

29Whenever Aaron enters the sanctuary, he will thus bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastpiece of decision over his heart as a constant reminder before the LORD.

30In this breastpiece of decision^e you shall put the Urim and Thummim,^* that they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus he shall always bear the decisions for the Israelites over his heart in the presence of the LORD.

Other Vestments.

31The robe of the ephod^f you shall make entirely of violet material.

32It shall have an opening for the head in the center, and around this opening there shall be a selvage, woven as at the opening of a shirt, to keep it from being torn.

33At the hem at the bottom you shall make pomegranates, woven of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen twined, with gold bells between them;

34a gold bell, a pomegranate, a gold bell, a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe.

35Aaron shall wear it when ministering, that its sound may be heard as he enters and leaves the LORD’s presence in the sanctuary; else he will die.

36You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, as on a seal engraving, “Sacred to the LORD.”

37This plate is to be tied over the turban with a violet ribbon in such a way that it rests on the front of the turban,^g

38over Aaron’s forehead. Since Aaron bears whatever guilt the Israelites may incur in consecrating any of their sacred gifts, this plate must always be over his forehead, so that they may find favor with the LORD.

39^h The tunic of fine linen shall be brocaded. The turban shall be made of fine linen. The sash shall be of variegated work.

40Likewise, for the glorious adornment of Aaron’s sons you shall have tunics and sashes and skullcaps made, for glorious splendor.

41With these you shall clothe your brother Aaron and his sons. Anoint and install them,^* consecrating them as my priests.

42You must also make linen pants for them, to cover their naked flesh from their loins to their thighs.ⁱ

43Aaron and his sons shall wear them whenever they go into the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest they incur guilt and die. This shall be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants.

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Mark 13

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold.^*

1As he was making his way out of the temple area one of his disciples said to him, “Look, teacher, what stones and what buildings!”^a

2Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the End.

3^* As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple area, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,^b

4“Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be when all these things are about to come to an end?”

5Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one deceives you.^c

6Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.

7When you hear of wars and reports of wars do not be alarmed; such things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.

8Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes from place to place and there will be famines. These are the beginnings of the labor pains.

The Coming Persecution.

9^d “Watch out for yourselves. They will hand you over to the courts. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will be arraigned before governors and kings because of me, as a witness before them.

10But the gospel must first be preached to all nations.^*

11When they lead you away and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say.^e But say whatever will be given to you at that hour. For it will not be you who are speaking but the holy Spirit.

12Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

13You will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

The Great Tribulation.

14^f “When you see the desolating abomination standing^* where he should not (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains,^g

15[and] a person on a housetop must not go down or enter to get anything out of his house,^h

16and a person in a field must not return to get his cloak.

17Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days.

18Pray that this does not happen in winter.

19For those times will have tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of God’s creation until now, nor ever will be.ⁱ

20If the Lord had not shortened those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he did shorten the days.

21If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah! Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.

22False messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders in order to mislead, if that were possible, the elect.

23Be watchful! I have told it all to you beforehand.

The Coming of the Son of Man.

24^j “But in those days after that tribulation

the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light,^k

25and the stars will be falling from the sky,

and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

26^{* l} And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory,

27and then he will send out the angels and gather [his] elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree.

28^m “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.

29In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates.

30Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.

31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Need for Watchfulness.

32“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

33ⁿ Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.

34It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.^o

35Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.

36May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.

37What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

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