The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday February 14, 2019 (NIV)

The Sacred Chest

37 Bezalel built a chest of acacia wood forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ² He covered it inside and out with pure gold and put a gold edging around the top. ³ He made four gold rings and fastened one of them to each of the four legs of the chest. ⁴ Then he made two poles of acacia wood, covered them with gold, ⁵ and put them through the rings, so the chest could be carried by the poles.

⁶ The entire lid of the chest, which was also covered with pure gold, was the place of mercy.^{[a] 7-9} On each of the two ends of the chest he made a winged creature of hammered gold. They faced each other, and their wings covered the place of mercy.

The Table for the Sacred Bread

¹⁰ Bezalel built a table of acacia wood thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ^11-12 He covered it with pure gold and put a gold edging around it with a border three inches wide.^{[b] 13} He made four gold rings and attached one to each of the legs ¹⁴ near the edging. The poles for carrying the table were placed through these rings ¹⁵ and were made of acacia wood covered with gold. ¹⁶ Everything that was to be set on the table was made of pure gold—the bowls, plates, jars, and cups for wine offerings.

The Lampstand

¹⁷ Bezalel made a lampstand of pure gold. The whole lampstand, including its decorative flowers, was made from a single piece of hammered gold, ¹⁸ with three branches on each of its two sides. ¹⁹ There were three decorative almond blossoms on each branch ²⁰ and four on the stem. ²¹ There was also a blossom where each pair of branches came out from the stem. ²² The lampstand, including its branches and decorative flowers, was made from a single piece of hammered pure gold. ^23-24 The lamp and its equipment, including the tongs and trays, were made of about seventy-five pounds of pure gold.

The Altar for Burning Incense

²⁵ For burning incense, Bezalel made an altar of acacia wood. It was eighteen inches square and thirty-six inches high with each of its four corners sticking up like the horn of a bull. ²⁶ He covered it with pure gold and put a gold edging around it. ²⁷ Then below the edging on opposite sides he attached two gold rings through which he put the poles for carrying the altar. ²⁸ These poles were also made of acacia wood and covered with gold.

The Oil for Dedication and the Incense

²⁹ Bezalel mixed the oil for dedication and the sweet-smelling spices for the incense.

The Altar for Offering Sacrifices

38 Bezalel built an altar of acacia wood for offering sacrifices. It was seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high ² with each of its four corners sticking up like the horn of a bull, and it was completely covered with bronze. ³ The equipment for the altar was also made of bronze—the pans for the hot ashes, the shovels, the meat forks, and the fire pans. ⁴ Midway up the altar he built a ledge around it and covered the bottom half of the altar with a decorative bronze grating. ⁵ Then he attached a bronze ring beneath the ledge at the four corners to put the poles through. ⁶ He covered two acacia wood poles with bronze and ⁷ put them through the rings for carrying the altar, which was shaped like an open box.

The Large Bronze Bowl

⁸ Bezalel made a large bowl and a stand out of bronze from the mirrors of the women who helped at the entrance to the sacred tent.

The Courtyard around the Sacred Tent

^9-17 Around the sacred tent Bezalel built a courtyard one hundred fifty feet long on the south and north and seventy-five feet wide on the east and west. He used twenty bronze posts on bronze stands for the south and north and ten for the west. Then he hung a curtain of fine linen on the posts along each of these three sides by using silver hooks and rods. He placed three bronze posts on each side of the entrance at the east and hung a curtain seven and a half yards wide on each set of posts.

^18-19 For the entrance to the courtyard, Bezalel made a curtain ten yards long, which he hung on four bronze posts that were set on bronze stands. This curtain was the same height as the one for the rest of the courtyard and was made of fine linen embroidered and woven with blue, purple, and red wool. He hung the curtain on the four posts, using silver hooks and rods. ²⁰ The pegs for the tent and for the curtain around the tent were made of bronze.

The Sacred Tent

^21-23 Bezalel had worked closely with Oholiab,^[c] who was an expert at designing and engraving, and at embroidering blue, purple, and red wool. The two of them completed the work that the Lord had commanded.

Moses made Aaron’s son Ithamar responsible for keeping record of the metals used for the sacred tent. ²⁴ According to the official weights, the amount of gold given was two thousand two hundred nine pounds, ²⁵ and the silver that was collected when the people were counted^[d] came to seven thousand five hundred fifty pounds. ²⁶ Everyone who was counted paid the required amount, and there was a total of 603,550 men who were twenty years old or older.

²⁷ Seventy-five pounds of the silver were used to make each of the one hundred stands for the sacred tent and the curtain. ²⁸ The remaining fifty pounds of silver were used for the hooks and rods and for covering the tops of the posts.

²⁹ Five thousand three hundred pounds of bronze were given. ³⁰ And it was used to make the stands for the entrance to the tent, the altar and its grating, the equipment for the altar, ³¹ the stands for the posts that surrounded the courtyard, including those at the entrance to the courtyard, and the pegs for the tent and the courtyard.

Jesus Is Alive

28 The Sabbath was over, and it was almost daybreak on Sunday when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord’s angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. ³ The angel looked as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards shook from fear and fell down, as though they were dead.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. ⁶ He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would. Come, see the place where his body was lying. ⁷ Now hurry! Tell his disciples that he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. That is what I came to tell you.”

⁸ The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them and greeted them. They went near him, held on to his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid! Tell my followers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

Report of the Guard

¹¹ While the women were on their way, some soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city. They told the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² So the chief priests met with the leaders and decided to bribe the soldiers with a lot of money. ¹³ They said to the soldiers, “Tell everyone that Jesus' disciples came during the night and stole his body while you were asleep. ¹⁴ If the governor^[a] hears about this, we will talk to him. You won’t have anything to worry about.” ¹⁵ The soldiers took the money and did what they were told. The Jewish people still tell each other this story.

What Jesus' Followers Must Do

¹⁶ Jesus' eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus had told them to meet him. ¹⁷ They saw him and worshiped him, but some of them doubted.

¹⁸ Jesus came to them and said: