Exodus 28
The Clothes for the High Priest
The Lord said to Moses:
28 Send for your brother Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. They are the ones I have chosen from Israel to serve as my priests. 2 Make Aaron some beautiful clothes that are worthy of a high priest. 3 Aaron is to be dedicated as my high priest, and his clothes must be made only by persons who possess skills that I have given them. 4 Here are the items that need to be made: a breastpiece, a priestly vest, a robe, an embroidered shirt, a turban, and a sash. These sacred clothes are to be made for your brother Aaron and his sons who will be my priests. 5 Only gold and fine linen, woven with blue, purple, and red wool, are to be used for making these clothes.
The Vest for the High Priest
The Lord said:
6-8 The entire priestly vest must be made of fine linen skillfully woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and decorated with gold. It is to have two shoulder straps to support it and a sash that fastens around the waist.
9-12 Put two onyx[a] stones in gold settings, then attach one to each of the shoulder straps. On one of these stones engrave the names of Israel’s first six sons in the order of their birth. And do the same with his remaining six sons on the other stone. In this way Aaron will always carry the names of the tribes of Israel when he enters the holy place, and I will never forget my people.
13-14 Attach two gold settings to the shoulder straps and fasten them with two braided chains of pure gold.
The Breastpiece for the High Priest
The Lord said:
15 From the same costly material make a breastpiece for the high priest to use in learning what I want my people to do. 16 It is to be nine inches square and folded double 17 with four rows of three precious stones: In the first row put a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald; 18 in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.[b] Mount the stones in delicate gold settings 21 and engrave on each of them the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
22-25 Attach two gold rings to the upper front corners of the breastpiece and fasten them with two braided gold chains to gold settings on the shoulder straps. 26 Attach two other gold rings to the lower inside corners next to the vest 27 and two more near the bottom of the shoulder straps right above the sash. 28 Then take a blue cord and tie the two lower rings on the breastpiece to those on the vest. This will keep the breastpiece in place.
29 In this way Aaron will have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his heart each time he enters the holy place, and I will never forget my people. 30 He must also wear on his breastpiece the two small objects[c] that he uses to receive answers from me.
The Other High-Priestly Clothes
The Lord said:
31 Under his vest Aaron must wear a robe of blue wool 32 with an opening in the center for his head. Be sure to bind the material around the collar to keep it from raveling. 33-34 Along the hem of the robe weave pomegranates[d] of blue, purple, and red wool with a gold bell between each of them. 35 If Aaron wears these clothes when he enters the holy place as my high priest, the sound of the bells will be heard, and his life will not be in danger.
36 On a narrow strip of pure gold engrave the words: “Dedicated to the Lord.” 37 Fasten it to the front of Aaron’s turban with a blue cord, 38 so he can wear it on his forehead. This will show that he will take on himself the guilt for any sins the people of Israel commit in offering their gifts to me, and I will forgive them.
39 Make Aaron’s robe and turban of fine linen and decorate his sash with fancy needlework.
The Clothes for the Other Priests
40 Since Aaron’s sons are priests, they should also look dignified. So make robes, sashes, and special caps for them. 41 Then dress Aaron and his sons in these clothes, pour olive oil on their heads, and ordain them as my priests.
42 Make linen shorts for them that reach from the waist down to the thigh, so they won’t expose themselves. 43 Whenever they enter the sacred tent or serve at the altar or enter the holy place, they must wear these shorts, or else they will be guilty and die. This same rule applies to any of their descendants who serve as priests.
Footnotes:
- 28.9-12 onyx: See the note at 25.7.
- 28.20 jasper: The stones mentioned in verses 17-20 are of different colors: carnelian is deep red or reddish white; chrysolite is olive green; emerald is green; turquoise is blue or blue green; sapphire is blue; diamond is colorless or white; jacinth is reddish orange; agate has circles of brown and white; amethyst is deep purple; beryl is green or bluish green; onyx has bands of different colors; and jasper is usually green or clear.
- 28.30 two small objects: The Hebrew text has “urim and thummim,” which may have been made of wood, stone, or metal, and were used in some way to receive answers from God.
- 28.33,34 pomegranates: A bright red fruit that looks like an apple.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Matthew 25:31-26:13
The Final Judgment
31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. 32 The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.
33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. 35 When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36 and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”
37 Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”
40 The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”
41 Then the king will say to those on his left, “Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. 43 I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.”
44 Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?”
45 The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.”
46 Then Jesus said, “Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life.”
The Plot To Kill Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished teaching, he told his disciples, 2 “You know that two days from now will be Passover. That is when the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies and nailed to a cross.”
3 At that time the chief priests and the nation’s leaders were meeting at the home of Caiaphas the high priest. 4 They planned how they could sneak around and have Jesus arrested and put to death. 5 But they said, “We must not do it during Passover, because the people will riot.”
At Bethany
6 Jesus was in the town of Bethany, eating at the home of Simon, who had leprosy.[a] 7 A woman came in with a bottle of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus' head. 8 But when his disciples saw this, they became angry and complained, “Why such a waste? 9 We could have sold this perfume for a lot of money and given it to the poor.”
10 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said:
Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 11 You will always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me. 12 She has poured perfume on my body to prepare it for burial.[b] 13 You may be sure that wherever the good news is told all over the world, people will remember what she has done. And they will tell others.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Psalm 31:9-18
9 Have pity, Lord!
I am hurting and almost blind.
My whole body aches.
10 I have known only sorrow
all my life long,
and I suffer
year after year.
I am weak from sin,
and my bones are limp.
11 My enemies insult me.
Neighbors are even worse,
and I disgust my friends.
People meet me on the street,
and they turn and run.
12 I am completely forgotten
like someone dead.
I am merely a broken dish.
13 I hear the crowds whisper,
“Everyone is afraid!”
They are plotting and scheming
to murder me.
14 But I trust you, Lord,
and I claim you as my God.
15 My life is in your hands.
Save me from enemies
who hunt me down.
16 Smile on me, your servant.
Have pity and rescue me.
17 I pray only to you.
Don’t disappoint me.
Disappoint my cruel enemies
until they lie silent
in their graves.
18 Silence those proud liars!
Make them stop bragging
and insulting your people.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Proverbs 8:12-13
Wisdom Speaks
12 I am Wisdom[a]—Common Sense
is my closest friend;
I possess knowledge
and sound judgment.
13 If you respect the Lord,
you will hate evil.
I hate pride and conceit
and deceitful lies.
Footnotes:
- 8.1,12 Wisdom: See the note at 1.20.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.