Day 43 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 31:1–6

¹In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; save me by Your righteousness. ²Incline Your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, the stronghold of my deliverance. ³For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name. ⁴You free me from the net laid out for me, for You are my refuge. ⁵Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth. ⁶I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.

New Testament·Matthew 26:1–29

¹When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He told His disciples, ²“You know that the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” ³At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him. ⁵“But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” ⁶While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, ⁷a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table. ⁸When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste? ⁹This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.” ¹⁰Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me. ¹¹The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me. ¹²By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial. ¹³Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” ¹⁴Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus. ¹⁷On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.’” ¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. ²⁰When evening came, Jesus was reclining with the twelve disciples. ²¹And while they were eating, He said to them, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me.” ²²They were deeply grieved and began to ask Him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” ²³Jesus answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. ²⁴The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.” ²⁵Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said it yourself.” ²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.” ²⁷Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

Old Testament·Exodus 27–28

¹“You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. ²Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze. ³Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans. ⁴Construct for it a grate of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the mesh. ⁵Set the grate beneath the ledge of the altar, so that the mesh comes halfway up the altar. ⁶Additionally, make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. ⁷The poles are to be inserted into the rings so that the poles are on two sides of the altar when it is carried. ⁸Construct the altar with boards so that it is hollow. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain. ⁹You are also to make a courtyard for the tabernacle. On the south side of the courtyard make curtains of finely spun linen, a hundred cubits long on one side, ¹⁰with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and silver hooks and bands on the posts. ¹¹Likewise there are to be curtains on the north side, a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. ¹²The curtains on the west side of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide, with ten posts and ten bases. ¹³The east side of the courtyard, toward the sunrise, is to be fifty cubits wide. ¹⁴Make the curtains on one side fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases, ¹⁵and the curtains on the other side fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases. ¹⁶The gate of the courtyard shall be twenty cubits long, with a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It shall have four posts and four bases. ¹⁷All the posts around the courtyard shall have silver bands, silver hooks, and bronze bases. ¹⁸The entire courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely spun linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases. ¹⁹All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, including all its tent pegs and the tent pegs of the courtyard, shall be made of bronze. ²⁰And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. ²¹In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.

28“Next, have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to serve Me as priests. ²Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, to give him glory and splendor. ³You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make garments for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest. ⁴These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make these holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may serve Me as priests. ⁵They shall use gold, along with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. ⁶They are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. ⁷It shall have two shoulder pieces attached at two of its corners, so it can be fastened. ⁸And the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod must be of one piece, of the same workmanship—with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen. ⁹Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: ¹⁰six of their names on one stone and the remaining six on the other, in the order of their birth. ¹¹Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings. ¹²Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear their names on his two shoulders as a memorial before the LORD. ¹³Fashion gold filigree settings ¹⁴and two chains of pure gold, made of braided cord work; and attach these chains to the settings. ¹⁵You are also to make a breastpiece of judgment with the same workmanship as the ephod. Construct it with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen. ¹⁶It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide. ¹⁷And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald; ¹⁸in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹⁹in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ²⁰and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount these stones in gold filigree settings. ²¹The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. ²²For the breastpiece, make braided chains like cords of pure gold. ²³You are also to make two gold rings and fasten them to the two corners of the breastpiece. ²⁴Then fasten the two gold chains to the two gold rings at the corners of the breastpiece, ²⁵and fasten the other ends of the two chains to the two filigree settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. ²⁶Make two more gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷Make two additional gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on its front, near its seam just above its woven waistband. ²⁸The rings of the breastpiece shall be tied to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the waistband of the ephod and does not swing out from the ephod. ²⁹Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he shall bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of judgment, as a continual reminder before the LORD. ³⁰And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD. ³¹You are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, ³²with an opening at its top in the center. Around the opening shall be a woven collar with an opening like that of a garment, so that it will not tear. ³³Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all the way around the lower hem, with gold bells between them, ³⁴alternating the gold bells and pomegranates around the lower hem of the robe. ³⁵Aaron must wear the robe whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters or exits the sanctuary before the LORD, so that he will not die. ³⁶You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. ³⁷Fasten to it a blue cord to mount it on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸And it will be worn on Aaron’s forehead, so that he may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be acceptable before the LORD. ³⁹You are to weave the tunic with fine linen, make the turban of fine linen, and fashion an embroidered sash. ⁴⁰Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons, to give them glory and splendor. ⁴¹After you put these garments on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint them, ordain them, and consecrate them so that they may serve Me as priests. ⁴²Make linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, extending from waist to thigh. ⁴³Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants.