22. Vayak’hel

Parasha 22: Vayak’hel

Exodus 35:1–38:20 (LEB)

Preparation of Materials and People for Building

35 And Moses assembled all the community of the _⌊Israelites_⌋, and he said to them, “These are the words that Yahweh has commanded for us to do them. ² On six days work can be done, and on the seventh there will be for you a holy day, a _⌊Sabbath of complete rest_⌋, for Yahweh; anyone doing work on it will be put to death. ³ You will not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the day of the Sabbath.”

⁴ And Moses said to all the community of the _⌊Israelites_⌋, saying, “This is the word that Yahweh has commanded, saying, ⁵ ‘Take from among you a contribution for Yahweh, anyone willing of heart, let him bring Yahweh’s contribution—gold and silver and bronze, ⁶ and blue and purple and crimson yarns, and fine linen and goat hair, ⁷ and red-dyed ram skins, and fine leather, and acacia wood, ⁸ and oil for the lamp, balsam oils for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ⁹ onyx stones and stones for mountings on the ephod and the breast piece.

¹⁰ “And let all the skilled of heart among you come and make all that Yahweh has commanded: ¹¹ The tabernacle, its tent, and its covering; its clasps and its frames; its bars, its pillars, and its bases; ¹² the ark and its poles; the atonement cover and the curtain of the screen; ¹³ the table and its poles and all its equipment; and the bread of the presence; ¹⁴ and lampstand of the light and its equipment and its lamps and the oil for the light; ¹⁵ and the altar of incense and its poles; and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense and the entrance curtain for the entrance of the tabernacle; ¹⁶ the altar of the burnt offering and the bronze grating that is for it, its poles and all its equipment; the basin and its stand; ¹⁷ the hangings of the courtyard, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the courtyard gate; ¹⁸ the _⌊pegs_⌋ of the tabernacle and the _⌊pegs_⌋ of the courtyard and their cords; ¹⁹ the woven garments for serving in the sanctuary—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons to serve as priests.”

²⁰ And all the community of the _⌊Israelites_⌋ went out from before Moses. ²¹ And they came—every man whose heart lifted him and every man whose spirit impelled him—they brought Yahweh’s contribution for the work of the tent of assembly and for all its service and for the holy garments. ²² And they came, the men in addition to the women, all who were willing of heart; they brought brooches and jewelry rings and signet rings and ornaments—every variety of gold object—every man who waved a wave offering of gold for Yahweh, ²³ and every man with whom was found blue and purple and crimson yarns and fine linen and goat hair and red-dyed ram skins and fine leather brought it. ²⁴ All who were presenting a contribution of silver and bronze brought Yahweh’s contribution, and all with whom was found acacia wood for all the work of service brought it. ²⁵ And every woman who was skilled of heart with her hands they spun, and they brought yarn—the blue and the purple, the crimson and the fine linen. ²⁶ And all the women whose heart lifted them with skill spun the goat hair. ²⁷ And the leaders brought the onyx stones and stones for mountings for the ephod and for the breast piece ²⁸ and the balsam oils and the oil for light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. ²⁹ Every man and woman whose heart impelled them to bring for all the work to be done that Yahweh had commanded _⌊by the agency of_⌋ Moses—the _⌊Israelites_⌋ brought freely to Yahweh.

³⁰ And Moses said to the _⌊Israelites_⌋, “See, Yahweh has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. ³¹ And he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and with skill and with knowledge and with every kind of craftsmanship, ³² and to devise designs, to work with the gold and with the silver and with the bronze, ³³ and in stonecutting for setting and in cutting wood, for doing every kind of design craftsmanship. ³⁴ And he has put it in his heart to teach—he and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan. ³⁵ He has filled them with skill of heart to do every work of a craftsman and a designer and an embroiderer with the blue and with the purple, with the crimson yarns and with the fine linen and a weaver; they are doers of every kind of craftsmanship and devisers of designs.

36 And Bezalel and Oholiab and everyone who is skilled of heart in whom Yahweh has put wisdom and skill to know and to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary—they will do it, according to all that Yahweh has commanded.”

Making the Tabernacle

² And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and everyone skilled of heart, in whose heart Yahweh had put skill, all whose heart lifted him to come near to the work in order to do it. ³ And they took from Moses all the contributions that the _⌊Israelites_⌋ had brought for the work of the service for the sanctuary in order to do it, and they still brought to him voluntary offerings _⌊every morning_⌋. ⁴ And all the skilled workers who were doing all the work for the sanctuary came, _⌊each_⌋ from his work that they were doing. ⁵ And they said to Moses, saying, “The people are _⌊bringing more_⌋ than enough for the service of the work that Yahweh has commanded _⌊to be done_⌋.” ⁶ And Moses commanded, and they _⌊proclaimed the message_⌋ in the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman again make anything for the sanctuary contribution.” And so the people were restrained from bringing. ⁷ And the material was enough for doing all the work, and it was left over.

⁸ And all who were skilled of heart among the doers of the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue and purple and crimson yarns, with cherubim; he made them, the work of a skilled craftsman. ⁹ The length of the one curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width was four cubits for the one curtain; one measurement was for all the curtains. ¹⁰ And he joined five of the curtains _⌊one to another_⌋, and five curtains he joined _⌊one to another_⌋. ¹¹ And he made loops of blue on the edge of the one curtain, at the end in the set; so he did on the edge of the end curtain in the second set. ¹² He made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the end of the curtain that was in the second set; the loops were opposite _⌊one to another_⌋. ¹³ And he made fifty gold clasps and joined the curtains _⌊one to another_⌋ with the clasps, so that the tabernacle was one.

¹⁴ And he made curtains of goat hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made them eleven curtains. ¹⁵ The length of the one curtain was thirty cubits, and the width was four cubits for the one curtain; one measure was for the eleven curtains. ¹⁶ And he joined five curtains together and six curtains together. ¹⁷ And he made fifty loops on the edge of the end curtain in the set, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain in the second set. ¹⁸ And he made fifty bronze clasps for joining the tent to become one.

¹⁹ And he made a covering for the tent of red-dyed ram skin and a covering of fine leather to go above.

²⁰ And he made the frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood as uprights. ²¹ The length of the frame was ten cubits, and the width of the one frame was one and a half cubits. ²² He made two _⌊pegs_⌋ for the one frame for joining _⌊one to another_⌋ and likewise for all the frames of the tabernacle. ²³ And he made the frames for the tabernacle with twenty frames for the south side. ²⁴ And he made forty silver bases under the twenty frames, with two bases under the one frame for its two _⌊pegs_⌋ and two bases under the _⌊next_⌋ frame for its two _⌊pegs_⌋. ²⁵ And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty frames ²⁶ and their forty silver bases, with two bases under the one frame and two bases under the _⌊next_⌋ frame.

²⁷ And for the rear of the tabernacle _⌊on the west_⌋ he made six frames. ²⁸ And he made two frames for the tabernacle corners at the rear. ²⁹ And they were double at the bottom, and they were completely together on its top to the one ring; he did likewise for the two of them, for the two corners. ³⁰ And there were eight frames and their sixteen silver bases, two bases, two bases under the one frame.

³¹ And he made five bars of acacia wood for the frames on the one side of the tabernacle, ³² and five bars for the frames on the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames at the rear _⌊on the west_⌋. ³³ And he made the middle bar to run in the midst of the frames from end to end. ³⁴ And he overlaid the frames with gold, and he made their rings of gold as _⌊holders_⌋ for the bars, and he overlaid the bars with gold. ³⁵ And he made the curtain of blue and purple and crimson yarns and finely twisted linen, the work of a craftsman; he made it with cherubim. ³⁶ And he made for it four acacia pillars, and he overlaid them with gold, with their gold hooks, and he cast for them four silver bases.

³⁷ And he made for the entrance of the tent a screen of blue and purple and crimson yarns and finely twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer, ³⁸ and the five pillars and their hooks, and he overlaid their tops and their connections with gold, and their five bases were bronze.

Making the Ark of the Covenant

37 And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits its length and a cubit and a half its width and a cubit and a half its height. ² And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and he made for it a gold molding all around. ³ And he cast for it four gold rings on its four feet; and two rings were on its one side, and two rings were on its second side. ⁴ And he made poles of acacia wood, and he overlaid them with gold. ⁵ And he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.

⁶ And he made an atonement cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits its length and a cubit and a half its width. ⁷ And he made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work at the two ends of the atonement cover. ⁸ One cherub was _⌊at one end_⌋, and one cherub was _⌊at the other end_⌋ of the atonement cover; he made the cherubim at its two ends. ⁹ And the cherubim were with outspread wings above, covering with their wings over the atonement cover _⌊and facing each other_⌋; the faces of the cherubim were toward the atonement cover.

Making the Table and the Lampstand

¹⁰ And he made the table of acacia wood, two cubits its length and a cubit its width and a cubit and a half its height. ¹¹ And he overlaid it with pure gold, and he made for it a gold molding all around. ¹² And he made for it a handbreadth rim all around, and he made a gold molding for its rim all around. ¹³ And he cast for it four gold rings, and he put the rings on the four corners where its four _⌊legs_⌋ were. ¹⁴ The rings were near the rim as _⌊holders_⌋ for the poles to carry the table. ¹⁵ And he made the poles of acacia wood, and he overlaid them with gold to carry the table. ¹⁶ And he made the vessels that were on the table—its plates and its ladles, and its bowls and its pitchers with which libations were poured—of pure gold.

¹⁷ And he made the lampstand of pure gold; he made the lampstand of hammered work—its base and its branch, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were _⌊all part of it_⌋. ¹⁸ And six branches were going out from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its second side. ¹⁹ Three almond-flower cups were on the one branch with a bud and a blossom, and three almond-flower cups were on the one branch with a bud and a blossom—likewise for the six branches going out from the lampstand. ²⁰ And on the lampstand were four almond-flower cups, with its buds and its blossoms. ²¹ And a bud was under the two branches that came from it, and a bud under the two branches from it, and a bud under the two branches from it, likewise for the six branches coming out from the lampstand. ²² Their buds and their branches were from it, all of it one piece of pure gold, hammered work. ²³ And he made its seven lamps and its snuffers and its fire pans of pure gold. ²⁴ He made it from a talent of pure gold and all its pieces of equipment.

Making the Incense Altar and Anointing Oil

²⁵ And he made the incense altar of acacia wood, a cubit its length and a cubit its width—a square—and two cubits its height; its horns were _⌊of one piece with it_⌋. ²⁶ And he overlaid it with pure gold—its top and its sides all around and its horns—and he made for it a gold molding all around. ²⁷ And he made for it two gold rings under its molding _⌊on two opposite sides_⌋ as _⌊holders_⌋ for poles to carry it with them. ²⁸ And he made the poles of acacia wood, and he overlaid them with gold. ²⁹ And he made the holy anointing oil and the pure fragrant incense—work of a perfumer.

Making the Bronze Altar and the Basin

38 And he made the burnt-offering altar of acacia wood; its length was five cubits, and its width was five cubits—it was square—and its height was three cubits. ² And he made its horns on its four corners; its horns were _⌊of one piece with it_⌋; and he overlaid it with bronze. ³ And he made all the equipment of the altar—the pots and the shovels and the sprinkling bowls and the forks and the fire pans—all its equipment he made with bronze. ⁴ And he made for the altar a grating, a work of bronze network under its ledge, below, up to its middle. ⁵ And he cast four rings on the four ends of the bronze grating as _⌊holders_⌋ for the poles. ⁶ And he made the poles of acacia wood, and he overlaid them with bronze. ⁷ And he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it with them. He made it hollow with boards.

⁸ And he made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the entrance of the tent of assembly.

Making the Courtyard

⁹ And he made the courtyard; for the south side were the hangings of the court of finely twisted linen, one hundred cubits, ¹⁰ with their twenty pillars and their twenty bases of bronze and with the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver. ¹¹ And for the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits with their twenty pillars and their twenty bases of bronze and with the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver. ¹² And for the _⌊west_⌋ side fifty cubits of hangings with their ten pillars and their ten bases and with the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver. ¹³ And for the eastward side, toward sunrise, fifty cubits; ¹⁴ fifteen cubits of hangings were to the shoulder, with their three pillars and their three bases, ¹⁵ and for the second shoulder _⌊on each side_⌋ of the gate of the courtyard were fifteen cubits of hangings, with their three pillars and their three bases. ¹⁶ All the hangings of the courtyard all around were finely twisted linen, ¹⁷ and the bases for the pillars were bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, and the overlay of their tops was silver, and all the pillars of the courtyard were banded with silver.

¹⁸ And the screen of the gate of the courtyard was the work of an embroiderer, with blue and purple and crimson yarns and finely twisted linen; it was twenty cubits long and five cubits _⌊high_⌋, like the hangings of the courtyard, ¹⁹ and with their four pillars and their four bases of bronze, with their silver hooks and with their tops and their bands of silver. ²⁰ And all the _⌊pegs_⌋ for the tabernacle and for the courtyard all around were bronze.

PROPHETS

Ezekiel 36:16–21 (LEB)

For the sake of my Holy Name which you have been profaning

¹⁶ And the word of Yahweh came to me, _⌊saying_⌋, ¹⁷ “Son of man, the house of Israel, they were dwelling on their soil, and they defiled it with their way and with their deeds; like the uncleanness of menstruation was their way _⌊before me_⌋. ¹⁸ And I poured out my rage on them for the blood that they poured on the land and for their idols with which they defiled it. ¹⁹ And I scattered them among the nations, and I dispersed them in the countries according to their way, and according to their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ And they came into the nations _⌊to which they went_⌋, and they profaned _⌊my holy name_⌋ when they said to them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, and from his land they went out.’ ²¹ And I was concerned for _⌊my holy name_⌋, which, the house of Israel defiled among the nations _⌊to which they went_⌋.

Ezekiel 36:22–38 (LEB)

I will put my Spirit inside you

²² “Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “_⌊Not for your sake_⌋ am I about to act, house of Israel, _⌊but_{⌋ ⌊}for my holy name_⌋, which you defiled among the nations _⌊to which you went_⌋. ²³ And I will consecrate my great name, which was profaned among the nations and which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the nations will know that I am Yahweh!” ’ a declaration of the Lord Yahweh, _⌊when I show myself holy_{⌋ ⌊}before_⌋ their eyes.

²⁴ “ ‘And I will take you from the nations, and I will gather you from all of the lands, and I will bring you to your land. ²⁵ And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. ²⁶ And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give into your inner parts, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will give my spirit into your inner parts, and I will make it so that you will go in my rules, and my regulations you will remember, and you will do them. ²⁸ And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors, and you will be to me as a people, and I will be to you as God. ²⁹ And I will save you from all of your uncleanness, and I will call to the grain, and I will cause it to increase, and I will not bring famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will cause the fruit of the tree and the crop of the field to increase, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations. ³¹ And you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe _⌊yourself_⌋ over your iniquities and over your detestable things. ³² But not for your sake am I acting,” _⌊declares_⌋ the Lord Yahweh. “Let it be known to you, be ashamed, and be put to shame because of your ways, house of Israel.

³³ “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘On the day when I cleanse you from all of your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt. ³⁴ And the land that was desolate will be cultivated in _⌊the very place that_⌋ it was desolate before the eyes of all of the persons crossing over. ³⁵ And they will say, “_⌊This desolate land_⌋ has become like the garden of Eden, and the wasted and desolate and destroyed cities, now being refortified, are inhabited.” ³⁶ And the nations who are left all around, you will know that I, Yahweh, I built _⌊that which was destroyed_⌋; I planted the desolate land; I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act.’

³⁷ “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Again this time I will let _⌊myself be inquired of_⌋ by the house of Israel, to do something for them; I will cause them to increase _⌊their population like a flock_⌋. ³⁸ Like the flock of the sanctuary, like the flock of Jerusalem at its festival, so the desolate cities will be filled with flocks of people; and they will know that I am Yahweh.’ ”

GOSPEL

John 11:1–16 (LEB)

Lazarus Dies

11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) ³ So the sisters sent word* to him, saying, “Lord, behold, the one whom you love is sick.” ⁴ And when he* heard it,* Jesus said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, in order that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵ (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) ⁶ So when he heard that he was sick, then he remained in the place _⌊where_⌋ he was two days.

⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were seeking just now to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus replied, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks around in the daylight, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if anyone walks around in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. ¹¹ He said these things, and after this he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I can awaken him.” ¹² So the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.” ¹³ (Now Jesus had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was speaking about _⌊real sleep_⌋.) ¹⁴ So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and I am glad _⌊for your sake_⌋ that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶ Then Thomas (the one who is called Didymus) said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go also, so that we may die with him.”

John 11:17–27 (LEB)

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ So when he* arrived, Jesus found he had already been four days in the tomb. ¹⁸ (Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia. ¹⁹ So many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary in order to console them concerning their* brother.) ²⁰ Now Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹ So Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will grant you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die _⌊forever_⌋. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

John 11:28–37 (LEB)

Jesus Weeps

²⁸ And when she* had said this, she went and called her sister Mary privately, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ So that one, when she heard it,* got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰ (Now Jesus has not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha went to meet him.) ³¹ So the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they* saw Mary—that she stood up quickly and went out—followed her, because they* thought that she was going to the tomb in order to weep there.

³² Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and* saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ Then Jesus, when he saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled within himself. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews were saying, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Was not this man who opened the eyes of the blind able to do something* so that this man also would not have died?”

John 11:38–44 (LEB)

Lazarus Is Raised

³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved within himself again, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying on it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the one who had died, said to him, “Lord, he is stinking already, because it has been four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his* eyes above and said, “Father, I give thanks to you that you hear me. ⁴² And I know that you always hear me, but for the sake of the crowd standing around I said it,* so that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ And when he* had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The one who had died came out, his* feet and his* hands bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped with a facecloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

John 11:45–56 (LEB)

The Jewish Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵ Then many of the Jews who had come with Mary and saw the things which he did believed in him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs! ⁴⁸ If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

⁴⁹ But a certain one of them, Caiaphas (who was high priest in that year), said to them, “You do not know anything at all! ⁵⁰ Nor do you consider that it is profitable for you that one man should die for the people, and the whole nation not perish.” ⁵¹ (Now he did not say this from himself, but being high priest in that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but also that the children of God who are scattered would be gathered into one.) ⁵³ So from that day they resolved that they should kill him. ⁵⁴ So Jesus was no longer walking openly among the Jews, but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem from the surrounding country before the Passover, so that they could purify themselves. ⁵⁶ So they were looking for Jesus, and were speaking with one another while* standing in the temple courts,* “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”

REVELATION