23. Pekudei

Parasha 23: Pekudei

Exodus 38:21–40:38 (LEB)

Amounts of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Used

²¹ These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which were recorded at the _⌊command of_⌋ Moses, the work of the Levites, in the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ²² And Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, did all that Yahweh commanded Moses. ²³ And with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, a skilled craftsman and a designer and an embroiderer with the blue and with the purple and with the crimson yarns and with the linen.

²⁴ And all the gold used for the work, in the work of the sanctuary, it was the gold of the wave offering—twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

²⁵ And the silver recorded from the community was a hundred talents and a thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. ²⁶ It was a bekah for the individual, the half shekel according to the sanctuary shekel, for _⌊everyone who was counted_⌋, from _⌊twenty years old_⌋ and above, for six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. ²⁷ And it was one hundred talents of the silver to cast the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the curtain—one hundred bases for one hundred talents of silver, a talent for each base. ²⁸ And from the thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and he overlaid their tops, and he made bands for them.

²⁹ And the bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels. ³⁰ And he made with it the bases of the entrance of the tent of assembly and the bronze altar and the bronze grating that belonged to it and all the equipment of the altar ³¹ and the bases of the courtyard all around and the bases of the gate of the courtyard and all the _⌊pegs_⌋ of the tabernacle and all the _⌊pegs_⌋ of the courtyard all around.

Making Garments for Priests

39 And from the blue and the purple and the crimson yarns they made woven garments for serving in the sanctuary, and they made the holy garments that were for Aaron, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. ² And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple and crimson yarns, and finely twisted linen. ³ And he hammered out the leaves of gold, and he cut off cords to weave in the midst of the blue and in the midst of the purple and in the midst of the crimson and in the midst of the linen—the work of a skilled craftsman. ⁴ They made joined shoulder pieces for it; it was joined on its two edges. ⁵ And the waistband of his ephod, which _⌊was of one piece with it_⌋, was of like work, gold, blue, and purple and crimson yarns, and finely twisted linen, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. ⁶ And they made onyx stones mounted in gold filigree settings, engraved with seal engravings according to the names of the _⌊Israelites_⌋. ⁷ And he set them on the ephod’s shoulder pieces as stones of remembrance for the _⌊Israelites_⌋, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

⁸ And he made the breast piece, the work of a skilled craftsman, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple and crimson yarns, and finely twisted linen. ⁹ It was squared; they made the breast piece doubled; its length was a span, and its width was a span when doubled. ¹⁰ And they filled it with four rows of stone; a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald was the first row; ¹¹ and the second row was a malachite, a sapphire, and a moonstone; ¹² and the third row was a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ and the fourth row was a turquoise, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set with gold filigree settings in their mountings. ¹⁴ And the stones were according to the names of the _⌊Israelites_⌋; they were twelve according to their names, with seal engravings, each according to its name for the twelve tribes.

¹⁵ And they made on the breast piece braided chains, a work of pure gold ornamental cord. ¹⁶ And they made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and they put the two rings on the two edges of the breast piece. ¹⁷ And they put the two gold ornamental cords on the two rings on the edges of the breast piece. ¹⁸ And they put the two ends of the two ornamental cords on the two filigree settings, and they put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. ¹⁹ And they made two gold rings, and they placed them on the two edges of the breast piece, on its lip that is on _⌊the other side_⌋ of the ephod, _⌊to the inside_⌋. ²⁰ And they made two gold rings and put them on the ephod’s two shoulder pieces below, at its front near its seam above the waistband of the ephod. ²¹ And they tied the breast piece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord so that the breast piece would be on the waistband of the ephod and not come loose from the ephod, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

²² And he made the robe of the ephod, weaver’s work, totally of blue yarn. ²³ And the opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening of a sturdy garment, with an edge for its opening all around so that it would not be torn. ²⁴ And they made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of finely twisted blue and purple and crimson. ²⁵ And they made pure gold bells and put the bells in the midst of the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around in the midst of the pomegranates, ²⁶ a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate on the hem of the robe all around for serving, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

²⁷ And they made the tunics of fine linen, a weaver’s work, for Aaron and for his sons, ²⁸ and the turban of fine linen and the headdresses of the headbands of fine linen and undergarments of the linen cloth, finely twisted, ²⁹ and the sash of finely twisted linen and blue and purple and crimson yarns, the work of an embroiderer, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

³⁰ And they made the rosette of the holy diadem of pure gold, and they wrote on it with the writing of seal engravings: “A holy object for Yahweh.” ³¹ And they put a blue cord on it to put it above on the turban, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Preparations Complete

³² And all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of assembly was finished, and the _⌊Israelites_⌋ had done according to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses; so they did. ³³ And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its equipment, its hooks, its frames, its bars, and its pillars and its bases; ³⁴ and the covering of the red-dyed ram skins and the covering of fine leather and the curtain of the screen; ³⁵ the ark of the testimony and its poles and the atonement cover; ³⁶ the table, all its equipment, and the bread of the presence; ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand, its lamps—the lamps of the row—and all its equipment and the oil of the light; ³⁸ the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the screen of the entrance of the tent; ³⁹ the bronze altar, and the bronze grating that is for it, its poles, and all its equipment, the basin and its stand, ⁴⁰ the hangings of the courtyard, its pillars, and its bases; and the screen for the courtyard gate, its tent cords and its _⌊pegs_⌋; and all the equipment of the service of the tabernacle for the tent of assembly, ⁴¹ the woven garments for serving in the sanctuary—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons to serve as priests. ⁴² According to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses, so the _⌊Israelites_⌋ did all the work. ⁴³ And Moses saw all the work, and, indeed, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded; so they did, and Moses blessed them.

Completion of the Tabernacle

40 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “On the first day of the month, you will set up the tabernacle of the tent of assembly. ³ And you will put there the ark of the testimony, and you will cover over the ark with the curtain. ⁴ And you will bring the table, and you will arrange its setting, and you will bring the lampstand, and you will set up its lamps. ⁵ And you will put the gold altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and you will set up the entrance screen for the tabernacle. ⁶ And you will put the altar of the burnt offering before the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of assembly. ⁷ And you will put the basin between the tent of assembly and the altar, and you will put water _⌊in it_⌋. ⁸ And you will set up the courtyard all around, and you will put up the screen of the gate of the courtyard.

⁹ “And you will take the anointing oil, and you will anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and you will consecrate all of its equipment, and it will be holy. ¹⁰ And you will anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all of its equipment, and you will consecrate the altar, and the altar will be a most holy thing. ¹¹ And you will anoint the basin and its stand, and you will consecrate it. ¹² And you will bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of assembly, and you will wash them with the water. ¹³ And you will clothe Aaron with the holy garments, and you will anoint him, and you will consecrate him, and he will serve as a priest for me. ¹⁴ And you will bring his sons, and you will clothe them with tunics. ¹⁵ And you will anoint them as you anointed their father, and they will serve as priests for me. And their anointing will be for them to be a lasting priesthood throughout their generations.” ¹⁶ And Moses did according to all that Yahweh had commanded him; so he did.

¹⁷ _⌊In_⌋ the first month of the second year, on the first of the month, the tabernacle was set up. ¹⁸ And Moses raised the tabernacle, and he placed its bases, and he set up its frames, and he placed its bars, and he raised its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread the tent over the tabernacle; he placed the covering of the tent over it, above it, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. ²⁰ And he took and he put the testimony into the ark, and he placed the poles on the ark, and he put the atonement cover on the ark, above it. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and he set up the curtain of the screening, and he shielded the ark of the testimony, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

²² And he put the table in the tent of assembly on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain. ²³ And he arranged on it an arrangement of bread before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. ²⁴ And he placed the lampstand in the tent of assembly opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle. ²⁵ And he set up the lamps before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. ²⁶ And he placed the gold altar in the tent of assembly before the curtain. ²⁷ And he turned fragrant incense into smoke on it, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

²⁸ And he set up the entrance screen for the tabernacle. ²⁹ And the altar of burnt offering he placed at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of assembly, and he offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. ³⁰ And he placed the basin between the tent of assembly and the altar, and he put there water for washing. ³¹ And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet from it. ³² At their going into the tent of assembly and at their approaching the altar, they washed, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

³³ And he set up the courtyard all around the tabernacle and the altar, and he put up the screen of the gate of the courtyard, and Moses completed the work. ³⁴ And the cloud covered the tent of assembly, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was unable to go into the tent of assembly because the cloud settled on it and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ And when the cloud was lifted from the tabernacle, the _⌊Israelites_⌋ set out on all their journeys. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not lifted, they did not set out until the day of its being lifted. ³⁸ For the cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night before the eyes of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

PROPHETS

Ezekiel 45:16–46:18 (LEB)

¹⁶ “All of the people of the land shall join in to this contribution with the prince in Israel.

¹⁷ “But on the prince shall be the responsibility for the burnt offerings, and the grain offering, and the libation at the feasts, and at the New Moon festivals, and at the Sabbaths at all of the assemblies of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, and the grain offering, and the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering to make atonement for the house of Israel. ¹⁸ Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘On the first month on the first day of the month, you shall take a bull, _⌊a calf_⌋ without defect, and you shall purify the sanctuary. ¹⁹ And the priest shall take from the blood of the sin offering, and he shall put it on the doorframe of the temple and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the doorframe of the gate of the inner courtyard. ²⁰ And so you shall do on the seventh day in the month for anyone doing wrong inadvertently or due to ignorance, and so you must make atonement for the temple.

²¹ In the first month, on the _⌊fourteenth_⌋ day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast lasting for _⌊seven days_⌋, when you shall eat unleavened breads. ²² And the prince shall provide on that day for himself and for all of the people of the land a bull as a sin offering. ²³ And during the seven days of the religious feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to Yahweh seven bulls and seven rams without defect for each of the seven days, and as a sin offering a he-goat for each day. ²⁴ And as a grain offering, an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram he must provide, and a hin of olive oil for _⌊each_⌋ ephah. ²⁵ In the seventh month, on the _⌊fifteenth_⌋ day of the month, during the feast, he shall provide just as he has for these seven days, as he did for the sin offering, as he did for the burnt offering, and as he did for the grain offering, and as he did for the olive oil.’ ”

46 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “The gate of the inner courtyard facing east must be shut on the six of the days for work, but on the day of the Sabbath it must be opened and on the day of the new moon it must be opened. ² And the prince shall come by way of the portico of the gate from the outside, and he shall stand at the doorframe of the gate and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings, and he shall bow down at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be closed until the evening. ³ And the people of the land will bow down at the doorway of that gate on the Sabbaths and on the new moons _⌊before_⌋ Yahweh.

⁴ And the burnt offering which the prince will offer to Yahweh on the Sabbath day must be six male lambs without defect and a ram without defect. ⁵ And the grain offering he will give shall be an ephah _⌊for each ram_⌋, and for the male lambs the grain offering shall be _⌊as much as he wants to give_⌋ and a hin of olive oil _⌊for each ephah_⌋. ⁶ And on the day of the new moon he will offer a bull, _⌊a calf_⌋ without defect and six male lambs and a ram; they must be without defect. ⁷ And an ephah for each bull and an ephah for the ram he must provide as a grain offering, and also for the male lambs _⌊as much as he can afford_⌋ and a hin of olive oil for each ephah.

⁸ And when the prince comes, on the way of the portico of the gate he shall come and by this way he shall go out. ⁹ And when the people of the land come _⌊before_⌋ Yahweh at the festivals, the one coming by way of the gate of the north to bow down must go out by the way of the gate of the south, and the one coming by way of the gate of the south must go out by the way of the gate of the north, so he must not return by the way of the gate by which he came, but before it he shall go out opposite it. ¹⁰ And the prince will be in the midst of them; he will come in when they come in, and when they go out he will go out.

¹¹ And at the festivals and at the appointed times, the grain offering will be an ephah with a bull and an ephah with the ram and with the male lambs, _⌊as much as he wants to give_⌋, and a hin of olive oil _⌊for each ephah_⌋. ¹² And when the prince makes a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to Yahweh, the gate facing east will be open for him. And he must offer his burnt offering and his fellowship offering _⌊just as_⌋ he does on the day of the Sabbath, and then he must go out and the gate will shut _⌊after he goes out_⌋. ¹³ And a male lamb, _⌊a yearling_⌋ without defect, he must provide as a burnt offering _⌊daily_⌋ for Yahweh; _⌊every morning_⌋ he must provide it. ¹⁴ And a grain offering he must provide in addition to it _⌊every morning_⌋, a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of olive oil to moisten the finely milled flour as a grain offering to Yahweh _⌊as a perpetual statute_⌋. ¹⁵ So they must provide the male lamb and the grain offering and the olive oil _⌊every morning_{⌋ ⌊}as a regular burnt offering_⌋.”

¹⁶ Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “If the prince gives a gift to any one from among his sons, it is his inheritance and it will belong to his sons; it is their possession as an inheritance. ¹⁷ And if he give a gift from his inheritance to one from among his servants, then it will belong to him until the year of release, and then it will return to the prince. His inheritance with respect to his sons will be only for them. ¹⁸ But the prince shall not take from the inheritance of the people to rob them, separating them from their property; from his own property he shall bestow an inheritance on his sons, so that my people will not be driven away, any one, from his property.”

GOSPELS

Luke 22:1–13 (LEB)

The Chief Priests and Scribes Plot to Kill Jesus

22 Now the feast of Unleavened Bread (which is called Passover) was drawing near. ² And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they could destroy him, because they were afraid of the people.

Judas Arranges to Betray Jesus

³ And Satan entered into Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. ⁴ And he went away and* discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard how he could betray him to them. ⁵ And they were delighted, and came to an agreement with him to give him* money. ⁶ And he agreed, and began looking* for a favorable opportunity to betray him to them apart from the crowd.

Jesus’ Final Passover with the Disciples

⁷ And the day of the feast of Unleavened Bread came, on which it was necessary for the Passover lamb to be sacrificed. ⁸ And he sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and* prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.* ⁹ So they said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”* ¹⁰ And he said to them, “Behold, when* you have entered into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters. ¹¹ And you will say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ ¹² And he will show you a large furnished upstairs room. Make preparations there.” ¹³ So they went and* found everything* just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.