EXODUS 27

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The Bronze Altar  27:1 “You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. 2 And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. 3 You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. 6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 And the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 You shall make it hollow, with boards. As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made. The Court of the Tabernacle9 “You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. 10 Its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, its pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. 13 The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 On the other side the hangings shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 16 For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases. 17 All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. 18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze. Oil for the Lamp20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.

PSALM 32

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Blessed Are the ForgivenA Maskil of David.
32:1

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered. 2

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long. 4

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5

I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6

Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him. 7

You are a hiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.
10

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,

and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

PSALM 33

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The Steadfast Love of the Lord33:1

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!

Praise befits the upright. 2

Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4

For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

he puts the deeps in storehouses.
8

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.
10

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11

The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations. 12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
13

The Lord looks down from heaven;

he sees all the children of man; 14

from where he sits enthroned he looks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15

he who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds. 16

The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17

The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19

that he may deliver their soul from death

and keep them alive in famine.
20

Our soul waits for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield. 21

For our heart is glad in him,

because we trust in his holy name. 22

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.

PROVERBS 20

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20:1

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,

and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. 2

The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;

whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life. 3

It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,

but every fool will be quarreling. 4

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;

he will seek at harvest and have nothing. 5

The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,

but a man of understanding will draw it out. 6

Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,

but a faithful man who can find? 7

The righteous who walks in his integrity—

blessed are his children after him! 8

A king who sits on the throne of judgment

winnows all evil with his eyes. 9

Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;

I am clean from my sin”? 10

Unequal weights and unequal measures

are both alike an abomination to the Lord. 11

Even a child makes himself known by his acts,

by whether his conduct is pure and upright. 12

The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

the Lord has made them both. 13

Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;

open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. 14

“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

but when he goes away, then he boasts. 15

There is gold and abundance of costly stones,

but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. 16

Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners. 17

Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,

but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel. 18

Plans are established by counsel;

by wise guidance wage war. 19

Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;

therefore do not associate with a simple babbler. 20

If one curses his father or his mother,

his lamp will be put out in utter darkness. 21

An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning

will not be blessed in the end. 22

Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. 23

Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,

and false scales are not good. 24

A man’s steps are from the Lord;

how then can man understand his way? 25

It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”

and to reflect only after making vows. 26

A wise king winnows the wicked

and drives the wheel over them. 27

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,

searching all his innermost parts. 28

Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,

and by steadfast love his throne is upheld. 29

The glory of young men is their strength,

but the splendor of old men is their gray hair. 30

Blows that wound cleanse away evil;

strokes make clean the innermost parts.