Exodus 37
1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was 45 inches, its width 27 inches, and its height 27 inches. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold, inside and out, and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it that he put on its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 4 He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold, 5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark.
6 He made an atonement lid of pure gold; its length was 45 inches, and its width was 27 inches. 7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid, 8 one cherub on one end and one cherub on the other end. He made the cherubim from the atonement lid on its two ends. 9 The cherubim were spreading their wings upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the atonement lid.
10 Bezalel made the table of acacia wood; its length was 36 inches, its width 18 inches, and its height 27 inches. 11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 12 He made a surrounding frame for it about three inches wide, and he made a surrounding border of gold for its frame. 13 He cast four gold rings for it and attached the rings at the four corners where its four legs were. 14 The rings were close to the frame to provide places for the poles to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. 16 He made the vessels which were on the table out of pure gold, its plates, its ladles, its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings.
17 Bezalel made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were from the same piece. 18 Six branches were extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. 19 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the next branch, and the same for the six branches that were extending from the lampstand. 20 On the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 21 with a bud under the first two branches from it, and a bud under the next two branches from it, and a bud under the third two branches from it; according to the six branches that extended from it. 22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece; all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold. 23 He made its seven lamps, its trimmers, and its trays of pure gold. 24 He made the lampstand and all its accessories with seventy-five pounds of pure gold.
25 Bezalel made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was 18 inches and its width 18 inches—a square—and its height was 36 inches. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26 He overlaid it with pure gold—its top, its four walls, and its horns—and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 27 He also made two gold rings for it under its border, on its two sides, on opposite sides, as places for poles to carry it with. 28 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29 He made the sacred anointing oil and the pure fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.
John 16
1 “I have told you all these things so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue, yet a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 They will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 But I have told you these things so that when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.
“I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Instead your hearts are filled with sadness because I have said these things to you. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment— 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you what is to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what is mine and will tell it to you. 16 In a little while you will see me no longer; again after a little while, you will see me.”
17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, ‘In a little while you will not see me; again after a little while, you will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they kept on repeating, “What is the meaning of what he says, ‘In a little while’? We do not understand what he is talking about.”
19 Jesus could see that they wanted to ask him about these things, so he said to them, “Are you asking each other about this—that I said, ‘In a little while you will not see me; again after a little while, you will see me’? 20 I tell you the solemn truth, you will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy. 21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. 23 At that time you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it, so that your joy may be complete.
25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; a time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 At that time you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn, I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly and not in obscure figures of speech! 30 Now we know that you know everything and do not need anyone to ask you anything. Because of this we believe that you have come from God.”
31 Jesus replied, “Do you now believe? 32 Look, a time is coming—and has come—when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, and I will be left alone. Yet I am not alone, because my Father is with me. 33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.”
Proverbs 13
1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,
but a scoffer has never listened to rebuke.
2 From the fruit of his speech a person eats good things,
but the treacherous desire the fruit of violence.
3 The one who guards his words guards his life;
whoever is talkative will come to ruin.
4 The appetite of the sluggard craves but gets nothing,
but the desire of the diligent will be abundantly satisfied.
5 The righteous person will reject anything false,
but the wicked person will act in shameful disgrace.
6 Righteousness guards the one who lives with integrity,
but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
7 There is one who pretends to be rich and yet has nothing;
another pretends to be poor and yet possesses great wealth.
8 The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth,
thus the poor person has never heard a threat.
9 The light of the righteous shines brightly,
but the lamp of the wicked goes out.
10 With pride comes only contention,
but wisdom is with the well-advised.
11 Wealth gained quickly will dwindle away,
but the one who gathers it little by little will become rich.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.
13 The one who despises instruction will pay the penalty,
but whoever esteems direction will be rewarded.
14 Instruction from the wise is like a life-giving fountain,
to turn a person from deadly snares.
15 Keen insight wins favor,
but the conduct of the treacherous ends in destruction.
16 Every shrewd person acts with knowledge,
but a fool displays his folly.
17 An unreliable messenger falls into trouble,
but a faithful envoy brings healing.
18 The one who neglects discipline ends up in poverty and shame,
but the one who accepts reproof is honored.
19 A desire fulfilled will be sweet to the soul,
but fools abhor turning away from evil.
20 The one who associates with the wise grows wise,
but a companion of fools suffers harm.
21 Calamity pursues sinners,
but prosperity rewards the righteous.
22 A good person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren,
but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.
23 Abundant food may come from the field of the poor,
but it is swept away by injustice.
24 The one who spares his rod hates his child,
but the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining him.
25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy his appetite,
but the belly of the wicked will be empty.
Ephesians 6
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment accompanied by a promise, namely, 3 “that it will go well with you and that you will live a long time on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ, 6 not like those who do their work only when someone is watching—as people-pleasers—but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart. 7 Obey with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord and not people, 8 because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this will be rewarded by the Lord.
9 Masters, treat your slaves the same way, giving up the use of threats, because you know that both you and they have the same master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, 16 and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God). 18 With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and petitions for all the saints. 19 Pray for me also, that I may be given the right words when I begin to speak—that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak.
21 Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you, so that you too may know about my circumstances, how I am doing. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.
23 Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
