Making the Priestly Garments

1 From the ^oblue and purple and scarlet yarns they made ^pfinely woven garments,¹ for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, ^qas the Lord had commanded Moses.

2 ^rHe made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 3 And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design. 4 They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. 5 And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

6 They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. 7 And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

8 ^sHe made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span² its length and a span its breadth when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; 11 and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 17 And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 20 And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

22 ^tHe also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, 23 and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. 24 On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 25 They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates— 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

27 ^uThey also made the coats, woven of fine ^vlinen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the ^vturban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, 29 and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

30 ^wThey made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” 31 And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did ^xaccording to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 34 the covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins, and the ^yveil of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; 36 the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 37 ^zthe lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; 38 ^athe golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and ^bthe screen for the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; 40 ^cthe hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the ^dscreen for the gate of the court, its ^ecords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests. 42 ^fAccording to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses ^gblessed them.

The Tabernacle Erected

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the ^hfirst day of the first month you shall ⁱerect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall ^jscreen the ark with the veil. 4 And ^kyou shall bring in the table and arrange it, and ^lyou shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 ^mAnd you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 ⁿYou shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7 ^oand place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

9 “Then you shall take the ^panointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint ^qthe altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, ^rso that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 ^sThen you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 ^tand anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a ^uperpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

16 This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. 17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, ^vthe tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He ^wtook the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and ^xset up the veil of the screen, and screened ^ythe ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 ^zHe put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 ^aHe put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 ^band set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 ^cHe put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 ^dHe put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 ^eAnd he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the ^fgrain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 ^gHe set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and ^hAaron and his sons ⁱwashed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 ^jAnd he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So ^kMoses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

34 Then ^lthe cloud covered the tent of meeting, and ^mthe glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, ⁿwhenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But ^oif the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 ^aThe book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, ^bthe son of David, ^cthe son of Abraham.

2 ^dAbraham was the father of Isaac, and ^eIsaac the father of Jacob, and ^fJacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and ^gJudah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,¹ 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by ^hRahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and ⁱJesse the father of David the king.

And ^jDavid was the father of Solomon by ^kthe wife of Uriah, 7 and ^lSolomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,² 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, ^mand Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,³ and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and ⁿJosiah the father of ^oJechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: ^pJechoniah was the father of ^qShealtiel,⁴ and ^rShealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of ^sJoseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to ^tthe Christ fourteen generations.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Now the birth of ^uJesus Christ⁵ took place in this way. ^vWhen his mother Mary had been betrothed⁶ to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child ^wfrom the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling ^xto put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, ^yan angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and ^zyou shall call his name Jesus, ^afor he will save his people from their sins.” 22 ^bAll this took place ^cto fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

(which means, God ^fwith us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And ^ghe called his name Jesus.

The Visit of the Wise Men

1 Now ^hafter Jesus was born in ⁱBethlehem of Judea ^jin the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men⁷ from ^kthe east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born ^lking of the Jews? For we saw ^mhis star when it rose⁸ and have come to ⁿworship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where ^othe Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, ^rthey offered him gifts, ^sgold and ^tfrankincense and ^umyrrh. 12 And ^vbeing warned ^win a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

13 Now when they had departed, behold, ^xan angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. ^yThis was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ^z“Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Herod Kills the Children

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 ^aThen was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

The Return to Nazareth

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for ^dthose who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and ^ebeing warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called ^fNazareth, ^gso that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 ^hIn those days ⁱJohn the Baptist came preaching in ^jthe wilderness of Judea, 2 ^k“Repent, for ^lthe kingdom of heaven is at hand.”⁹ 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

4 Now John wore ^oa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was ^plocusts and ^qwild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^rconfessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of ^sthe Pharisees and ^tSadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^u“You brood of ^vvipers! Who warned you to flee from ^wthe wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit ^xin keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^y‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^zthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^aEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 ^b“I baptize you with water ^cfor repentance, but ^dhe who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you ^ewith the Holy Spirit and ^ffire. 12 His ^gwinnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and ^hgather his wheat into the barn, ⁱbut the chaff he will burn with ^junquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

13 ^kThen Jesus came ^lfrom Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 ^mJohn would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, ^othe heavens were opened to him,¹¹ and he ^psaw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, ^qa voice from heaven said, ^r“This is my beloved Son,¹² with whom I am well pleased.”