Exodus 30
The Altar of Incense
1 “Now you shall make an altar of incense of incorruptible wood.
2 You shall make it a cubit in length and a cubit in width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.
3 You shall overlay its grating, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a rim of gold all around.
4 Two gold rings you shall make for it under the molded rim on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it.
5 You shall make the poles of incorruptible wood and overlay them with gold.
6 You shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the testimonies, where I will make Myself known to you.
7 Aaron shall burn on it fine compounded incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.
8 When Aaron lights the lamps in the evening, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.
9 You shall not offer strange incense on it, or an offering made by fire, or a sacrifice; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it.
10 Now Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year, purging it with the blood of purification throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.Ӡ
Gifts of Money
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12 “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for his soul to the Lord, so there may be no plague among them when you number them.
13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a drachma according to the drachma of the sanctuary (a drachma is twenty obols). The half-drachma shall be an offering to the Lord.
14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord.
15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a drachma when you give an offering to the Lord to make atonement for your souls.
16 You shall take the money of the offering of the children of Israel and shall give it for the ser-vice of the tabernacle of testimony, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord to make atonement for your souls.”
A Laver of Bronze
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
18 “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of testimony and the altar. You shall put water in it,
19 for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet with water from it.
20 When they go into the tabernacle of testimony, they shall wash with water, lest they die, or when they come near the altar to minister and to offer whole burnt offerings to the Lord.
21 So they shall wash their hands and feet with water when they go into the tabernacle of testimony, lest they die. It shall be an ordinance forever to them—for him and his genealogy after him.”
Holy Oil for Anointing
22 Furthermore the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
23 “Also take for yourself aromatic spices, the flower of costly myrrh—five hundred shekels’ worth—and fragrant cinnamon—half as much, two hundred and fifty, and two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling calamus,
24 and five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.
25 You shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of testimony and the ark of the tabernacle of testimony;
27 and the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense;
28 and the altar of whole burnt offerings with all its utensils, and the table and all its utensils, and the laver and its base.
29 You shall sanctify them so they may be most holy; whatever touches them will be holy.
30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may minister to Me as priests.
31 You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil throughout your generations.
32 It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any like it according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’ ”
Incense
34 And the Lord said to Moses, “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and sweet galbanum, and pure frankincense; there shall be equal amounts of each.
35 You shall make of these perfumed incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, mixed, pure, and holy.
36 And you shall beat some of it very fine and put some of it before the testimonies in the tabernacle of testimony, where I will make Myself known to you. It shall be a most holy incense to you.
37 You shall not make any for yourselves according to this composition. It shall be to you a holy thing for the Lord.
38 Whoever makes any like it to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”
Psalms 69
1 For the End; by David; in remembrance, †
2 that the Lord may save me. O God, make haste to help me.
3 May those who seek my soul be dishonored and shamed; May those who plot evils against me be turned back and disgraced;
4 May those be turned back immediately Who shame me, saying, “Well done! Well done!”
5 May all who seek You greatly rejoice and be glad in You, And let those who love Your salvation always say, “Let God be magnified.”
6 But I am poor and needy; O God, help me. You are my helper and deliverer, O Lord; do not delay.
Proverbs of Solomon 14
16 A wise man fears and turns away from evil, But a man without discernment persuades himself to mingle with a lawless man.
17 A quick-tempered man acts with recklessness, But a man with discernment bears many things.†
18 Men without discernment will share in evil, But the astute will take hold of perception.†
19 Evil men will slip and fall in the presence of good men, And the ungodly shall serve at the gate of the righteous.
20 Friends will hate poor friends, But the friends of the rich are many.
Mark 16
The Empty Tomb
1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.†
2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3 And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.†
5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”†
8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.†
The Risen Christ Appears
9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.†
10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.
11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.†
13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
The Great Commission
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.†
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;†
18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.Ӡ
The Ascension
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.†
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.