Bible in a Year.

On the forty-ninth day, Exodus 35–36 highlights the generosity of the people and the skill of the craftsmen in building the tabernacle. Leviticus 25 introduces the year of jubilee, a time of liberation and restoration. Psalm 82 denounces injustice among the powerful and urges the defense of the oppressed. These readings remind us that true worship is expressed in holiness, generosity, and social justice.

Chapter 35

1. And all the multitude of the children of Israel being gathered together, he said to them: These are the things which the Lord hath commanded to be done.

2. Six days you shall do work: the seventh day shall be holy unto you, the sabbath, and the rest of the Lord: he that shall do any work on it, shall be put to death.

3. You shall kindle no fire in any of your habitations on the sabbath day.

4. And Moses said to all the assembly of the children of Israel: This is the word the Lord hath commanded, saying:

5. Set aside with you firstfuits to the Lord. Let every one that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass,

6. Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, goats' hair,

7. And rams' skins dyed red, and violet coloured skins, setim wood,

8. And oil to maintain lights, and to make ointment, and most sweet incense.

9. Onyx stones, and precious stones, for the adorning of the ephod and the rational.

10. Whosoever of you is wise, let him come, and make that which the Lord hath commanded:

11. To wit, the tabernacle and the roof thereof, and the cover, the rings, and the board work with the oars, the pillars, and the sockets:

12. The ark and the staves, the propitiatory, and the veil that is drawn before it:

13. The table with the bars and the vessels, and the loaves of proposition:

14. The candlestick to bear up the lights, the vessels thereof and the lamps, and the oil for the nourishing of fires:

15. The altar of incense, and the bars, and the oil of unction and the incense of spices: the hanging at the door of the tabernacle:

16. The altar of holocaust, and its grate of brass, with the bars and vessels thereof: the laver and its foot:

17. The curtains of the court with the pillars and the sockets, the hanging in the doors of the entry,

18. The pins of the tabernacle and of the court with their little cords:

19. The vestments that are to be used in the ministry of the sanctuary, the vesture of Aaron the high priest, and of his sons, to do the office of priesthood to me.

20. And all the multitude of the children of Israel going out from the presence of Moses,

21. Offered firstfruits to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind, to make the work of the tabernacle of the testimony. Whatsoever was necessary to the service, and to the holy vestments,

22. Both men and women gave bracelets and earrings, rings and tablets: every vessel of gold was set aside to be offered to the Lord.

23. If any man had violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, fine linen and goats' hair, rams' skins dyed red, and violet coloured skins,

24. Metal of silver and brass, they offered it to the Lord, and setim wood for divers uses.

25. The skilful women also gave such things as they had spun, violet, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen,

26. And goats' hair, giving all of their own accord.

27. But the princes offered onyx stone, and precious stones, for the ephod and the rational,

28. And spices and oil for the lights, and for the preparing of ointment, and to make the incense of most sweet savour.

29. All both men and women with devout mind offered gifts, that the works might be done which the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. All the children of Israel dedicated voluntary offerings to the Lord.

30. And Moses said to the children of Israel: Behold the Lord hath called by name Beseleel the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of Juda.

31. And hath filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding and knowledge and all learning.

32. To devise and to work in gold and silver and brass,

33. And in engraving stones, and in carpenters' work. Whatsoever can be devised artificially,

34. He hath given in his heart: Ooliab also the son of Achisamech of the tribe of Dan:

35. Both of them hath he instructed with wisdom, to do carpenters' work and tapestry, and embroidery in blue and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and to weave all things, and to invent all new things.

Chapter 36

1. Beseleel, therefore, and Ooliab, and every wise man, to whom the Lord gave wisdom and understanding, to know how to work artificially, made the things that are necessary for the uses of the sanctuary, and which the Lord commanded.

2. And when Moses had called them, and every skilful man, to whom the Lord had given wisdom, and such as of their own accord had offered themselves to the making of the work,

3. He delivered all the offerings of the children of Israel unto them. And while they were earnest about the work, the people daily in the morning offered their vows.

4. Whereupon the workmen being constrained to come,

5. Said to Moses: The people offereth more than is necessary.

6. Moses therefore commanded proclamation to be made by the crier's voice: Let neither man nor woman offer any more for the work of the sanctuary. And so they ceased from offering gifts,

7. Because the things that were offered did suffice, and were too much.

8. And all the men that were wise of heart, to accomplish the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of twisted fine linen, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with varied work, and the art of embroidering:

9. The length of one curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth four: all the curtains were of the same size.

10. And he joined five curtains, one to another, and the other five he coupled one to another.

11. He made also loops of violet in the edge of the curtain on both sides, and in the edge of the other curtain in like manner,

12. That the loops might meet on against another, and might be joined each with the other.

13. Whereupon also he cast fifty rings of gold, that might catch the loops of the curtains, and they might be made one tabernacle.

14. He made also eleven curtains of goats' hair, to cover the roof of the tabernacle:

15. One curtain was thirty cubits long and four cubits broad: all the curtains were of one measure.

16. Five of which he joined apart, and the other six apart.

17. And he made fifty loops in the edge of one curtain, and fifty in the edge of another curtain, that they might be joined one to another.

18. And fifty buckles of brass wherewith the roof might be knit together, that of all the curtains there might be made one covering.

19. He made also a cover for the tabernacle of rams' skins dyed red: and another cover over that of violet skins.

20. He made also the boards of the tabernacle of setim wood standing.

21. The length of one board was ten cubits: and the breadth was one cubit and a half.

22. There were two mortises throughout every board, that one might be joined to the other. And in this manner he made for all the boards of the tabernacle.

23. Of which twenty were at the south side southward,

24. With forty sockets of silver, two sockets were put under one board on the two sides of the corners, where the mortises of the sides end in the corners.

25. At that side also of the tabernacle, that looketh toward the north, he made twenty boards.

26. With forty sockets of silver, two sockets for every board.

27. But against the west, to wit, at that side of the tabernacle, which looketh to the sea, he made six boards,

28. And two others at each corner of the tabernacle behind:

29. Which were also joined from beneath unto the top, and went together into one joint. Thus he did on both sides at the corners:

30. So there were in all eight boards and they had sixteen sockets of silver, to wit, two sockets under every board.

31. He made also bars of setim wood, five to hold together the boards of one side of the tabernacle,

32. And five others to join together the boards of the other side: and besides these, five other bars at the west side of the tabernacle towards the sea.

33. He made also another bar, that might come by the midst of the boards from corner to corner.

34. And the board works themselves he overlaid with gold, casting for them sockets of silver. And their rings he made of gold, through which the bars might be drawn: and he covered the bars themselves with plates of gold.

35. He made also a veil of violet, and purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, varied and distinguished with embroidery:

36. And four pillars of setim wood, which with their heads be overlaid with gold, casting for them sockets of silver.

37. He made also a hanging in the entry of the tabernacle of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, with the work of an embroiderer.

38. And five pillars with their heads, which he covered with gold, and their sockets he cast of brass.

1. And the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying:

2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, observe the rest of the sabbath to the Lord.

3. Six years thou shalt sow thy field and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruits thereof:

4. But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath to the land, of the resting of the Lord: thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.

5. What the ground shall bring forth of itself, thou shalt not reap: neither shalt thou gather the grapes of the firstfruits as a vintage: for it is a year of rest to the land:

6. But they shall be unto you for meat, to thee and to thy manservant, to thy maidservant and thy hireling, and to the strangers that sojourn with thee:

7. All things that grow shall be meat to thy beasts and to thy cattle.

8. Thou shalt also number to thee seven weeks of years, that is to say, seven times seven, which together make forty-nine years:

9. And thou shalt sound the trumpet in the seventh month, the tenth day of the month, in the time of the expiation in all your land.

10. And thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee. Every man shall return to his possession, and every one shall go back to his former family:

11. Because it is the jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, nor reap the things that grow in the field of their own accord, neither shall you gather the firstfruits of the vines,

12. Because of the sanctification of the jubilee: but as they grow you shall presently eat them.

13. In the year of the jubilee all shall return to their possessions.

14. When thou shalt sell any thing to thy neighbour, or shalt buy of him; grieve not thy brother: but thou shalt buy of him according to the number of years from the jubilee.

15. And he shall sell to thee according to the computation of the fruits.

16. The more years remain after the jubilee, the more shall the price increase: and the less time is counted, so much the less shall the purchase cost. For he shall sell to thee the time of the fruits.

17. Do not afflict your countrymen, but let every one fear his God: because I am the Lord your God.

18. Do my precepts, and keep my judgments, and fulfil them: that you may dwell in the land without any fear,

19. And the ground may yield you its fruits, of which you may eat your fill, fearing no mall's invasion.

20. But if you say: What shall we eat the seventh year, if we sow not, nor gather our fruits?

21. I will give you my blessing the sixth year, and it shall yield the fruits of three years:

22. And the eighth year you shall sow, and shall eat of the old fruits, until the ninth year: till new grow up, you shall eat the old store.

23. The land also shall not be sold for ever: because it is mine, and you are strangers and sojourners with me.

24. For which cause all the country of your possession shall be under the condition of redemption.

25. If thy brother being impoverished sell his little possession, and his kinsman will, he may redeem what he had sold.

26. But if he have no kinsman, and he himself can find the price to redeem it:

27. The value of the fruits shall be counted from that time when he sold it: and the overplus he shall restore to the buyer, and so shall receive his possession again.

28. But if his hands find not the means to repay the price, the buyer shall have what he bought, until the year of the jubilee. For in that year all that is sold shall return to the owner, and to the ancient possessor.

29. He that selleth a house within the walls of a city, shall have the liberty to redeem it, until one year be expired:

30. If he redeem it not, and the whole year be fully out, the buyer shall possess it, and his posterity for ever, and it can- not be redeemed, not even in the jubilee.

31. But if the house be in a village, that hath no walls, it shall be sold according to the same law as the fields: if it be not redeemed before, in the jubilee it shall return to the owner.

32. The houses of Levites, which are in cities, may always be redeemed:

33. If they be not redeemed, in the jubilee they shall all return to the owners, because the houses of the cities of the Levites are for their possessions among the children of Israel.

34. But let not their suburbs be sold, because it is a perpetual possession.

35. If thy brother be impoverished, and weak of hand, and thou receive him as a stranger and sojourner, and he live with thee,

36. Take not usury of him nor more than thou gavest: fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee.

37. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor exact of him any increase of fruits.

38. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might give you the land of Chanaan, and might be your God.

39. If thy brother constrained by poverty, sell himself to thee, thou shalt not oppress him with the service of bondservants:

40. But he shall be as a hireling, and a sojourner: he shall work with thee until the year of the jubilee,

41. And afterwards he shall go out with his children, and shall return to his kindred and to the possession of his fathers,

42. For they are my servants, and I brought them out of the land of Egypt: let them not be sold as bondmen:

43. Afflict him not by might, but fear thy God.

44. Let your bondmen, and your bondwomen, be of the nations that are round about you.

45. And of the strangers that sojourn among you, or that were born of them in your land, these you shall have for servants:

46. And by right of inheritance shall leave them to your posterity, and shall possess them for ever. But oppress not your brethren the children of Israel by might.

47. If the hand of a stranger or a sojourner grow strong among you, and thy brother being impoverished sell himself to him, or to any of his race:

48. After the sale he may be redeemed. He that will of his brethren shall redeem him:

49. Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, or his kinsman, by blood, or by affinity. But if he himself be able also, he shall redeem himself,

50. Counting only the years from the time of his selling unto the year of the jubilee: and counting the money that he was sold for, according to the number of the years and the reckoning of a hired servant,

51. If there be many years that remain until the jubilee, according to them shall he also repay the price.

52. If few, he shall make the reckoning with him according to the number of the years, and shall repay to the buyer of what remaineth of the years,

53. His wages being allowed for which he served before: he shall not afflict him violently in thy sight.

54. And if by these means he cannot be redeemed, in the year of the jubilee he shall go out with his children.

55. For the children of Israel are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt.

1. A psalm for Asaph. God hath stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them he judgeth gods.

2. How long will you judge unjustly: and accept the persons of the wicked?

3. Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor.

4. Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner.

5. They have not known nor understood: they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth shall be moved.

6. I have said: You are gods and all of you the sons of the most High.

7. But you like men shall die: and shall fall like one of the princes.

8. Arise, O God, judge thou the earth: for thou shalt inherit among all the nations.