The Altar of Burnt Offering^(A)

38 They^[a] built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits^[b] high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.^{[c] 2} They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.^{(B) 3} They made all its utensils^(C) of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. ⁴ They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. ⁵ They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. ⁶ They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷ They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.

The Basin for Washing

⁸ They made the bronze basin^(D) and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women^(E) who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The Courtyard^(F)

⁹ Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits^[d] long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, ¹⁰ with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. ¹¹ The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

¹² The west end was fifty cubits^[e] wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. ¹³ The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. ¹⁴ Curtains fifteen cubits^[f] long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, ¹⁵ and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. ¹⁷ The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.

¹⁸ The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits^[g] long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits^[h] high, ¹⁹ with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. ²⁰ All the tent pegs^(G) of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

The Materials Used

²¹ These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law,^(H) which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar^(I) son of Aaron, the priest. ²² (Bezalel^(J) son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses; ²³ with him was Oholiab^(K) son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) ²⁴ The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary^(L) was 29 talents and 730 shekels,^[i] according to the sanctuary shekel.^(M)

²⁵ The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census^(N) was 100 talents^[j] and 1,775 shekels,^[k] according to the sanctuary shekel— ²⁶ one beka per person,^(O) that is, half a shekel,^[l] according to the sanctuary shekel,^(P) from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more,^(Q) a total of 603,550 men.^{(R) 27} The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases^(S) for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. ²⁸ They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.

²⁹ The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.^{[m] 30} They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, ³¹ the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

Psalm 47^[a]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

Psalm 48^[d]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 Paul, called to be an apostle^(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,^(B) and our brother Sosthenes,^(C)

² To the church of God^(D) in Corinth,^(E) to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called^(F) to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name^(G) of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(H)

Thanksgiving

⁴ I always thank my God for you^(I) because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵ For in him you have been enriched^(J) in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge^(K)— ⁶ God thus confirming our testimony^(L) about Christ among you. ⁷ Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift^(M) as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.^{(N) 8} He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless^(O) on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.^{(P) 9} God is faithful,^(Q) who has called you^(R) into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.^(S)

A Church Divided Over Leaders

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^[a](T) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you,^(U) but that you be perfectly united^(V) in mind and thought. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household^(W) have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”;^(X) another, “I follow Apollos”;^(Y) another, “I follow Cephas^[b]”;^(Z) still another, “I follow Christ.”

¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?^{(AA) 14} I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus^(AB) and Gaius,^{(AC) 15} so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (Yes, I also baptized the household^(AD) of Stephanas;^(AE) beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize,^(AF) but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom^(AG) and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness^(AH) to those who are perishing,^(AI) but to us who are being saved^(AJ) it is the power of God.^{(AK) 19} For it is written:

²⁰ Where is the wise person?^(AM) Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age?^(AN) Has not God made foolish^(AO) the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world^(AP) through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save^(AQ) those who believe.^{(AR) 22} Jews demand signs^(AS) and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified:^(AT) a stumbling block^(AU) to Jews and foolishness^(AV) to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called,^(AW) both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God^(AX) and the wisdom of God.^{(AY) 25} For the foolishness^(AZ) of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness^(BA) of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.^(BB) Not many of you were wise^(BC) by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose^(BD) the foolish^(BE) things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not^(BF)—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him.^{(BG) 30} It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,^(BH) who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,^(BI) holiness^(BJ) and redemption.^{(BK) 31} Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[d](BL)

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom^(BM) as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{[e] 2} For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.^{(BN) 3} I came to you^(BO) in weakness^(BP) with great fear and trembling.^{(BQ) 4} My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,^(BR) but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,^{(BS) 5} so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.^(BT)

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,^(BU) but not the wisdom of this age^(BV) or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.^{(BW) 7} No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery^(BX) that has been hidden^(BY) and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age^(BZ) understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.^{(CA) 9} However, as it is written:

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed^(CC) to us by his Spirit.^(CD)

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts^(CE) except their own spirit^(CF) within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit^(CG) of the world,^(CH) but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom^(CI) but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.^{[g] 14} The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God^(CJ) but considers them foolishness,^(CK) and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit^(CL) makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

But we have the mind of Christ.^(CN)