Day 73 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 45:9–17

⁹The daughters of kings are among your honored women; the queen stands at your right hand, adorned with the gold of Ophir. ¹⁰Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house, ¹¹and the king will desire your beauty; bow to him, for he is your lord. ¹²The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; men of wealth will seek your favor. ¹³All glorious is the princess in her chamber; her gown is embroidered with gold. ¹⁴In colorful garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions are brought before you. ¹⁵They are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king. ¹⁶Your sons will succeed your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land. ¹⁷I will commemorate your name through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever.

New Testament·Mark 13:1–22

¹As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!” ²“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” ³While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, ⁴“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?” ⁵Jesus began by telling them, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁶Many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. ⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁸Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. ⁹So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. ¹⁰And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. ¹¹But when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what to say. Instead, speak whatever you are given at that time, for it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ¹²Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. ¹⁴So when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house. ¹⁶And let no one in the field return for his cloak. ¹⁷How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! ¹⁸Pray that this will not occur in the winter. ¹⁹For those will be days of tribulation unmatched from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and never to be seen again. ²⁰If the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has cut them short. ²¹At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. ²²For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

Old Testament·Numbers 7:49–8:26

⁴⁹His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁰one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁵¹one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁵²one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵³and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud. ⁵⁴On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the Manassites, drew near. ⁵⁵His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁵⁶one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁵⁷one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸one male goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ⁶⁰On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, the leader of the Benjamites, drew near. ⁶¹His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶²one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁶³one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴one male goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni. ⁶⁶On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, the leader of the Danites, drew near. ⁶⁷His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁶⁸one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁶⁹one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ⁷²On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, the leader of the Asherites, drew near. ⁷³His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁷⁴one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁷⁵one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶one male goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ocran. ⁷⁸On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, the leader of the Naphtalites, drew near. ⁷⁹His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; ⁸⁰one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; ⁸¹one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; ⁸²one male goat for a sin offering; ⁸³and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan. ⁸⁴So these were the offerings from the leaders of Israel for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold dishes. ⁸⁵Each silver platter weighed a hundred and thirty shekels, and each silver bowl seventy shekels. The total weight of the silver articles was two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. ⁸⁶The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed ten shekels each, according to the sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold dishes was a hundred and twenty shekels. ⁸⁷All the livestock for the burnt offering totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old—together with their grain offerings—and twelve male goats for the sin offering. ⁸⁸All the livestock sacrificed for the peace offering totaled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed. ⁸⁹When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony. Thus the LORD spoke to him.

8Then the LORD said to Moses, ²“Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’” ³And Aaron did so; he set up the lamps facing toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ⁴This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses. ⁵Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶“Take the Levites from among the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. ⁷This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves. ⁸Then have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. ⁹Bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁰You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them. ¹¹Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD. ¹²And the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer to the LORD one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering. ¹⁴In this way you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to Me. ¹⁵After you have cleansed them and presented them as a wave offering, they may come to serve at the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁶For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. ¹⁷For every firstborn male in Israel is Mine, both man and beast. I set them apart for Myself on the day I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. ¹⁸But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. ¹⁹And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.” ²⁰So Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel did with the Levites everything that the LORD had commanded Moses they should do. ²¹The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²²After that, the Levites came to perform their service at the Tent of Meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. Thus they did with the Levites just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ²³And the LORD said to Moses, ²⁴“This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting. ²⁵But at the age of fifty, they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve. ²⁶After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites.”