Monday, 25 March

1.   And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2.   "Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; 3.   "and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting." 4.   So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 5.   And Moses said to the congregation, "This is what the LORD commanded to be done." 6.   Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7.   And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him. 8.   Then he put the breastplate on him, and he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate. 9.   And he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 10.   Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11.   He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to consecrate them. 12.   And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. 13.   Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put hats on them, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 14.   And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering, 15.   and Moses killed it . Then he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16.   Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. 17.   But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 18.   Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19.   and Moses killed it . Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 20.   And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. 21.   Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22.   And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23.   and Moses killed it . Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24.   Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 25.   Then he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; 26.   and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD he took one unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh; 27.   and he put all these in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the LORD. 28.   Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the LORD. 29.   And Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the LORD. It was Moses’ part of the ram of consecration, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30.   Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. 31.   And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, "Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32.   "What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire. 33.   "And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you. 34.   "As he has done this day, so the LORD has commanded to do, to make atonement for you. 35.   "Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded." 36.   So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses.

1.   <> Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him. 2.   As smoke is driven away, So drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God. 3.   But let the righteous be glad; Let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. 4.   Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him. 5.   A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. 6.   God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land . 7.   O God, when You went out before Your people, When You marched through the wilderness, Selah 8.   The earth shook; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 9.   You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance, When it was weary. 10.   Your congregation dwelt in it; You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor. 11.   The Lord gave the word; Great was the company of those who proclaimed it : 12.   "Kings of armies flee, they flee, And she who remains at home divides the spoil. 13.   Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And her feathers with yellow gold." 14.   When the Almighty scattered kings in it, It was white as snow in Zalmon. 15.   A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. 16.   Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever. 17.   The chariots of God are twenty thousand, Even thousands of thousands; The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place . 18.   You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there . 19.   Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits , The God of our salvation! Selah 20.   Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. 21.   But God will wound the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in His trespasses. 22.   The Lord said, "I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, 23.   That your foot may crush them in blood, And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies." 24.   They have seen Your procession, O God, The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary. 25.   The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; Among them were the maidens playing timbrels. 26.   Bless God in the congregations, The Lord, from the fountain of Israel. 27.   There is little Benjamin, their leader, The princes of Judah and their company, The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali. 28.   Your God has commanded your strength; Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us. 29.   Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, Kings will bring presents to You. 30.   Rebuke the beasts of the reeds, The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Till everyone submits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the peoples who delight in war. 31.   Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God. 32.   Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah 33.   To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice. 34.   Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds. 35.   O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!

1.   "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now." 2.   And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: 3.   "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. 4.   "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5.   "as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. 6.   "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. 7.   "And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8.   "So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9.   "And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. 10.   "So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ 11.   "And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. 12.   "Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there , 13.   "came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. 14.   "Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. 15.   ‘For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16.   ‘And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ 17.   "Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance 18.   "and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ 19.   "So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. 20.   ‘And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ 21.   "Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’" 22.   And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!" 23.   Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, 24.   the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. 25.   And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?" 26.   When the centurion heard that , he went and told the commander, saying, "Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman." 27.   Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes." 28.   The commander answered, "With a large sum I obtained this citizenship." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen ." 29.   Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. 30.   The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.