17th February

¹ And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.² And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.³ And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.⁴ And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.⁵ And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.⁶ And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.⁷ It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.⁸ And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.⁹ And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:¹⁰ Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.¹¹ With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.¹² And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.¹³ And thou shalt make ouches of gold;¹⁴ And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.¹⁵ And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.¹⁶ Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.¹⁷ And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.¹⁸ And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.¹⁹ And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.²⁰ And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.²¹ And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.²² And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.²³ And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.²⁴ And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.²⁵ And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.²⁶ And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.²⁷ And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.²⁸ And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.²⁹ And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.³⁰ And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.³¹ And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.³² And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.³³ And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:³⁴ A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.³⁵ And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.³⁶ And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.³⁷ And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be.³⁸ And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.³⁹ And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework.⁴⁰ And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.⁴¹ And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.⁴² And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:⁴³ And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

¹ Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.² For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.³ They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.⁴ They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.⁵ For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:⁶ The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;⁷ Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;⁸ Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.⁹ Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:¹⁰ Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:¹² Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.¹³ O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.¹⁴ As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;¹⁵ So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.¹⁷ Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:¹⁸ That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

¹ How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!² My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.³ Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.⁴ Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.⁵ Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.⁶ Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.⁷ They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.⁸ O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.⁹ Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.¹⁰ For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.¹² O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

¹ And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!² And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.³ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,⁴ Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?⁵ And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:⁶ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.⁷ And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.⁸ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.⁹ But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.¹⁰ And the gospel must first be published among all nations.¹¹ But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.¹² Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.¹³ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.¹⁴ But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:¹⁵ And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:¹⁶ And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.¹⁷ But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!¹⁸ And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.¹⁹ For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.²⁰ And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.²¹ And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:²² For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.²³ But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.²⁴ But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,²⁵ And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.²⁶ And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.²⁷ And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.²⁸ Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:²⁹ So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.³⁰ Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.³¹ Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.³² But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.³³ Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.³⁴ For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.³⁵ Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:³⁶ Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.³⁷ And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.