Exodus 38-40

The Altar of Burnt Offering 1They Or He; also in verses 2-9 built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters long and wide 2They 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. 3They made all its utensils of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. 4They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. 5They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. 6They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

7They 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 8They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The Courtyard 9Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits That is, about 150 feet or about 45 meters long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, 10with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

11The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 12The west end was fifty cubits That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 13The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. 14Curtains fifteen cubits That is, about 22 feet or about 6.8 meters long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. 16All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen.

17The 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. 18The 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 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters high, 19with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver.

20All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

The Materials Used 21These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law, which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. 22(Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the LORD commanded Moses; 23with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.)

24The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, The weight of the gold was a little over a ton or about 1 metric ton. according to the sanctuary shekel. 25The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons; also in verse 27 and 1,775 shekels, That is, about 44 pounds or about 20 kilograms; also in verse 28 according to the sanctuary shekel— 26one beka per person, that is, half a shekel, That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men. 27The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base.

28They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands. 29The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. The weight of the bronze was about 2 1/2 tons or about 2.4 metric tons. 30They 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, 31the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

The Priestly Garments 1From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Ephod 2They Or He; also in verses 7, 8 and 22 made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 3They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of skilled hands. 4They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened.

5Its skillfully woven waistband was like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the LORD commanded Moses. 6They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel.

7Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Breastpiece 8They fashioned the breastpiece—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 9It was square—a span That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters long and a span wide—and folded double. 10Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 11the second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 12the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; 13the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper. The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain. They were mounted in gold filigree settings.

14There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. 15For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 16They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece. 17They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 18and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 19They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 20Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod.

21They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod—as the LORD commanded Moses.

Other Priestly Garments 22They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth—the work of a weaver— 23with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar, The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. 24They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. 25And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates.

26The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the LORD commanded Moses. 27For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen—the work of a weaver— 28and the turban of fine linen, the linen caps and the undergarments of finely twisted linen.

29The sash was made of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the LORD commanded Moses. 30They made the plate, the sacred emblem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD .

31Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses Inspects the Tabernacle 32So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. 33Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 34the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of another durable leather Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals and the shielding curtain; 35the ark of the covenant law with its poles and the atonement cover; 36the table with all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 37the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and all its accessories, and the olive oil for the light; 38the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent; 39the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; 40the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting;

41and the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests. 42The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 43Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

Setting Up the Tabernacle 1Then the LORD said to Moses: 2“Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. 3Place the ark of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain. 4Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.

5Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 6“Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 7place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it.

8Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. 9“Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. 10Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy.

11Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them. 12“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 13Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. 14Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. 15Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.”

16Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him. 17So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. 18When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts.

19Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the LORD commanded him. 20He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it.

21Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the covenant law, as the LORD commanded him. 22Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain

23and set out the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. 24He placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle

25and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. 26Moses placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain

27and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD commanded him. 28Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

29He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the LORD commanded him. 30He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, 31and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet.

32They washed whenever they entered the tent of meeting or approached the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses.

33Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the LORD 34Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

35Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.