Bible in 90 Days

The Ordination of the Priests

29 This is what you shall do to them to set them apart as holy, so that they can minister to me in the priest’s office:

Take one young bull and two rams without defect, ² unleavened bread, unleavened rolls mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed^[a] with oil. Make them from fine wheat flour. ³ Put them into one basket and bring them in the basket when you bring the bull and the two rams. ⁴ Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the garments and put them on Aaron: the tunic, the robe to be worn under the vest, the vest, and the pouch. Clothe him with the sash of the vest. ⁶ Set the turban on his head and put the holy crest on the turban. ⁷ Then take the anointing oil and pour it on his head to anoint him. ⁸ You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. ⁹ Clothe them with sashes—Aaron and his sons—and bind small pointed turbans on them. Then they shall possess the priesthood by means of a perpetual regulation. You shall ordain Aaron and his sons for their work.^[b]

¹⁰ Bring the bull in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ Slaughter the bull in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ¹² Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹³ Take all the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴ But the meat of the bull, its hide, and its intestines and their contents, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp. This is a sin offering.

¹⁵ Then take the first ram. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁶ Slaughter the ram, and take its blood and splash it all around on the altar. ¹⁷ You shall cut the ram into pieces, wash its internal organs and its legs, and put them with the other pieces and with its head. ¹⁸ You shall burn the whole ram on the altar. This is a whole burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire^[c] to the Lord.

¹⁹ Then take the other ram. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. ²⁰ Then you shall slaughter the ram. Take some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, and splash the blood all around on the altar. ²¹ Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and spatter it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on the garments of his sons, who are with him. So he and his garments and his sons and his sons’ garments shall be consecrated. ²² From this ram take the fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for this is a ram for the dedication), ²³ and one loaf of bread, one roll made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. ²⁴ You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar for the burnt offering as a pleasant aroma before the Lord. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord.

²⁶ Take the breast from Aaron’s ram of ordination and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion of the sacrifice. ²⁷ Consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the elevated offering, which are waved and lifted up,^[d] from the ram of ordination. They are for Aaron and for his sons. ²⁸ It shall belong to Aaron and his sons perpetually as their portion of the offering from the people of Israel, because it is an elevated offering. It shall be an elevated offering from the people of Israel from their sacrifices, from their fellowship offerings, that is, their elevated offering to the Lord.

²⁹ The holy garments of Aaron shall belong to his descendants after him, so they are to wear them while they are being anointed and ordained for their work. ³⁰ The son who is to be high priest in Aaron’s place shall put them on for seven days when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

³¹ Take the ram of ordination and boil its meat in a holy place. ³² Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ³³ They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but a non-priest^[e] shall not eat them, because they are holy. ³⁴ If any of the meat or the bread from the ordination remains until the next morning, you shall burn the remainder with fire. It must not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ This is what you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, exactly as I have commanded you. You shall ordain them^[f] for seven days. ³⁶ Every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to make it holy. ³⁷ For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar to make it holy. The altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

The Regular Daily Offerings

³⁸ Now this is what you shall offer on the altar regularly, every day: two lambs a year old. ³⁹ The first lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.^{[g] 40} With the first lamb offer two quarts^[h] of fine flour mixed with a quart^[i] of beaten olive oil,^[j] and a quart of wine for a drink offering. ⁴¹ The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and you shall offer with it the same grain offering and the same drink offering as in the morning, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire^[k] to the Lord. ⁴² It shall be presented as a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord. There I will meet with you to speak to you. ⁴³ There I will meet with the people of Israel, and the place will be made holy by my glory. ⁴⁴ I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest’s office. ⁴⁵ I will dwell among the people of Israel and I will be their God. ⁴⁶ They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

The Altar for Incense

30 You shall make an altar on which to burn incense. Make it of acacia wood. ² It is to be eighteen inches long and eighteen inches wide. It is to be square, and three feet high. Its horns are to be one piece with it. ³ Overlay it with pure gold—its top, all its sides, and its horns. Make a gold border^[l] around it. ⁴ Make two gold rings to place under its border. Make them for each of its two opposite sides. They will serve as holders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵ Make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

⁶ Put the altar in front of the veil that hides the Ark of the Testimony, in front of the atonement seat that is above the Testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ Aaron shall burn incense made of fragrant spices on it every morning. When he tends the lamps, he shall burn the incense. ⁸ When Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it as the regular incense before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall offer no other incense on it, no burnt offering, and no grain offering, and you shall pour no drink offering on it. ¹⁰ Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering for atonement, once a year he shall make atonement for it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.

The Redemption Price

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹² “When you count^[m] the men of Israel to register them, each man shall give to the Lord a redemption price^[n] for his life as you register him, so that there is no plague among them as you register them. ¹³ Each one shall give this redemption as he passes over to the group which has already been registered—half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs),^[o] half a shekel for an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who passes over to the group that has already been registered, those twenty years old and older, shall give the special elevated offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than the half shekel when you give the elevated offering for the Lord to redeem your lives. ¹⁶ You shall take the redemption money from the people of Israel, and you shall designate it for the work of the Tent of Meeting so that it may be a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord, to redeem your lives.”

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹⁸ “You shall also make a large bronze basin in which to wash. Its pedestal shall also be bronze. Put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet with water from it. ²⁰ When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they must wash with water so that they will not die. They shall wash whenever they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord. ²¹ They shall wash their hands and their feet so that they do not die. This shall be a permanent regulation for them, for Aaron and for his descendants throughout their generations.”

Spices and Incense

²² The Lord spoke to Moses again. He said, ²³ “Take fine spices: twelve and a half pounds^[p] of liquid myrrh, half as much (six and a quarter pounds) of fragrant cinnamon, six and a quarter pounds of fragrant cane, ²⁴ twelve and a half pounds of cassia (weighed by the shekel of the sanctuary), and one gallon^[q] of olive oil. ²⁵ Make it into a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixed with the skill of a perfume maker. It will be a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ Use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, ²⁷ the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar for incense, ²⁸ the altar for burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its pedestal. ²⁹ You shall consecrate them so that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will be holy. ³⁰ You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and set them apart, so that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. ³¹ Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil for me throughout your generations. ³² Do not pour it on the flesh of anyone who is not a priest. Do not make any other perfume like it with the same ingredients. It is holy. It shall be holy to you. ³³ Whoever mixes any perfume like it or whoever puts any of it on anyone who is not a priest shall be cut off from his people.’”

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices, gum resin, shechelet, and helbanum,^[r] fragrant spices with pure frankincense. Use an equal weight of each ingredient, ³⁵ and make incense from it, a blend made with the skill of a perfume maker, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. ³⁶ Grind some of it very fine, and put some of it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting where I will make myself known to you. It shall be most holy to you. ³⁷ When you make incense for yourselves, you shall not make any with this recipe. You shall regard it as holy to the Lord. ³⁸ Whoever makes any fragrance like that for himself shall be cut off from his people.”

The Craftsmen

31 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Look, here is Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. I have called him by name. ³ I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, and with skill in all kinds of crafts. ⁴ He has the ability to create designs. He works with gold, silver, and bronze. ⁵ He is able to cut and engrave precious stones and mount them. He can also carve wood. He works skillfully in all kinds of crafts.

⁶ “Not only that, but I have also appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, from the tribe of Dan, to work with him. I have put wisdom into the heart of all the skilled craftsmen, so that they may make everything that I have commanded you: ⁷ the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, the atonement seat that is on it, all the furnishings for the tent, ⁸ the table and its vessels and accessories, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar for incense, ⁹ the altar for burnt offerings with all its utensils, the basin and its pedestal, ¹⁰ the finely woven garments (the holy garments for Aaron the priest), the garments for his sons to minister in the priest’s office, ¹¹ the anointing oil, and the incense made of fragrant spices for the Holy Place. The skilled craftsmen shall do everything just as I commanded.”

The Sabbath

¹² The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹³ “Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths diligently, because the Sabbath is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord, who sets you apart as holy. ¹⁴ So you shall observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it must certainly be put to death, for if anyone does any work on the Sabbath, his life shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵ On six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must certainly be put to death. ¹⁶ Therefore the people of Israel shall observe the Sabbath by keeping the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a permanent sign between me and the people of Israel, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

¹⁸ When the Lord had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, stone tablets, written with God’s finger.

The Gold Calf

32 When the people saw that it took so long for Moses to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, make a god^[s] for us, who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what has become of him.”

² Aaron said to them, “Pull off the gold earrings from your wives and sons and daughters and bring them to me.”

³ All the people pulled off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took what they handed him and shaped it with an engraving tool and made it into a bull calf cast out of metal. Then they said, “This is your god, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”^[t]

⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it, and Aaron made a proclamation. He said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.”

⁶ They got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought fellowship offerings. Then the people sat down to eat and to drink and got up to celebrate wildly.

⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses: “Hurry down, because your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves! ⁸ They have quickly turned from the way which I commanded them. They have made a calf for themselves out of metal and have worshipped it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and they certainly are a stiff-necked people.^{[u] 10} So now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn hot against them, so that I may consume them and make you into a great nation.”

¹¹ Moses begged the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out for an evil purpose, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn back from your fierce anger and change your mind about inflicting disaster on your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self. You said to them, ‘I will multiply your seed^[v] like the stars of the sky, and I will give all this land that I have spoken about to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

¹⁴ Then the Lord changed his mind about the disaster which he said he would inflict on his people.

¹⁵ Moses turned and went down the mountain, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand—tablets that were written on both sides, written on one side and on the other. ¹⁶ The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is the noise of war in the camp.”

¹⁸ Moses said, “It is not the sound of people who shout for victory; neither is it the sound of people who cry because of defeat. But I do hear the sound of people who are celebrating.”

¹⁹ As soon as Moses came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses’ anger burned. So he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water. Then he made the people of Israel drink it.

²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin on them?”

²² Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn. You know these people. They are set on evil, ²³ so they said to me, ‘Make a god for us, who will go ahead of us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, pull it off.’ So they gave it to me. I threw it into the fire and out came this calf.”

²⁵ When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had let them get so out of control that they were disgraced among their enemies), ²⁶ Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me!”

All the descendants of Levi gathered themselves together to Moses. ²⁷ He said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man is to strap his sword on his thigh and go back and forth throughout the camp, from one gate of the camp to the other, and every man is to kill his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’” ²⁸ The Levites did what Moses said, and that day about three thousand men from among the people fell. ²⁹ Moses said, “Begin your service of the Lord today.^[w] Yes, because every man among you took a stand against his son and against his brother, the Lord is bestowing a blessing on you today.”

³⁰ On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a very serious sin. Now I will go up to the Lord. Perhaps I can gain atonement for your sin.”

³¹ Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Yes, this people has committed a very serious sin: They have made a god of gold for themselves. ³² Yet now, if you will, please forgive their sin—and if not, please erase me from your book, which you have written.”

³³ The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me is the one I will erase from my book. ³⁴ Now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you. Look, my Angel shall go ahead of you. Nevertheless, when the right day comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” ³⁵ The Lord struck the people with a plague, because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron made.

33 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Depart. Go up from here, you and the people that you have brought up out of the land of Egypt. Go up to the land about which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob: ‘I will give it to your seed.’ ² I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ³ Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I myself will not go up among you, because you are a stiff-necked people, and I would consume you on the way.”

⁴ When the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and none of them put on their jewelry, ⁵ for the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go up among you for one moment, I would consume you. Therefore now take off your jewelry, while I determine what to do to you.’” ⁶ So the people of Israel stripped themselves of their jewelry at Mount Horeb.

The First Tent of Meeting

⁷ So Moses took a tent and set it up outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it the Tent of Meeting. Everyone who was seeking an answer from the Lord would go out to the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people got up and stood at their tent doors and watched Moses, until he had gone into the tent. ⁹ Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stand at the door of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent, and all the people would rise up and worship, all of them at their own tent door. ¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face, as a man speaks to his friend. Moses would return again into the camp, but his assistant Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent.

Moses and God’s Goodness

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “Look, you yourself have been telling me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ ¹³ So now if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your ways, so that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight. Consider that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵ Moses said to him, “If your Presence is not going to go with me, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ After all, how would people know that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Isn’t it in this way: that you go with us, so that we are distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have said, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

¹⁹ The Lord said, “I will make all my goodness pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord in your presence. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.” ²⁰ He said, “You cannot see my face, for no human may see me and live.”

²¹ The Lord also said, “Look, there is a place next to me, where you shall stand on the rock. ²² It will happen that, while my glory passes by, I will put you in a crevice in the rock. I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But my face will not be seen.”

New Stone Tablets: A New Copy of the Laws

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. On these tablets I will write the same words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Be ready by morning, and come up to Mount Sinai in the morning. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. ³ No one may come up with you. In fact, no person is to be seen anywhere on the entire mountain. Do not even let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”

⁴ Moses cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. Moses got up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hand. ⁵ The Lord came down in the cloud. He took his stand there with Moses and proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and overflowing with mercy and truth, ⁷ maintaining mercy for thousands, forgiving guilt and rebellion and sin. He will by no means clear the guilty. He calls their children and their children’s children to account for the guilt of the fathers, even to the third and the fourth generation.”

⁸ Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshipped. ⁹ He said, “If I have now found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go along with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our guilt and our sin, and accept us as your possession.”

The Covenant Repeated

The Covenant Festivals

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words for yourself, for these are the words with which I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

²⁸ Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat any bread or drink any water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.^[af]

Moses’ Shining Face

²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not realize that the skin of his face was shining because he had been speaking with the Lord. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, they were amazed that the skin of his face was shining, so they were afraid to come close to him. ³¹ Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the rulers of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. ³² Afterward, all the people of Israel came close to him, and he gave them all of the commands that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses was finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out again. Then he would come out and tell the people of Israel what he had been commanded. ³⁵ Whenever the people of Israel saw Moses’ face, they would see that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord again.

35 Moses assembled the whole community of the people of Israel and told them, “These are the things which the Lord has commanded you to do.”

The Sabbath

² On six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death. ³ You must not even light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.

The Offering for the Construction of the Dwelling

⁴ Moses spoke to the whole community of the people of Israel. He told them what the Lord commanded:

⁵ From what you possess, gather a special offering^[ag] for the Lord. Whoever has a willing heart, let him bring these things as the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, and bronze; ⁶ blue, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen; goats’ hair, ⁷ rams’ skins dyed red, and the hides of sea cows; acacia wood, ⁸ olive oil for the Light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ⁹ onyx stones, and stones to be mounted on the special vest and on the chest pouch.

¹⁰ Let every skilled craftsman among you come and make everything that the Lord has commanded: ¹¹ the Dwelling, its tent and its outer coverings, its clasps, its framework, its crossbars, its posts, and its socket bases; ¹² the ark and its poles, the atonement seat, the special veil that hides it;^{[ah] 13} the table with its poles, all its vessels and accessories, and the Bread of the Presence; ¹⁴ also the lampstand for the Light, with its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the Light; ¹⁵ and the altar for incense with its poles, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense; the screen for the door at the entrance to the tent; ¹⁶ the altar for burnt offerings with its bronze grate, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its pedestal; ¹⁷ the hangings for the courtyard, its posts, their socket bases, and the screen for the gate of the courtyard; ¹⁸ the stakes for the tent, the stakes for the courtyard, and their ropes; ¹⁹ the finely woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.

²⁰ So the whole community of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. ²¹ Then everyone whose heart moved him and everyone whose spirit was willing came back and brought offerings to the Lord for the construction of the Tent of Meeting and for all the things to be used in its services and for the holy garments. ²² They came back, both men and women, all those whose hearts were willing. They brought brooches, earrings, signet rings, armlets, and all kinds of gold jewelry.^[ai] Every person who came presented a wave offering of gold to the Lord. ²³ Everyone who had blue, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, and hides of sea cows brought them. ²⁴ Everyone who presented an offering of silver and bronze brought it as the Lord’s special offering, and everyone who had acacia wood for any use in the project brought it. ²⁵ All the women who were skilled spun thread with their hands and brought what they had spun: the blue, the purple, and the scarlet material and the fine linen. ²⁶ All the women who were willing and skillful spun the goats’ hair. ²⁷ The tribal leaders brought the onyx stones and the stones to be mounted on the vest and the pouch, ²⁸ also the spices, and the olive oil for the Light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. ²⁹ The people of Israel brought a voluntary^[aj] offering to the Lord. Every man and woman whose heart was willing contributed to all the work which the Lord had commanded Moses to do.

The Craftsmen

³⁰ Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. ³¹ He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skill in all kinds of crafts. ³² He has the ability to create designs and to work in gold, silver, and bronze. ³³ He can cut and engrave precious stones for mounting and can carve wood. He works skillfully in all kinds of crafts. ³⁴ The Lord has also put into his heart the ability to teach others—both he and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, from the tribe of Dan. ³⁵ He has filled them with skill to work in all kinds of crafts: designing, embroidering in blue, purple, and scarlet, working with fine linen, and weaving—all kinds of workmanship and designing.”

36 Moses continued,^[ak] “Bezalel and Oholiab shall work with every skilled man, in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding, who knows how to carry out all the work for completing everything for the sanctuary, according to everything that the Lord has commanded.”

² So Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every skilled man into whose heart the Lord had put the needed wisdom and skill,^[al] that is, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come and join in the work. ³ They received from Moses all the materials which the people of Israel had brought as a special offering for the task of completing everything for the sanctuary, and the people continued to bring voluntary offerings to Moses every morning. ⁴ All the skilled craftsmen who were performing all the work for the sanctuary came from the specific work which they were doing. ⁵ Each of them told Moses, “The people have brought more than enough to complete the work which the Lord commanded.”

⁶ So Moses gave a command that was passed throughout the camp: “No man or woman should provide anything else for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing more, ⁷ because the material they had brought was sufficient to complete all the work, with some left over.

The Coverings for the Dwelling

⁸ All the skilled craftsmen among the workers made the dwelling^[am] out of ten curtains made from finely woven linen^[an] and with blue, purple, and scarlet material. They^[ao] decorated the curtains with cherubim, which were the work of a skillful craftsman. ⁹ The length of each panel of the curtain was forty-two feet, and the width of each panel was six feet. All the panels were the same size. ¹⁰ One set of five curtains was connected together into one panel, and the other set of five curtains was connected together. ¹¹ They attached blue loops to the edge of the last panel in the first set of curtains. In the same way they attached loops to the edge of the last panel of the second set. ¹² They made fifty loops for the edge of the first set of curtains and fifty loops for the edge of the second set of curtains. The two sets of loops lined up opposite one another. ¹³ They made fifty gold clasps, and they connected one set of curtains to the other with the clasps, so that the tent became one connected piece.

¹⁴ They made a curtain from panels of goats’ hair to serve as a tent over the dwelling.^[ap] They made eleven panels. ¹⁵ The length of each panel was forty-five feet, and the width of each panel was six feet. The eleven panels were the same size. ¹⁶ They connected five panels into one unit, and six panels into another unit. ¹⁷ They made fifty loops for the edge of the last curtain of one set, and fifty loops for the edge of the last curtain in the second set. ¹⁸ They made fifty bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops to join the two pieces of the tent together, so that it was one unit.

¹⁹ They made another cover for the tent from rams’ skins dyed red and another cover from hides of sea cows to go above that one.

The Framework

²⁰ They made upright boards^[aq] of acacia wood for the Dwelling. ²¹ Each board was fifteen feet tall, and the width of each board was twenty-seven inches. ²² There were two pegs on each board to join them to one another.^[ar] This is the way they made all the boards for the Dwelling.

²³ They made twenty boards for the south side of the Dwelling. ²⁴ They made forty socket bases of silver to go under the twenty boards—two sockets under the first board for its two pegs, and two sockets under the next board for its two pegs.

²⁵ For the second side of the Dwelling, the north side, they made twenty boards, ²⁶ with forty socket bases of silver—two sockets under the first board, and two sockets under the next board.

²⁷ For the far side of the Dwelling, the west side, they made six boards. ²⁸ They made two boards for each of the back corners of the Dwelling. ²⁹ These two corner boards were double on the bottom, but they both were joined at the top by one ring.^[as] Both sets were like this. ³⁰ Altogether there were eight boards with silver socket bases. There were sixteen socket bases—two socket bases under each board.

The Crossbars

³¹ They made crossbars of acacia wood—five for the boards on one side of the Dwelling, ³² five crossbars for the boards on the other side of the Dwelling, and five crossbars for the boards on the back of the Dwelling on the west. ³³ The middle bar, placed halfway up the boards, passed through from one end to the other end. ³⁴ They overlaid the boards with gold and made gold rings to attach to them as a housing for the crossbars, and they overlaid the crossbars with gold.

The Partitions for the Sanctuary

³⁵ They made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen, decorated with cherubim, the work of a skillful craftsman. ³⁶ They made four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. The posts stood on four socket bases of silver. The hooks were made of gold.

³⁷ They made a screen for the entry to the tent out of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen, the work of an embroiderer. ³⁸ They made five posts of acacia to support the screen and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were gold, and they cast five bronze socket bases for them.

The Ark of the Covenant

37 Bezalel^[at] made the ark^[au] of acacia wood. It was forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ² He overlaid it with pure gold on the inside and the outside, and he made a gold border around it. ³ He cast four gold rings for it and placed them next to its four feet—two rings on one side of it and two rings on the other side. ⁴ He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.

⁶ He made an atonement seat^[av] of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. ⁷ He made two cherubim of hammered gold for the two ends of the atonement seat, ⁸ one cherub for one end and one cherub for the other. The cherubim on its two ends formed one piece with the atonement seat.^{[aw] 9} The cherubim spread their wings upward so that they covered the atonement seat with their wings, and they faced each other. The faces of the cherubim were looking inward toward the atonement seat.

The Table

¹⁰ He made a table of acacia wood, thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ¹¹ He overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold border around it.^{[ax] 12} He made a three-inch rim around it. He made a gold border on its rim all the way around it. ¹³ He made four gold rings for it and put the rings at the four corners above the four legs of the table. ¹⁴ The rings were close to the border to hold the poles used to carry the table. ¹⁵ He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, so that the table could be carried with them. ¹⁶ He made the vessels and the accessories for the table out of pure gold—its dishes,^[ay] its small bowls,^[az] its larger bowls, and its pitchers^[ba] to pour out drink offerings.

The Lampstand

¹⁷ He made a lampstand^[bb] of pure gold. The lampstand was made of hammered metal. Its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers were all formed as one piece with the lampstand. ¹⁸ There were six branches going out from its sides. Three branches of the lampstand went out from one side, and three branches of the lampstand went out from the other side. ¹⁹ Three cups like almond blossoms with buds and flowers were on the first branch, and three cups like almond blossoms with buds and flowers were on the branch opposite it. It was the same for all six branches that went out from the lampstand. ²⁰ On the lampstand itself he made four cups like almond blossoms with buds and flowers. ²¹ The buds under one pair of branches formed one piece with the lampstand, and the buds under the second pair of branches formed one piece with the lampstand, and the buds under the third pair of branches formed one piece with the lampstand—the same for all six branches going out of the lampstand. ²² Its buds and branches were made as one piece with it. All of it was one hammered work of pure gold.

²³ He made seven lamps for it. Its wick trimmers and its pans^[bc] were pure gold. ²⁴ It was made with seventy-five pounds^[bd] of pure gold, along with all these accessories.

The Altar for Incense

²⁵ He made the altar for incense. He made it of acacia wood. Its length was eighteen inches, and its width was eighteen inches. It was square, and its height was three feet. Its horns formed one piece with it. ²⁶ He overlaid it with pure gold, its top, all its sides, and its horns. He made a gold border^[be] around it. ²⁷ He made two gold rings to go under its border. He made them for two opposite sides. They were holders for poles with which to carry it. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

²⁹ He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of fragrant spices, the work of a perfume maker.

The Altar for Sacrifices

38 He made the altar for burnt offerings from acacia wood. It was square, seven and a half feet long and seven and a half feet wide. It was four and a half feet high. ² He made horns on its four corners. These horns were made as one piece with the altar, and he overlaid the altar with bronze. ³ He made all the utensils for the altar—the pails, the shovels, the basins, the meat hooks,^[bf] and the fire pans—of bronze. ⁴ He made a grate for it, which was a latticework of bronze, and he made four bronze rings for the four corners of the latticework grate. ⁵ He set the grate in place below the top edge of the altar, so that the grate rested halfway down from the top of the altar.^{[bg] 6} He made poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷ He put these poles through the rings on two sides of the altar for carrying it. He made the altar hollow. Its sides were made of boards.

The Large Basin

⁸ He made a large bronze basin. Its pedestal also was bronze. He made it from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

The Courtyard

⁹ He made the courtyard. For the south side of the courtyard he made hangings of fine woven linen, one hundred fifty feet long for that side. ¹⁰ He made twenty posts for it and twenty bronze socket bases for them. The hooks for the posts and the connectors were silver.^{[bh] 11} In the same way, for the north side there were hangings one hundred fifty feet long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze socket bases. The hooks for the posts and their connectors were silver. ¹² For the courtyard on the west side there were hangings seventy-five feet wide, with ten posts and ten socket bases. ¹³ The width of the court on the east side was seventy-five feet. ¹⁴ The hangings on one side of the entry gate were twenty-two feet six inches wide with three posts and three socket bases. ¹⁵ For the other side there were hangings twenty-two feet six inches wide with three posts and three socket bases. ¹⁶ All the hangings around the court were of fine woven linen. ¹⁷ The socket bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks of the posts and their connectors were silver, and the overlay of the capitals on top of the posts was silver, and all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.

¹⁸ There was a screen for the entry gate of the courtyard, made of blue, purple, and scarlet material and of fine woven linen, the work of an embroiderer. It was thirty feet wide, and like the hangings of the courtyard it was seven and a half feet high. ¹⁹ It had four posts and four bronze socket bases. The hooks of the posts and their connectors were silver, and the overlay of the capitals on top of the posts was silver. ²⁰ All the tent stakes for the Dwelling and all the stakes for the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

The Materials

²¹ These are the inventories of the material used for the Dwelling, that is, the Dwelling of the Testimony, as they were recorded by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest, as Moses had commanded. ²² Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses. ²³ With him was Oholiab son of Ahisamak, from the tribe of Dan, an engraver, a skilled workman, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet material and in fine linen.

²⁴ All the gold that was used for all the work of the sanctuary project (that is, the gold from the wave offering) was 29 talents and 730 shekels,^[bi] measured by the shekel of the sanctuary. ²⁵ The silver received from those who were counted in the census of the community was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, measured by the shekel of the sanctuary. ²⁶ The rate was one beka a head (that is, half a shekel a head), measured by the shekel of the sanctuary. One beka was given by each man as he passed over to those who had been counted—a beka each was given by 603,550 men from twenty years old and older. ²⁷ The one hundred talents of silver were used for casting the sockets for the sanctuary and the sockets for the veil. One hundred sockets were made from the one hundred talents, a talent per socket.^{[bj] 28} From the 1,775 shekels, Bezalel made hooks for the posts, overlaid their capitals, and made connectors for them. ²⁹ The bronze from the offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. ³⁰ With this he made the sockets for the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grate for it, all the utensils for the altar, ³¹ the sockets around the courtyard, the sockets for the gate of the courtyard, all the stakes for the tent, and all the stakes around the courtyard.

The Vestments

39 From the blue, purple, and scarlet material, they made finely woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, and they made the holy garments for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Special Vest

² He^[bk] made the special vest^[bl] from gold and from blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen. ³ They beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads so that they could work it into the blue, purple, and scarlet material and into the fine linen, the work of a skilled craftsman.^{[bm] 4} They made two shoulder straps for the top, one on each side, so that the vest could be fastened together. ⁵ The decorated sash, which is attached to the vest, was made just like it: of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine woven linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ They took two onyx stones and mounted them in gold settings and engraved on them the names of the sons of Israel, like the engraving on signet seals. ⁷ They mounted them on the shoulder straps of the vest as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Chest Pouch

⁸ Bezalel made a folded pouch, the work of a skillful craftsman. He made it with the same workmanship as the vest. He made it of gold, and of blue, purple, and scarlet material and of fine woven linen. ⁹ It was square, nine inches by nine inches when it was folded double.

¹⁰ They mounted on it four rows of precious stones. The first row was carnelian, diamond, and jacinth; ¹¹ the second row agate, sapphire, and emerald; ¹² the third row beryl, jasper, and ruby; ¹³ and the fourth row topaz, onyx, and turquoise.^[bn] The stones were mounted in gold settings. ¹⁴ There were twelve stones, corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel. Each one was like an engraved seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

¹⁵ They made braided chains of pure gold for the pouch. ¹⁶ They made two gold rings for the pouch and attached the two rings to the top corners of the pouch. ¹⁷ They put the two braided gold chains into the two rings at the top corners of the pouch. ¹⁸ The other ends of the two braided chains they attached to the two settings, and then attached them to the shoulder straps on the front of the vest. ¹⁹ They made two gold rings and put them on the two lower corners of the pouch, on its inside edge, which is toward the vest. ²⁰ They made two more gold rings and attached them to the two shoulder straps of the vest in the front, close to the bottom where it is joined to the sash of the vest. ²¹ They tied the rings of the pouch to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that the pouch was kept right next to the woven sash of the vest and would not swing out from the vest—just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Robe Worn With the Vest

²² The robe that was to be worn under the vest was the work of a weaver. It was all blue. ²³ It had an opening in the middle of its top for the head. It had a woven binding around the opening, like the opening of a collar,^[bo] to prevent it from tearing. ²⁴ For its hem they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material. ²⁵ They put the pomegranates around its hem with gold bells alternating with them ²⁶ (a gold bell, then a pomegranate, a gold bell, then a pomegranate), all around the hem of the robe that was worn when ministering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Tunics and Pants

²⁷ They wove the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons. ²⁸ They made the turban and the small pointed turbans of fine linen,^[bp] and the underwear was made from a special kind of finely woven linen.^{[bq] 29} The sash was made of finely woven linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet material, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Gold Medallion

³⁰ They made a medallion of pure gold to serve as a crest and engraved on it (like the engravings on a seal): Holy to the Lord. ³¹ They put it on a blue cord to fasten it to the turban on the front, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Completion of the Dwelling

³² In this way all the work on the Dwelling, that is, the Tent of Meeting, was finished. The people of Israel did everything exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ They brought the Dwelling to Moses: the tent with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its crossbars, its posts, its socket bases, ³⁴ the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, the covering made from hides of sea cows, the special veil, ³⁵ the Ark of the Testimony with its poles, the atonement seat, ³⁶ the table, all its utensils, the Bread of the Presence, ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand, its lamps (that is, the lamps to be set out in order), all its vessels and utensils, the oil for the Light, ³⁸ the golden altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, the screen for the door of the Tent, ³⁹ the bronze altar, its bronze grate, its poles, all of its utensils, the basin and its pedestal, ⁴⁰ the hangings of the courtyard, its posts, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the courtyard, its ropes, its stakes, all the equipment for the service of the Dwelling (that is, the Tent of Meeting), ⁴¹ the finely woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister in the priest’s office. ⁴² So the people of Israel did all the work according to everything that the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴³ Moses inspected all the work, and he saw that they had done it exactly as the Lord had commanded, so Moses blessed them.

Dedication of the Dwelling

40 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ² “On the first day of the first month you are to raise up the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. ³ Put the Ark of the Testimony in it, and screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ Bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be on it. Bring in the lampstand, and light its lamps. ⁵ Set the golden^[br] altar for incense in front of the Ark of the Testimony, and put the screen in the doorway to the tent. ⁶ Set the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance of the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. ⁷ Set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ Set up the courtyard around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the courtyard. ⁹ Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tent and everything that is in it. You shall make it and all its furniture holy, and it will be holy. ¹⁰ Anoint the altar for burnt offerings with all its utensils. Consecrate the altar, and the altar will be most holy. ¹¹ Anoint the large basin and its pedestal, and consecrate it.

¹² Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and wash them with water. ¹³ Put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. ¹⁴ Bring his sons and put tunics on them. ¹⁵ Anoint them, as you anointed their father, so that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. Their anointing will give them a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.” ¹⁶ Moses did so. He did everything exactly as the Lord had commanded him.

¹⁷ And so in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the Dwelling was raised. ¹⁸ Moses raised the Dwelling. He laid out its socket bases, set up its boards, inserted its crossbars, and raised its posts. ¹⁹ He spread the tent over the Dwelling and put the cover for the tent above it,^[bs] just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁰ He took the Testimony and put it into the ark. He set the poles in place on the ark and placed the atonement seat on top of the ark. ²¹ He brought the ark into the tent. He set up the special veil to screen the Ark of the Testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² He put the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the north side of the tent, outside of the veil. ²³ He set the bread in order on the table in the presence of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁴ He put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tent. ²⁵ He lit the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁶ He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the veil. ²⁷ He burned incense of fragrant spices on it, just as the Lord commanded Moses. ²⁸ He put up the screen for the entryway to the tent. ²⁹ He set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting, and offered the burnt offering and the grain offering on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰ He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it, with which to wash. ³¹ Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons washed their hands and their feet there. ³² When they went into the Tent of Meeting and when they came near the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³³ He erected the courtyard around the tent and the altar and set up the screen of the gate of the courtyard. So Moses completed the work.

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tent. ³⁵ Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed over it, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tent. ³⁶ Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, the people of Israel would move forward. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they would not travel until the day when it was taken up. ³⁸ For in the sight of the whole house of Israel, the cloud of the Lord was above the tent by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, throughout all their journeys.