Exodus 39:32–40:38

MOSES’S INSPECTION OF THE TABERNACLE

³²So all the work for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^{d 33}They brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent with all its furnishings, its clasps, its supports, its crossbars, and its pillars and bases; ³⁴the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of fine leather;^A the curtain for the screen; ³⁵the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; ³⁶the table, all its utensils, and the Bread of the Presence; ³⁷the pure gold lampstand, with its lamps arranged and all its utensils, as well as the oil for the light; ³⁸the gold altar; the anointing oil; the fragrant incense; the screen for the entrance to the tent; ³⁹the bronze altar with its bronze grate, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; ⁴⁰the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and bases, the screen for the gate of the courtyard, its ropes and tent pegs, and all the furnishings for the service of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; ⁴¹and the specially woven^A garments for ministering in the sanctuary, the holy garments for the priest Aaron and the garments for his sons to serve as priests. ⁴²The Israelites had done all the work according to everything the Lord had commanded Moses.^{a 43}Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them.^b

SETTING UP THE TABERNACLE

40The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“You are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month.^{Bc 3}Put the ark^d of the testimony there and screen off the ark with the curtain. ⁴Then bring in the table and lay out its arrangement; also bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. ⁵Place the gold altar for incense in front of the ark of the testimony. Put up the screen for the entrance to the tabernacle. ⁶Position the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. ⁷Place the basin^e between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸Assemble the surrounding courtyard and hang the screen for the gate of the courtyard.

⁹“Take the anointing oil and anoint^f the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings so that it will be holy. ¹⁰Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar so that it will be especially holy. ¹¹Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate it.

¹²“Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.^{g 13}Clothe Aaron with the holy garments,^h anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he can serve me as a priest. ¹⁴Have his sons come forward and clothe them in tunics. ¹⁵Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve me as priests. Their anointing will serve to inaugurate a permanent priesthood for them throughout their generations.”ⁱ

¹⁶Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded him. ¹⁷The tabernacle was set up in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month.^{Aj 18}Moses set up the tabernacle: He laid its bases, positioned its supports, inserted its crossbars, and set up its pillars. ¹⁹Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁰Moses took the testimony^k and placed it in the ark, and attached the poles to the ark. He set the mercy seat on top of the ark. ²¹He brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the curtain for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him.

²²Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain. ²³He arranged the bread on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him. ²⁴He put 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, just as the Lord had commanded him.

²⁶Moses installed the gold altar in the tent of meeting, in front of the curtain, ²⁷and burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded him. ²⁸He put up the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle. ²⁹He placed the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered the burnt offering and the grain offering on it, just as the Lord had commanded him.

³⁰He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. ³¹Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet from it. ³²They washed whenever they came to the tent of meeting and approached the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³³Next Moses set up the surrounding courtyard for the tabernacle and the altar and hung a screen for the gate of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.^l

THE LORD’S GLORY

³⁴The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.^{m 35}Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

³⁶The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey.^{n 37}If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up.^{o 38}For the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey.