Exodus 24–25

The Covenant Is Sealed

24The Lord said to Moses, “Come up the mountain to me, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 of the leaders of Israel; and while you are still some distance away, bow down in worship. ²You alone, and none of the others, are to come near me. The people are not even to come up the mountain.” ³Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s commands and all the ordinances, and all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the Lord has said.” ⁴Moses wrote down all the Lord’s commands. Early the next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵Then he sent young men, and they burnt sacrifices to the Lord and sacrificed some cattle as fellowship offerings. ⁶Moses took half the blood of the animals and put it in bowls; and the other half he threw against the altar. ⁷Then he took the book of the covenant, in which the Lord’s commands were written, and read it aloud to the people. They said, “We will obey the Lord and do everything that he has commanded.”

^8*Then Moses took the blood in the bowls and threw it on the people. He said, “This is the blood that seals the covenant which the Lord made with you when he gave all these commands.”

⁹Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 of the leaders of Israel went up the mountain ¹⁰and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was what looked like a pavement of sapphire, as blue as the sky. ¹¹God did not harm these leading men of Israel; they saw God, and then they ate and drank together.

Moses on Mount Sinai

¹²The Lord said to Moses, “Come up the mountain to me, and while you are here, I will give you two stone tablets which contain all the laws that I have written for the instruction of the people.” ¹³Moses and his helper Joshua got ready, and Moses began^y to go up the holy mountain. ¹⁴Moses said to the leaders, “Wait here in the camp for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you; and so whoever has a dispute to settle can go to them.”

¹⁵Moses went up Mount Sinai, and a cloud covered it. ^16–17The dazzling light of the Lord’s presence came down on the mountain. To the Israelites the light looked like a fire burning on top of the mountain. The cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from the cloud. ^18*Moses went on up the mountain into the cloud. There he stayed for 40 days and nights.

Offerings for the Sacred Tent

25The Lord said to Moses, ²“Tell the Israelites to make an offering to me. Receive whatever offerings anyone wishes to give. ³These offerings are to be: gold, silver, and bronze; ⁴fine linen; blue, purple, and red wool; cloth made of goats’ hair; ⁵rams’ skin dyed red; fine leather; acacia wood; ⁶oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense; ⁷carnelians and other jewels to be set in the ephod^z of the High Priest and in his breast-piece. ⁸The people must make a sacred tent for me, so that I may live among them. ⁹Make it and all its furnishings according to the plan that I will show you.

The Covenant Box

¹⁰“Make a box out of acacia wood, 110 centimetres long, 66 centimetres wide, and 66 centimetres high. ¹¹Cover it with pure gold inside and out and put a gold border all round it. ¹²Make four carrying rings of gold for it and attach them to its four legs, with two rings on each side. ¹³Make carrying poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold ¹⁴and put them through the rings on each side of the box. ¹⁵The poles are to be left in the rings and must not be taken out. ¹⁶Then put in the box the two stone tablets that I will give you, on which the commandments are written.

^17*“Make a lid of pure gold, 110 centimetres long and 66 centimetres wide. ¹⁸Make two winged creatures^a of hammered gold, ¹⁹one for each end of the lid. Make them so that they form one piece with the lid. ²⁰The winged creatures are to face each other across the lid, and their outspread wings are to cover it. ²¹Put the two stone tablets inside the box and put the lid on top of it. ²²I will meet you there, and from above the lid between the two winged creatures I will give you all my laws for the people of Israel.

The Table for the Bread Offered to God

²³“Make a table out of acacia wood, 88 centimetres long, 44 centimetres wide, and 66 centimetres high. ²⁴Cover it with pure gold and put a gold border round it. ²⁵Make a rim 75 millimetres wide round it and a gold border round the rim. ²⁶Make four carrying rings of gold for it and put them at the four corners, where the legs are. ²⁷The rings to hold the poles for carrying the table are to be placed near the rim. ²⁸Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold. ²⁹Make plates, cups, jars, and bowls to be used for the wine offerings. All of these are to be made of pure gold. ^30*The table is to be placed in front of the Covenant Box, and on the table there is always to be the sacred bread offered to me.

The Lamp-Stand

³¹“Make a lamp-stand of pure gold. Make its base and its shaft of hammered gold; its decorative flowers, including buds and petals, are to form one piece with it. ³²Six branches shall extend from its sides, three from each side. ³³Each of the six branches is to have three decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. ³⁴The shaft of the lamp-stand is to have four decorative flowers shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. ³⁵There is to be one bud below each of the three pairs of branches. ³⁶The buds, the branches, and the lamp-stand are to be a single piece of pure hammered gold. ³⁷Make seven lamps for the lamp-stand and set them up so that they shine towards the front. ³⁸Make its tongs and trays of pure gold. ³⁹Use 35 kilogrammes of pure gold to make the lamp-stand and all this equipment. ^40*Take care to make them according to the plan that I showed you on the mountain.^b