Exodus 26–27

The Tent of the ’s Presence

26“Make the interior of the sacred Tent, the Tent of my presence, out of ten pieces of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool. Embroider them with figures of winged creatures. ²Make each piece the same size, 12 metres long and 2 metres wide. ³Sew five of them together in one set, and do the same with the other five. ⁴Make loops of blue cloth on the edge of the outside piece in each set. ⁵Put 50 loops on the first piece of the first set and 50 loops matching them on the last piece of the second set. ⁶Make 50 gold hooks with which to join the two sets into one piece.

⁷“Make a cover for the Tent out of eleven pieces of cloth made of goats’ hair. ⁸Make them all the same size, 13 metres long and 2 metres wide. ⁹Sew five of them together in one set, and the other six in another set. Fold the sixth piece double over the front of the Tent. ¹⁰Put 50 loops on the edge of the last piece of one set, and 50 loops on the edge of the other set. ¹¹Make 50 bronze hooks and put them in the loops to join the two sets so as to form one cover. ¹²Hang the extra half-piece over the back of the Tent. ¹³The extra 50 centimetres on each side of the length is to hang over the sides of the Tent to cover it.

¹⁴“Make two more coverings, one of rams’ skin dyed red and the other of fine leather, to serve as the outer cover.

¹⁵“Make upright frames for the Tent out of acacia wood. ¹⁶Each frame is to be 4 metres long and 66 centimetres wide, ¹⁷with two matching projections, so that the frames can be joined together. All the frames are to have these projections. ¹⁸Make twenty frames for the south side ¹⁹and forty silver bases to go under them, two bases under each frame to hold its two projections. ²⁰Make twenty frames for the north side of the Tent ²¹and forty silver bases, two under each frame. ²²For the back of the Tent on the west, make six frames, ²³and two frames for the corners. ²⁴These corner frames are to be joined at the bottom and connected all the way to the top. The two frames that form the two corners are to be made in this way. ²⁵So there will be eight frames with their sixteen silver bases, two under each frame.

²⁶“Make fifteen crossbars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of the Tent, ²⁷five for the frames on the other side, and five for the frames on the west end, at the back. ²⁸The middle crossbar, set halfway up the frames, is to extend from one end of the Tent to the other. ²⁹Cover the frames with gold and fit them with gold rings to hold the crossbars, which are also to be covered with gold. ³⁰Set up the Tent according to the plan that I showed you on the mountain.

³¹“Make a curtain of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool. Embroider it with figures of winged creatures. ³²Hang it on four posts of acacia wood covered with gold, fitted with hooks, and set in four silver bases. ^33*Place the curtain under the row of hooks in the roof of the Tent, and behind the curtain put the Covenant Box containing the two stone tablets. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. ³⁴Put the lid on the Covenant Box. ³⁵Outside the Most Holy Place put the table against the north side of the Tent and the lamp-stand against the south side.

³⁶“For the entrance of the Tent make a curtain of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and decorated with embroidery. ³⁷For this curtain make five posts of acacia wood covered with gold and fitted with gold hooks; make five bronze bases for these posts.

The Altar

27“Make an altar out of acacia wood. It is to be square, 2.2 metres long and 2.2 metres wide, and it is to be 1.3 metres high. ²Make projections at the top of the four corners. They are to form one piece with the altar, and the whole is to be covered with bronze. ³Make pans for the greasy ashes, and make shovels, bowls, hooks, and firepans. All this equipment is to be made of bronze. ⁴Make a bronze grating and put four bronze carrying rings on its corners. ⁵Put the grating under the rim of the altar, so that it reaches halfway up the altar. ⁶Make carrying poles of acacia wood, cover them with bronze, ⁷and put them in the rings on each side of the altar when it is carried. ⁸Make the altar out of boards and leave it hollow, according to the plan that I showed you on the mountain.

The Enclosure for the Tent of the ’s Presence

⁹“For the Tent of my presence make an enclosure out of fine linen curtains. On the south side the curtains are to be 44 metres long, ¹⁰supported by twenty bronze posts in twenty bronze bases, with hooks and rods made of silver. ¹¹The same is to be done on the north side of the enclosure. ¹²On the west side there are to be curtains 22 metres long, with ten posts and ten bases. ¹³On the east side, where the entrance is, the enclosure is also to be 22 metres wide. ^14–15On each side of the entrance there are to be 6.6 metres of curtains, with three posts and three bases. ¹⁶For the entrance itself there is to be a curtain 9 metres long made of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and decorated with embroidery. It is to be supported by four posts in four bases. ¹⁷All the posts round the enclosure are to be connected with silver rods, and their hooks are to be made of silver and their bases of bronze. ¹⁸The enclosure is to be 44 metres long, 22 metres wide, and 2.2 metres high. The curtains are to be made of fine linen and the bases of bronze. ¹⁹All the equipment that is used in the Tent and all the pegs for the Tent and for the enclosure are to be made of bronze.

Taking Care of the Lamp

²⁰“Command the people of Israel to bring you the best olive oil for the lamp, so that it can be lit each evening. ²¹Aaron and his sons are to set up the lamp in the Tent of my presence outside the curtain which is in front of the Covenant Box. There in my presence it is to burn from evening until morning. This command is to be kept for ever by the Israelites and their descendants.