Exodus 38–40

Making the Altar for the Burnt Offerings

38For burning offerings, he made an altar out of acacia wood. It was square, 2.2 metres long and 2.2 metres wide, and it was 1.3 metres high. ²He made the projections at the top of the four corners, so that they formed one piece with the altar. He covered it all with bronze. ³He also made all the equipment for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the bowls, the hooks, and the firepans. All this equipment was made of bronze. ⁴He made a bronze grating and put it under the rim of the altar, so that it reached halfway up the altar. ⁵He made four carrying rings and put them on the four corners. ⁶He made carrying poles of acacia wood, covered them with bronze, ⁷and put them in the rings on each side of the altar. The altar was made of boards and was hollow.

Making the Bronze Basin

^8*He made the bronze basin and its bronze base out of the mirrors belonging to the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord’s presence.

The Enclosure for the Tent of the ’s Presence

⁹For the Tent of the Lord’s presence he made the enclosure out of fine linen curtains. On the south side the curtains were 44 metres long, ¹⁰supported by twenty bronze posts in twenty bronze bases, with hooks and rods made of silver. ¹¹The enclosure was the same on the north side. ¹²On the west side there were curtains 22 metres long, with ten posts and ten bases and with hooks and rods made of silver. ¹³On the east side, where the entrance was, the enclosure was also 22 metres wide. ^14–15On each side of the entrance there were 6.6 metres of curtains, with three posts and three bases. ¹⁶All the curtains round the enclosure were made of fine linen. ¹⁷The bases for the posts were made of bronze, and the hooks, the rods, and the covering of the tops of the posts were made of silver. All the posts round the enclosure were connected with silver rods. ¹⁸The curtain for the entrance of the enclosure was made of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and decorated with embroidery. It was 9 metres long and 2 metres high, like the curtains of the enclosure. ¹⁹It was supported by four posts in four bronze bases. Their hooks, the covering of their tops, and their rods were made of silver. ²⁰All the pegs for the Tent and for the surrounding enclosure were made of bronze.

Metals Used in the Tent of the ’s Presence

²¹Here is a list of the amounts of the metals used in the Tent of the Lord’s presence, where the two stone tablets were kept on which the Ten Commandments were written. The list was ordered by Moses and made by the Levites who worked under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

²²Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded. ²³His helper, Oholiab son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, was an engraver, a designer, and a weaver of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool.

²⁴All the gold that had been dedicated to the Lord for the sacred Tent weighed a thousand kilogrammes, weighed according to the official standard. ^25*The silver from the census of the community weighed 3,430 kilogrammes, weighed according to the official standard. ^26*This amount equalled the total paid by all persons enrolled in the census, each one paying the required amount, weighed according to the official standard. There were 603,550 men twenty years old or older enrolled in the census. ²⁷Of the silver, 3,400 kilogrammes were used to make the hundred bases for the sacred Tent and for the curtain, 34 kilogrammes for each base. ²⁸With the remaining 30 kilogrammes of silver Bezalel made the rods, the hooks for the posts, and the covering for their tops. ²⁹The bronze which was dedicated to the Lord amounted to 2,425 kilogrammes. ³⁰With it he made the bases for the entrance of the Tent of the Lord’s presence, the bronze altar with its bronze grating, all the equipment for the altar, ³¹the bases for the surrounding enclosure and for the entrance of the enclosure, and all the pegs for the Tent and the surrounding enclosure.

Making the Garments for the Priests

39With the blue, purple, and red wool they made the magnificent garments which the priests were to wear when they served in the Holy Place. They made the priestly garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²They made the ephod of fine linen; blue, purple, and red wool; and gold thread. ³They hammered out sheets of gold and cut them into thin strips to be worked into the fine linen and into the blue, purple, and red wool. ⁴They made two shoulder straps for the ephod and attached them to its sides, so that it could be fastened. ⁵The finely woven belt, made of the same materials, was attached to the ephod so as to form one piece with it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁶They prepared the carnelians and mounted them in gold settings; they were skilfully engraved with the names of the twelve sons of Jacob. ⁷They put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod to represent the twelve tribes of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Breast-plate

⁸They made the breast-piece of the same materials as the ephod and with similar embroidery. ⁹It was square and folded double, 22 centimetres long and 22 centimetres wide. ¹⁰They mounted four rows of precious stones on it: in the first row they mounted a ruby, a topaz, and a garnet; ¹¹in the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹²in the third row, a turquoise, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³and in the fourth row, a beryl, a carnelian, and a jasper. These were mounted in gold settings. ¹⁴Each of the twelve stones had engraved on it the name of one of the sons of Jacob, in order to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹⁵For the breast-piece they made chains of pure gold, twisted like cords. ¹⁶They made two gold settings and two gold rings and attached the two rings to the upper corners of the breast-piece. ¹⁷They fastened the two gold cords to the two rings ¹⁸and fastened the other two ends of the cords to the two settings and in this way attached them in front to the shoulder straps of the ephod. ¹⁹They made two rings of gold and attached them to the lower corners of the breast-piece, on the inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁰They made two more gold rings and attached them to the lower part of the front of the two shoulder straps of the ephod, near the seam and above the finely woven belt. ²¹Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, they tied the rings of the breast-piece to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that the breast-piece rested above the belt and did not come loose.

Making the Other Priestly Garments

²²The robe that goes under the ephod was made entirely of blue wool. ²³The hole for the head was reinforced with a woven binding to keep it from tearing. ^24–26All round its lower hem they put pomegranates of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool, alternating with bells of pure gold, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁷They made the shirts for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸and the turban, the caps, the linen shorts, ²⁹and the sash of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool, decorated with embroidery, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰They made the ornament, the sacred sign of dedication, out of pure gold, and they engraved on it “Dedicated to the Lord”. ³¹They tied it to the front of the turban with a blue cord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Completion of the Work

³²All the work on the Tent of the Lord’s presence was finally completed. The Israelites made everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³They brought to Moses the Tent and all its equipment, its hooks, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases; ³⁴the covering of rams’ skin dyed red; the covering of fine leather; the curtain; ³⁵the Covenant Box containing the stone tablets, its poles, and its lid; ³⁶the table and all its equipment, and the bread offered to God; ³⁷the lamp-stand of pure gold, its lamps, all its equipment, and the oil for the lamps; ³⁸the gold altar; the anointing oil; the sweet-smelling incense; the curtain for the entrance of the Tent; ³⁹the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its equipment; the washbasin and its base; ⁴⁰the curtains for the enclosure and its posts and bases; the curtain for the entrance of the enclosure and its ropes; the pegs for the Tent; all the equipment to be used in the Tent; ⁴¹and the magnificent garments the priests were to wear in the Holy Place—the sacred clothes for Aaron the priest and for his sons. ⁴²The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴³Moses examined everything and saw that they had made it all just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

Setting Up and Dedicating the Tent of the ’s Presence

40The Lord said to Moses, ²“On the first day of the first month set up the Tent of the Lord’s presence. ³Place in it the Covenant Box containing the Ten Commandments and put the curtain in front of it. ⁴Bring in the table and place the equipment on it. Also bring in the lamp-stand and set up the lamps on it. ⁵Put the gold altar for burning incense in front of the Covenant Box and hang the curtain at the entrance of the Tent. ⁶Put in front of the Tent the altar for burning offerings. ⁷Put the washbasin between the Tent and the altar and fill it with water. ⁸Put up the surrounding enclosure and hang the curtain at its entrance.

⁹“Then dedicate the Tent and all its equipment by anointing it with the sacred oil, and it will be holy. ¹⁰Next, dedicate the altar and all its equipment by anointing it, and it will be completely holy. ¹¹Also dedicate the washbasin and its base in the same way.

¹²“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent, and tell them to take a ritual bath. ¹³Dress Aaron in the priestly garments, anoint him, and in this way consecrate him, so that he can serve me as priest. ¹⁴Bring his sons and put the shirts on them. ¹⁵Then anoint them, just as you anointed their father, so that they can…