Exodus 39–40

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 serve me as priests. This anointing will make them priests for all time to come.”

¹⁶Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded. ¹⁷So on the first day of the first month of the second year after they left Egypt, the Tent of the Lord’s presence was set up. ¹⁸Moses put down its bases, set up its frames, attached its crossbars, and put up its posts. ¹⁹He spread out the covering over the Tent and put the outer covering over it, just as the Lord had commanded. ²⁰Then he took the two stone tablets and put them in the Covenant Box. He put the poles in the rings of the box and put the lid on it. ²¹Then he put the box in the Tent and hung up the curtain. In this way he screened off the Covenant Box, just as the Lord had commanded.

²²He put the table in the Tent, on the north side outside the curtain, ²³and placed on it the bread offered to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded. ²⁴He put the lamp-stand in the Tent, on the south side, opposite the table, ²⁵and there in the Lord’s presence he lit the lamps, just as the Lord had commanded. ²⁶He put the gold altar in the Tent, in front of the curtain, ²⁷and burnt the sweet-smelling incense, just as the Lord had commanded. ²⁸He hung the curtain at the entrance of the Tent, ²⁹and there in front of the curtain he placed the altar for burning offerings. On it he sacrificed the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the Lord had commanded. ³⁰He put the washbasin between the Tent and the altar and filled it with water. ³¹Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there ³²whenever they went into the Tent or to the altar, just as the Lord had commanded. ³³Moses set up the enclosure round the Tent and the altar and hung the curtain at the entrance of the enclosure. So he finished all the work.

The Cloud over the Tent of the ’s Presence

^34*Then the cloud covered the Tent and the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence filled it. ³⁵Because of this, Moses could not go into the Tent. ³⁶The Israelites moved their camp to another place only when the cloud lifted from the Tent. ³⁷As long as the cloud stayed there, they did not move their camp. ³⁸During all their wanderings they could see the cloud of the Lord’s presence over the Tent during the day and a fire burning above it during the night.