Exodus 37–40

37TH CHAPTER

The Ark—Exodus 25:10–20

¹Bezalel made the ark out of acacia wood 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ²He covered it with pure gold inside and out and put a gold molding around it. ³He cast four gold rings for its four feet, two rings on each side. ⁴Then he made poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold. ⁵He put them through the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry it. 

⁶He made the throne of mercy out of pure gold 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. ⁷Then he made two angels^aout of hammered gold for the two ends of the throne of mercy, ⁸one on each end. He formed the angels and the throne of mercy out of one piece ⸤of gold⸥. ⁹The angels had their wings spread above the throne of mercy, overshadowing it. They faced each other, looking at the throne of mercy. 

The Table—Exodus 25:23–30

¹⁰He made the table out of acacia wood 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. ¹¹He covered it with pure gold and put a gold molding around it. ¹²He made a rim 3 inches wide around it and put a gold molding around the rim. ¹³He cast four gold rings for it and fastened the rings to the four corners, where the four legs were. ¹⁴The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles for carrying the table. ¹⁵These poles were made out of acacia wood and were covered with gold. ¹⁶For the table he made plates, dishes, bowls, and pitchers to be used for pouring wine offerings. All of them were made out of pure gold. 

The Lamp Stand—Exodus 25:31–39

¹⁷He made the lamp stand out of pure gold. The lamp stand, its base, and its shaft, as well as the flower cups, buds, and petals were hammered out of one piece ⸤of gold⸥. ¹⁸Six branches came out of its sides, three branches on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹Each of the six branches coming out of the lamp stand had three flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals. ²⁰The lamp stand itself had four flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a bud and petals. ²¹There was a bud under each of the three pairs of branches coming out of the lamp stand. ²²The buds and branches were hammered out of the same piece of pure gold as the lamp stand. 

²³He made the seven lamps, the tongs, and the incense burners out of pure gold. ²⁴The lamp stand and all the utensils were made out of 75 pounds of pure gold. 

The Altar for Incense—Exodus 30:1–5

²⁵He made an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense. It was 18 inches square and 36 inches high. The horns and altar were made out of one piece ⸤of wood⸥. ²⁶He covered all of it with pure gold—the top, the sides, and the horns—and he put a gold molding around it. ²⁷He made two gold rings and put them below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles for carrying it. ²⁸He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold. 

²⁹He also had a perfumer make the holy oil to be used for anointing and for the pure, sweet-smelling incense. 

38TH CHAPTER

The Altar for Burnt Offerings—Exodus 27:1–8

¹He made the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood 7½ feet square and 4½ feet high. ²He made a horn at each of its four corners. He made the four horns and the altar out of one piece ⸤of wood⸥ covered with bronze. 

³He made all the utensils out of bronze: pots, shovels, bowls, forks, and incense burners. 

⁴He made a grate for the altar out of bronze mesh, ⸤and put it⸥ under the ledge, halfway up the altar. ⁵He cast four rings to hold the poles (one for each of the four corners of the bronze grate). ⁶He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with bronze. ⁷He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it. He made the altar out of boards so that it was hollow inside. 

The Bronze Basin—Exodus 30:17–21

⁸He made the basin and stand out of the bronze mirrors given by the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 

The Courtyard—Exodus 27:9–19

⁹He also made the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard was 150 feet long and had curtains made out of fine linen yarn, ¹⁰⸤hung⸥ on 20 posts ⸤set in⸥ 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. ¹¹The north side was also 150 feet long with 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. 

¹²The west side was 75 feet long and had curtains ⸤hung⸥ on 10 posts ⸤set in⸥ 10 bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. ¹³The east side, facing the rising sun, was 75 feet ⸤wide⸥. ^14–15Each side of the entrance to the courtyard was 22½ feet wide with curtains ⸤hung⸥ on three posts ⸤set in⸥ three bases. ¹⁶All the curtains around the courtyard were made out of fine linen yarn. ¹⁷The bases for the posts were made of bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver. And the bands on all the posts of the courtyard were made of silver. 

¹⁸The screen for the entrance to the courtyard was made of violet, purple, and bright red yarn embroidered on ⸤fabric made from⸥ fine linen yarn. It was 30 feet long and 7½ feet high, just like the curtains of the courtyard. ¹⁹It was hung on four posts ⸤set in⸥ four bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver. 

²⁰All the pegs for the tent and the surrounding courtyard were made of bronze. 

The Amount of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Used

²¹This is the amount of material that was used for the tent (the tent of the words of God’s promise). An inventory was ordered by Moses and carried out by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron. 

²²Now Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord had commanded Moses. ²³He was a jeweler, carpenter, designer, and he knew how to embroider violet, purple, and bright red yarn on fine linen. His assistant was Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan. 

²⁴The total amount of gold from the offerings presented to the Lord used in building the holy place weighed over 2,193 pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place. 

²⁵The silver collected when the census of the community was taken weighed 7,544 pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place. ²⁶This came to one-fifth of an ounce per person, for everyone counted who was at least 20 years old: 603,550 people. ²⁷He used 7,500 pounds of silver to cast the 100 bases for the holy place and the canopy. This was 75 pounds per base. ²⁸He used 44 pounds of silver to make the hooks and bands for the posts and the coverings for the tops of the posts. 

²⁹The bronze from the offerings presented to the Lord weighed 5,310 pounds. ³⁰With this he made the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grate and all its accessories, ³¹the bases all around the courtyard, the bases for the entrance to the courtyard, all the pegs for the tent, and all the pegs for the surrounding courtyard. 

39TH CHAPTER

The Holy Clothes—Exodus 28:1–5

¹From the violet, purple, and bright red yarn they made special clothes worn for official duties in the holy place. They also made the holy clothes for Aaron. They followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses. 

The Ephod—Exodus 28:6–14

²They made the ephod out of fine linen yarn and gold, violet, purple, and bright red yarn. ³They hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut them up. They twisted the gold into threads, which they creatively worked into each strand of the violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and throughout the fine linen. ⁴They made two shoulder straps attached at the ⸤top⸥ corners so that the ephod could be fastened. ⁵They made the belt that is attached to the ephod out of the same fabric. They followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses. ⁶They mounted the onyx stones in gold settings, and engraved on them the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷Then they fastened them on the shoulder straps of the ephod as a reminder of who the Israelites are. They followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses. 

The Breastplate—Exodus 28:15–28

⁸They made the breastplate as creatively as they made the ephod. It was made out of gold, violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and of fine linen yarn. ⁹It was folded in half and was 9 inches square. ¹⁰They fastened four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row they put red quartz, topaz, and emerald. ¹¹In the second row they put turquoise, sapphire, and crystal. ¹²In the third row they put jacinth, agate, and amethyst. ¹³In the fourth row they put beryl, onyx, and gray quartz. The stones were mounted in gold settings. ¹⁴They corresponded to the 12 sons of Israel, by name, each stone engraved (like a signet ring) with the name of one of the 12 tribes. 

¹⁵For the breastplate they made chains out of pure gold, twisted like ropes. ¹⁶They made two gold settings and two gold rings and attached the two rings to the ⸤top⸥ two corners of the breastplate. ¹⁷They fastened the two gold ropes to the rings at the ⸤top⸥ corners of the breastplate. ¹⁸They fastened the other ends of the ropes to the two settings on the shoulder straps of the ephod ⸤so that the breastplate hung⸥ in front of it. ¹⁹They made two gold rings and fastened them to the other two corners of the breastplate on the inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁰They made two ⸤more⸥ gold rings and fastened them to the bottom of the shoulder straps on the front of the ephod. This was close to the seam just above the belt of the ephod. ²¹Then they fastened the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a violet cord. So the breastplate was attached just above the belt of the ephod and was held in place. They followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses. 

Other Clothes for Aaron and His Sons—Exodus 28:31–43

²²They made the robe that is worn with the ephod, woven entirely of violet yarn. ²³The opening in the center of the robe had a finished edge (like a leather collar) all around it to keep it from tearing. ²⁴On the hem of the robe they made…