Exodus 36–40

Chapter 36

The Tabernacle Underwritten

¹“Now Bezalel and Oholiab, and every ¹skillful person in whom the Lord has put ²skill and understanding to know how to perform all the work ³in the construction of the sanctuary, shall perform in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”

²Then Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every ¹skillful person in ²whom the Lord had put ³skill, ^aeveryone whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it.

³They received from Moses all the ¹contributions which the sons of Israel had brought ²to perform the work ³in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning.

⁴And all the ¹skillful men who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from ²the work which ³he was performing,

⁵and they said to ¹Moses, “^aThe people are bringing much more than enough for the ²construction work which the Lord commanded us to ³perform.”

⁶So Moses issued a command, and a ¹proclamation was circulated throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman any longer perform work for the ²contributions of the sanctuary.” Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more.

^7aFor the ¹material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.

Construction Proceeds

^8aAll the ¹skillful men among those who were performing the work made the ²tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twisted linen and ³blue and purple and scarlet material, with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman, ⁴Bezalel made them.

⁹The length of each curtain was twenty-eight ¹cubits and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains had ²the same measurements.

¹⁰He ¹joined five curtains to one another and the other five curtains he joined to one another.

¹¹He made loops of ¹blue on the edge of the ²outermost curtain in the first ³set; he did likewise on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set.

¹²He made ^afifty loops in the one curtain and he made fifty loops on the ¹edge of the curtain that was in the second ²set; the loops were opposite each other.

¹³He made ^afifty clasps of gold and ¹joined the curtains to one another with the clasps, so the tabernacle was ²a unit.

¹⁴Then ^ahe made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains ¹in all.

¹⁵The length of each curtain was thirty cubits and four cubits the width of each curtain; the eleven curtains had ¹the same measurements.

¹⁶He ¹joined five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves.

¹⁷Moreover, he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the first ¹set, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set.

¹⁸He made fifty clasps of ¹bronze to ²join the tent together so that it would be ³a unit.

¹⁹He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins ¹dyed red, and a covering of porpoise skins above.

^20aThen he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright.

²¹Ten cubits was the length of ¹each board and one and a half cubits the width of each board.

²²There were two tenons for each board, ¹fitted to one another; thus he did for all the boards of the tabernacle.

²³He made the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards ¹for the south side;

²⁴and he made forty ¹sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.

²⁵Then for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards,

²⁶and their forty ¹sockets of silver; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board.

²⁷For the ¹rear of the tabernacle, to the west, he made six boards.

²⁸He made two boards for the corners of the ¹tabernacle at the ²rear.

²⁹They were double beneath, and together they were complete to its ¹top ²to the first ring; thus he did with both of them for the two corners.

³⁰There were eight boards with their ¹sockets of silver, sixteen sockets, ²two under every board.

³¹Then he made ^abars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle,

³²and five bars for the boards of the ¹other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the ²rear side to the west.

³³He made the middle bar to pass through in the ¹center of the boards from end to end.

³⁴He overlaid the boards with gold and made their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

^35aMoreover, he made the veil of ¹blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; he made it with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.

³⁶He made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four ¹sockets of silver for them.

³⁷He made a ^ascreen for the doorway of the tent, of ¹blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, the work of a ²weaver;

³⁸and he made its ^afive pillars with their hooks, and he overlaid their tops and their ¹bands with gold; but their five ²sockets were of ³bronze.

Chapter 37

Construction Continues

^1aNow Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was two and a half ¹cubits, and its width one and a half cubits, and its height one and a half cubits;

²and he overlaid it with pure gold inside and out, and made a gold molding for it all around.

³He cast four rings of gold for it on its four feet; even two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the ¹other side of it.

⁴He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

⁵He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry ¹it.

⁶He made a ¹mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits ²long and one and a half cubits ³wide.

⁷He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work ¹at the two ends of the mercy seat;

⁸one cherub ¹at the one end and one cherub at the other end; he made the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at the two ends.

⁹The cherubim had their wings spread upward, covering the ¹mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward each other; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

^10aThen he made the table of acacia wood, two ¹cubits ²long and a cubit ³wide and one and a half cubits ⁴high.

¹¹He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a gold molding for it all around.

¹²He made a rim for it of a handbreadth all around, and made a gold molding for its rim all around.

¹³He cast four gold rings for it and put the rings on the four corners that were on its four feet.

¹⁴Close by the rim were the rings, the holders for the poles to carry the table.

¹⁵He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table.

¹⁶He made the utensils which were on the table, its ¹dishes and its pans and its ²bowls and its jars, with which to pour out drink offerings, of pure gold.

^17aThen he made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work, its base and its shaft; its cups, its ¹bulbs and its flowers were of one piece with it.

¹⁸There were six branches going out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand from the one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the ¹other side of it;

¹⁹three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a ¹bulb and a flower in one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a bulb and a flower in the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.

²⁰In the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its ¹bulbs and its flowers;

²¹and a ¹bulb was under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand.

²²Their ¹bulbs and their branches were of one piece with it; the whole of it was a single hammered work of pure gold.

²³He made its seven lamps with its snuffers and its ¹trays of pure gold.

²⁴He made it and all its utensils from a talent of pure gold.

^25aThen he made the altar of incense of acacia wood: a cubit ¹long and a cubit ²wide, square, and two cubits ³high; its horns were of one piece with it.

²⁶He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and its ¹sides all around, and its horns; and he made a gold molding for it all around.

²⁷He made two golden rings for it under its molding, on its two sides—on opposite sides—as holders for poles with which to carry it.

²⁸He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

^29aAnd he made the holy anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense of spices, the work of a perfumer.

Chapter 38

The Tabernacle Completed

^1aThen he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, five ¹cubits ²long, and five cubits ³wide, square, and three cubits ⁴high.

²He made its horns on its four corners, its horns ¹being of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with ²bronze.

³He made all the utensils of the altar, the pails and the shovels and the basins, the flesh hooks and the firepans; he made all its utensils of bronze.

⁴He made for the altar a grating of bronze network beneath, under its ledge, reaching halfway up.

⁵He cast four rings on the four ends of the bronze grating as holders for the poles.

⁶He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

⁷He inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made it hollow with planks.

^8aMoreover, he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, ¹from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

^9aThen he made the court: ¹for the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits;

¹⁰their twenty pillars, and their twenty ¹sockets, made of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their ²bands were of silver.

¹¹For the north side there were one hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty ¹sockets were of bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their ²bands were of silver.

¹²For the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits with their ten pillars and their ten ¹…