Exodus 37–39

The Ark of the Agreement

37Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood; it was forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ²He covered it, both inside and out, with pure gold, and he put a gold strip around it. ³He made four gold rings for it and attached them to its four feet, with two rings on each side. ⁴Then he made poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold. ⁵He put the poles through the rings on each side of the Ark to carry it. ⁶Then he made a lid of pure gold that was forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. ⁷Then Bezalel hammered gold to make two creatures with wings and attached them to each end of the lid. ⁸He made one creature on one end of the lid and the other creature on the other end. He attached them to the lid so that it would be one piece. ⁹The creatures’ wings were spread upward, covering the lid, and the creatures faced each other across the lid.

The Table

¹⁰Then he made the table of acacia wood; it was thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ¹¹He covered it with pure gold and put a gold strip around it. ¹²He made a frame three inches high that stood up all around the edge, and he put a gold strip around it. ¹³Then he made four gold rings for the table and attached them to the four corners of the table where the four legs were. ¹⁴The rings were put close to the frame around the top of the table, because they held the poles for carrying it. ¹⁵The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were covered with gold. ¹⁶He made of pure gold all the things that were used on the table: the plates, bowls, cups, and jars used for pouring the drink offerings.

The Lampstand

¹⁷Then he made the lampstand of pure gold, hammering out its base and stand. Its flower-like cups, buds, and petals were joined together in one piece with the base and stand. ¹⁸Six branches went out from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹Each branch had three cups shaped like almond flowers, and each cup had a bud and a petal. Each of the six branches going out from the lampstand was the same. ²⁰There were four more cups shaped like almond flowers on the lampstand itself, each with its buds and petals. ²¹Three pairs of branches went out from the lampstand. A bud was under the place where each pair was attached to the lampstand. Each of the six branches going out from the lampstand was the same. ²²The buds, branches, and lampstand were all one piece of pure, hammered gold. ²³He made seven pure gold lamps for this lampstand, and he made pure gold wick trimmers and trays. ²⁴He used about seventy-five pounds of pure gold to make the lampstand and all the things that go with it.

The Altar for Burning Incense

²⁵Then he made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square—eighteen inches long and eighteen inches wide—and it was thirty-six inches high. Each corner that stuck out like a horn was joined into one piece with the altar. ²⁶He covered the top and all the sides and the corners with pure gold, and he put gold trim around the altar. ²⁷He made two gold rings and put them below the trim on opposite sides of the altar; these rings held the poles for carrying it. ²⁸He made the poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

²⁹Then he made the holy olive oil for appointing the priests and the pure, sweet-smelling incense. He made them like a person who mixes perfumes.

The Altar for Burnt Offerings

38Then he built the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood. The altar was square—seven and one-half feet long and seven and one-half feet wide—and it was four and one-half feet high. ²He made each corner stick out like a horn so that the horns and the altar were joined together in one piece. Then he covered the altar with bronze. ³He made all the tools of bronze to use on the altar: the pots, shovels, bowls for sprinkling blood, meat forks, and pans for carrying the fire. ⁴He made a large bronze screen to hold the burning wood for the altar and put it inside the altar, under its rim, halfway up from the bottom. ⁵He made bronze rings to hold the poles for carrying the altar, and he put them at the four corners of the screen. ⁶Then he made poles of acacia wood and covered them with bronze. ⁷He put the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar, to carry it. He made the altar of boards and left the inside hollow.

The Bronze Bowl

⁸He made the bronze bowl for washing, and he built it on a bronze stand. He used the bronze from mirrors that belonged to the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

The Courtyard of the Holy Tent

⁹Then he made a wall of curtains to form a courtyard around the Holy Tent. On the south side the curtains were one hundred fifty feet long and were made of fine linen. ¹⁰The curtains hung on silver hooks and bands, placed on twenty bronze posts with twenty bronze bases. ¹¹On the north side the wall of curtains was also one hundred fifty feet long, and it hung on silver hooks and bands on twenty posts with twenty bronze bases.

¹²On the west side of the courtyard, the wall of curtains was seventy-five feet long. It was held up by silver hooks and bands on ten posts with ten bases. ¹³The east side was also seventy-five feet long. ¹⁴On one side of the entry there was a wall of curtains twenty-two and one-half feet long, held up by three posts and three bases. ¹⁵On the other side of the entry there was also a wall of curtains twenty-two and one-half feet long, held up by three posts and three bases. ¹⁶All the curtains around the courtyard were made of fine linen. ¹⁷The bases for the posts were made of bronze. The hooks and the bands on the posts were made of silver, and the tops of the posts were covered with silver also. All the posts in the courtyard had silver bands.

¹⁸The curtain for the entry of the courtyard was made of blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen, sewn by a person who could sew well. The curtain was thirty feet long and seven and one-half feet high, the same height as the curtains around the courtyard. ¹⁹It was held up by four posts and four bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver, and the tops on the posts were covered with silver. ²⁰All the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and for the curtains around the courtyard were made of bronze.

²¹This is a list of the materials used to make the Holy Tent, where the Agreement was kept. Moses ordered the Levites to make this list, and Ithamar son of Aaron was in charge of keeping it. ²²Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses. ²³Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan helped him. He could cut designs into metal and stone; he was a designer and also skilled at sewing the blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen.

²⁴The total amount of gold used to build the Holy Tent was presented to the Lord. It weighed over 2,000 pounds, as set by the Holy Place measure.

²⁵The silver was given by the members of the community who were counted. It weighed 7,550 pounds, as set by the Holy Place measure. ²⁶All the men twenty years old or older were counted. There were 603,550 men, and each man had to pay one-fifth of an ounce of silver, as set by the Holy Place measure. ²⁷Of this silver, 7,500 pounds were used to make the one hundred bases for the Holy Tent and for the curtain—75 pounds of silver in each base. ²⁸They used 50 pounds of silver to make the hooks for the posts and to cover the tops of the posts and to make the bands on them.

²⁹The bronze which was presented to the Lord weighed about 5,000 pounds. ³⁰They used the bronze to make the bases at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, to make the altar and the bronze screen, and to make all the tools for the altar. ³¹This bronze was also used to make bases for the wall of curtains around the courtyard and bases for curtains at the entry to the courtyard, as well as to make the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and the curtains that surrounded the courtyard.

Clothes for the Priests

39They used blue, purple, and red thread to make woven clothes for the priests to wear when they served in the Holy Place. They made the holy clothes for Aaron as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²They made the holy vest of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. ³They hammered the gold into sheets and then cut it into long, thin strips. They worked the gold into the blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. This was done by skilled craftsmen. ⁴They made the shoulder straps for the holy vest, which were attached to the top corners of the vest and tied together over each shoulder. ⁵The skillfully woven belt was made in the same way; it was joined to the holy vest as one piece. It was made of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen, the way the Lord commanded Moses.

⁶They put gold around the onyx stones and then wrote the names of the sons of Israel on these gems, as a person carves words and designs on a seal. ⁷Then they attached the gems on the shoulder straps of the holy vest, as reminders of the twelve sons of Israel. This was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁸The skilled craftsmen made the chest covering like the holy vest; it was made of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. ⁹The chest covering was square—nine inches long and nine inches wide—and it was folded double to make a pocket. ¹⁰Then they put four rows of beautiful jewels on it: In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz, and a yellow quartz; ¹¹in the second there was a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; ¹²in the third there was a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³in the fourth there was a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. Gold was put around these jewels to attach them to the chest covering, ¹⁴and the names of the sons of Israel were carved on these twelve jewels as a person carves a seal. Each jewel had the name of one of the twelve…