Exodus 38–40

The Altar of Burnt Offering

38:1–7pp—Ex 27:1–8

38They^a built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits^b high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.^{c 2}They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.^{r 3}They made all its utensils^s of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. ⁴They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. ⁵They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. ⁶They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.

The Basin for Washing

⁸They made the bronze basin^t and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women^u who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The Courtyard

38:9–20pp—Ex 27:9–19

⁹Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits^d long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, ¹⁰with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. ¹¹The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

¹²The west end was fifty cubits^e wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. ¹³The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. ¹⁴Curtains fifteen cubits^f long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, ¹⁵and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. ¹⁶All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. ¹⁷The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.

¹⁸The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits^g long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits^h high, ¹⁹with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. ²⁰All the tent pegs^v of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

The Materials Used

²¹These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law,^w which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar^x son of Aaron, the priest. ²²(Bezalel^y son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses; ²³with him was Oholiab^z son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) ²⁴The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary^a was 29 talents and 730 shekels,ⁱ according to the sanctuary shekel.^b

²⁵The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census^c was 100 talents^j and 1,775 shekels,^k according to the sanctuary shekel—²⁶one beka per person,^d that is, half a shekel,^l according to the sanctuary shekel,^e from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more,^f a total of 603,550 men.^{g 27}The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases^h for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. ²⁸They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.

²⁹The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.^{m 30}They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, ³¹the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

The Priestly Garments

39From the blue, purple and scarlet yarnⁱ they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary.^j They also made sacred garments^k for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Ephod

39:2–7pp—Ex 28:6–14

²They^a made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. ³They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of skilled hands. ⁴They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened. ⁵Its skillfully woven waistband was like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁶They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial^l stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Breastpiece

39:8–21pp—Ex 28:15–28

⁸They fashioned the breastpiece^m—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. ⁹It was square—a span^b long and a span wide—and folded double. ¹⁰Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; ¹¹the second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; ¹²the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; ¹³the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper.^c They were mounted in gold filigree settings. ¹⁴There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.ⁿ

¹⁵For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. ¹⁶They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece. ¹⁷They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, ¹⁸and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. ¹⁹They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁰Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. ²¹They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod—as the Lord commanded Moses.

Other Priestly Garments

39:22–31pp—Ex 28:31–43

²²They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth—the work of a weaver—²³with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar,^d and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. ²⁴They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. ²⁵And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates. ²⁶The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the Lord commanded Moses.

²⁷For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen^o—the work of a weaver—²⁸and the turban^p of fine linen, the linen caps and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. ²⁹The sash was made of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁰They made the plate, the sacred emblem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: holy to the Lord.^{q 31}Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban,^r as the Lord commanded Moses.

Moses Inspects the Tabernacle

39:32–41pp—Ex 35:10–19

³²So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.^{s 33}Then they brought the tabernacle^t to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; ³⁴the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of another durable leather^e and the shielding curtain; ³⁵the ark of the covenant law^u with its poles and the atonement cover; ³⁶the table^v with all its articles and the bread of the Presence;^{w 37}the pure gold lampstand^x with its row of lamps and all its accessories,^y and the olive oil^z for the light; ³⁸the gold altar,^a the anointing oil,^b the fragrant incense,^c and the curtain^d for the entrance to the tent; ³⁹the bronze altar^e with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin^f with its stand; ⁴⁰the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;^g the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; ⁴¹and the woven garments^h worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests.

⁴²The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^{i 43}Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded.^j So Moses blessed^k them.

Setting Up the Tabernacle

40Then the Lord said to Moses: ²“Set up^l the tabernacle, the tent of meeting,^m on the first day of the first month.^{n 3}Place the ark^o of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain. ⁴Bring in the table^p and set out what belongs on it.^q Then bring in the lampstand^r and set up its lamps. ⁵Place the gold altar^s of incense in front of the ark of the covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

⁶“Place the altar^t of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; ⁷place the basin^u between the tent of meeting and the…