Chapter 23

Sundry Laws

1 “aYou shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a bmalicious witness.

2 “You shall not follow 1the masses in doing evil, nor shall you 2testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after 1a multitude in order to apervert justice;

3 anor shall you 1be partial to a poor man in his dispute.

4 “aIf you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.

5 “aIf you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

6 “aYou shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute.

7 “aKeep far from a false charge, and bdo not kill the innocent or the righteous, for cI will not acquit the guilty.

8 “aYou shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and 1subverts the cause of the just.

9 “aYou shall not oppress a 1stranger, since you yourselves know the 2feelings of a 1stranger, for you also were 1strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Sabbath and Land

10 “aYou shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield,

11 but on the seventh year you shall let it 1rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12 “aSix days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as 1your stranger, may refresh themselves.

13 “Now aconcerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and bdo not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard 1from your mouth.

Three National Feasts

14 “aThree times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.

15 “You shall observe athe Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the bmonth Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And 1cnone shall appear before Me empty-handed.

16 “Also you shall observe athe Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year bwhen you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.

17 “aThree times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord 1God.

18 “aYou shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; bnor is the fat of My 1feast to remain overnight until morning.

19 “You shall bring athe choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.

“bYou are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Conquest of the Land

20 “Behold, I am going to send aan angel before you to guard you along the way and bto bring you into the place which I have prepared.

21 “Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; ado not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since bMy name is in him.

22 “But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then aI will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

23 “aFor My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.

24 “aYou shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; bbut you shall utterly overthrow them and break their csacred pillars in pieces.

25 “aBut you shall serve the Lord your God, 1and He will bless your bread and your water; and bI will remove sickness from your midst.

26 “There shall be no one miscarrying or abarren in your land; bI will fulfill the number of your days.

27 “I will asend My terror ahead of you, and bthrow into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will cmake all your enemies turn their backs to you.

28 “I will send ahornets ahead of you so that they will bdrive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you.

29 “aI will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

30 “I will drive them out before you alittle by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.

31 “aI will fix your boundary from the 1Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; bfor I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will cdrive them out before you.

32 “aYou shall 1make no covenant with them bor with their gods.

33 “aThey shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, bit will surely be a snare to you.”

Chapter 24

People Affirm Their Covenant with God

1 Then He said to Moses, “aCome up to the Lord, you and Aaron, bNadab and Abihu and cseventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance.

2 “Moses alone, however, shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”

3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the 1ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “aAll the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!”

4 aMoses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an baltar 1at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, aand they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.

6 aMoses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 Then he took athe book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “bAll that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”

8 So aMoses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold bthe blood of the covenant, which the Lord has 1made with you 2in accordance with all these words.”

9 Then Moses went up 1with Aaron, aNadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,

10 and athey saw the God of Israel; and under His feet 1bthere appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, 2as clear as the sky itself.

11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and athey saw God, and they ate and drank.

12 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and 1remain there, and aI will give you the stone tablets 2with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.”

13 So Moses arose 1with aJoshua his 2servant, and Moses went up to bthe mountain of God.

14 But to the elders he said, “aWait here for us until we return to you. And behold, bAaron and Hur are with you; whoever 1has a legal matter, let him approach them.”

15 Then Moses went up to the mountain, and athe cloud covered the mountain.

16 aThe glory of the Lord 1rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He bcalled to Moses from the midst of the cloud.

17 aAnd to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a bconsuming fire on the mountain top.

18 Moses entered the midst of the cloud 1as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain aforty days and forty nights.

Chapter 25

Offerings for the Sanctuary

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “aTell the sons of Israel to 1raise a 2contribution for Me; bfrom every man whose heart moves him you shall 1raise My 2contribution.

3 “This is the 1contribution which you are to 2raise from them: gold, silver and bronze,

4 1ablue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair,

5 rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,

6 aoil for lighting, bspices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,

7 onyx stones and setting stones for the aephod and for the 1bbreastpiece.

8 “Let them aconstruct a sanctuary for Me, bthat I may dwell among them.

9 “aAccording to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.

Ark of the Covenant

10 “aThey shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half 1cubits 2long, and one and a half cubits 3wide, and one and a half cubits 4high.

11 “You shall aoverlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding 1around it.

12 “You shall cast four gold rings for it and 1fasten them on its four feet, and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it.

13 “You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

14 “You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them.

15 “The apoles shall 1remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it.

16 “You shall aput into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.

17 “You shall amake a 1mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half 2cubits 3long and one and a half cubits 4wide.

18 “You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work 1at the two ends of the mercy seat.

19 “Make one cherub 1at one end and one cherub 1at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends.

20 “aThe cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and 1facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat.

21 “aYou shall put the mercy seat 1on top of the ark, and bin the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you.

22 “aThere I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from bbetween the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.

The Table of Showbread

23 “aYou shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits 1long and one cubit 2wide and one and a half cubits 3high.

24 “You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold aborder around it.

25 “You shall make for it a rim of a handbreadth around it; and you shall make a gold border for the rim around it.

26 “You shall make four gold rings for it and put rings on the four corners which are on its four feet.

27 “The rings shall be close to the rim as holders for the poles to carry the table.

28 “You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that with them the table may be carried.

29 “You shall make its 1adishes and its pans and its jars and its 2bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.

30 “You shall set athe bread of the 1Presence on the table before Me 2at all times.

The Golden Lampstand

31 “aThen you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its 1bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.

32 “aSix branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its 1other side.

33 “aThree cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms in the one branch, a 1bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms in the 2other branch, a 1bulb and a flower—so for six branches going out from the lampstand;

34 and ain the lampstand four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its 1bulbs and its flowers.

35 “aA 1bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a 1bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a 1bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand.

36 “aTheir 1bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold.

37 “Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and athey shall 1mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it.

38 “Its snuffers and 1their trays shall be of pure gold.

39 “It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils.

40 “aSee that you make them bafter the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.

Chapter 26

Curtains of Linen

1 “aMoreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and 1blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.

2 “The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight 1cubits, and the width of each curtain four 1cubits; all the curtains shall have 2the same measurements.

3 “Five curtains shall be 1joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be 1joined to one another.

4 “You shall make loops of 1blue on the edge of the 2outermost curtain in the first set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second 3set.

5 “You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the 1edge of the curtain that is in the second 2set; the loops shall be opposite each other.

6 “You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and 1join the curtains to one another with the clasps so that the 2tabernacle will be a unit.

Curtains of Goats’ Hair

7 “Then ayou shall make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains in all.

8 “The length of each curtain shall be thirty 1cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have 2the same measurements.

9 “You shall 1join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain 2at the front of the tent.

10 “You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the 1curtain that is outermost in the first 2set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second 2set.

11 “You shall make fifty clasps of 1bronze, and you shall put the clasps into the loops and 2join the tent together so that it will be 3a unit.

12 “The 1overlapping part that is left over in the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that is left over, shall lap over the back of the tabernacle.

13 “The cubit on one side and the cubit on the other, of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and on the other, to cover it.

14 “aYou shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins 1dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins above.

Boards and Sockets

15 “Then you shall make athe boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright.

16 “Ten cubits shall be the length of 1each board and one and a half cubits the width of each board.

17 “There shall be two tenons for each board, 1fitted to one another; thus you shall do for all the boards of the tabernacle.

18 “You shall make the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards 1for the south side.

19 “You shall make forty 1asockets of silver under the twenty boards, two 1sockets under one board for its two tenons and two 1sockets under another board for its two tenons;

20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards,

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

22 “For the 1rear of the tabernacle, to the west, you shall make six boards.

23 “You shall make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the 1rear.

24 “They shall be double beneath, and together they shall be complete 1to its top 2to the first ring; thus it shall be with both of them: they shall form the two corners.

25 “There shall be eight boards with their 1sockets of silver, sixteen 1sockets; two 1sockets under one board and two 1sockets under another board.

26 “Then you shall make abars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle,

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

28 “The middle bar in the 1center of the boards shall pass through from end to end.

29 “You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold as holders for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold.

30 “Then you shall erect the tabernacle aaccording to its plan which you have been shown in the mountain.

The Veil and Screen

31 “You shall make aa veil of 1blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.

32 “You shall 1hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also being of gold, on four 2sockets of silver.

33 “You shall 1hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in athe ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall 2serve for you as a partition bbetween the holy place and the holy of holies.

34 “aYou shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies.

35 “aYou shall set the table outside the veil, and the blampstand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.

36 “aYou shall make a screen for the doorway of the tent of 1blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a 2weaver.

37 “aYou shall make five pillars of acacia for the screen and overlay them with gold, their hooks also being of gold; and you shall cast five 1sockets of 2bronze for them.