Exodus 14-40

Amplified Bible

Pharaoh in Pursuit

14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ ⁴ I will harden (make stubborn, defiant) Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!” ⁶ So Pharaoh harnessed horses to his war-chariots [for battle] and took his ^[a]army with him; ⁷ and he took six hundred chosen war-chariots, and all the other war-chariots of Egypt with ^[b]fighting charioteers over all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, as they were leaving confidently and defiantly.^{(A) 9} The Egyptians chased them with all the horses and war-chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them as they camped by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were very frightened; so the Israelites cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.”

The Sea Is Divided

¹³ Then Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid! Take your stand [be firm and confident and undismayed] and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for those Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you while you [only need to] keep silent and remain calm.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to move forward [toward the sea]. ¹⁶ As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may go through the middle of the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ As for Me, hear this: I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in [the sea] after them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and his war-chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ And the Egyptians shall know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord, when I am glorified and honored through Pharaoh, through his war-chariots and his charioteers.”

¹⁹ The ^[c]angel of God, who had been going in front of the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of the cloud moved from in front and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. It was a cloud along with darkness [even by day to the Egyptians], but it gave light by night [to the Israelites]; so one [army] did not come near the other all night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all that night and turned the seabed into dry land, and the waters were divided. ²² The Israelites went into the middle of the sea on dry land, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ Then the Egyptians pursued them into the middle of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his war-chariots and his charioteers. ²⁴ So it happened at the early morning watch [before dawn], that the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and put them in a state of confusion. ²⁵ He made their chariot wheels hard to turn, and the chariots difficult to drive; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, on their war-chariots and their charioteers.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal flow at sunrise; and the Egyptians retreated right into it [being met by the returning water]; so the Lord overthrew the Egyptians and tossed them into the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers, and all the army of Pharaoh that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them survived. ²⁹ But the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ The Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians [lying] dead on the ^[d]seashore. ³¹ When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord [with reverence and awe-filled respect], and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses.

The Song of Moses and Israel

15 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this ^[e]song to the Lord, singing,

¹⁹ For the horses of Pharaoh went with his war-chariots and his charioteers into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.

²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron [and Moses], took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her with timbrels and dancing.^{(B) 21} Miriam answered them,

The Lord Provides Water

²² Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Wilderness of Shur; they went [a distance of] three days (about thirty-three miles) in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ Then they came to Marah, but they could not drink its waters because they were ^[h]bitter; therefore it was named Marah (bitter). ²⁴ The people [grew discontented and] grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we going to drink?” ²⁵ Then he cried to the Lord [for help], and the Lord showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet.

There the Lord made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there ^[i]He tested them, ²⁶ saying, “If you will diligently listen and pay attention to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep [foremost in your thoughts and actively obey] all His precepts and statutes, then I will not put on you any of the diseases which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the ^[j]Lord who heals you.”

²⁷ Then the children of Israel came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.

The Lord Provides Manna

16 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of Israel came to the Wilderness of ^[k]Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt. ² The whole congregation of the Israelites [grew discontented and] murmured and rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, ³ and the Israelites said to them, “^[l]Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven for you; the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I may test them [to determine] whether or not they will walk [obediently] in My instruction (law). ⁵ And it shall be that on the sixth day, they shall prepare to bring in twice as much as they gather daily [so that they will not need to gather on the seventh day].” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, for He hears your murmurings against the Lord. What are we, that you murmur and rebel against us?”

The Lord Provides Meat

⁸ Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning [enough] bread to be fully satisfied, because the Lord has heard your murmurings against Him; for what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of Israel, ‘Approach the Lord, because He has heard your murmurings.’” ¹⁰ So it happened that as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared in the cloud! ¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ So in the evening the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a blanket of dew around the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew evaporated, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine, flake-like thing, as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “^[m]What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.^{(C) 16} This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather as much of it as he needs. Take an ^[n]omer for each person, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’” ¹⁷ The Israelites did so, and some gathered much [of it] and some [only a] little. ¹⁸ When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered a large amount had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered according to his need (family size). ¹⁹ Moses said, “Let none of it be left [overnight] until [the next] morning.” ²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses, and some left a supply of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul and rotten; and Moses was angry with them. ²¹ So they gathered it every morning, each as much as he needed, because when the sun was hot it melted.

The Sabbath Observed

²² Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each person; and all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses. ²³ He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord’; bake and boil what you will bake and boil [today], and all that remains left over put aside for yourselves to keep until morning.” ²⁴ They put it aside until morning, as Moses told them, and it did not become foul nor was it wormy. ²⁵ Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶ Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none [in the field].”

²⁷ Now on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you [people] refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions (laws)? ²⁹ See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you the bread for two days on the sixth day. Let every man stay in his place; no man is to leave his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The house of Israel called the bread manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like flat pastry (wafers) made with honey. ³² Then Moses said, “This is the word which the Lord commands, ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” ³³ So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” ³⁴ As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron [eventually] placed it in the presence of the ^[o]Testimony, to be kept.^{(D) 35} The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they reached an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. ³⁶ (Now an ^[p]omer is the tenth of an ^[q]ephah.)

Water in the Rock

17 Then all the congregation of the children of Israel moved on from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so we may [have something to] drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you tempt the Lord and try His patience?” ³ But the people were thirsty for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” ⁴ So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” ⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at ^[r]Horeb; there you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may [have something to] drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.^{(E) 7} He named the place [where this miracle occurred] Massah (test) and ^[s]Meribah (contention) because of the quarreling of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the [patience of the] Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”

Amalek Fought

⁸ Then ^[t]Amalek [and his people] came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹ So Moses said to ^[u]Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek [and his people]. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and ^[v]Hur went up to the hilltop. ¹¹ Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ So Joshua overwhelmed and defeated ^[w]Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in the book as a memorial and ^[x]recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek [and his people] from under heaven.”^{(F) 15} And Moses built an altar and named it ^[y]The Lord Is My Banner; ¹⁶ saying, “The Lord has sworn [an oath]; the Lord will have war against [the people of] Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-law

18 Now Jethro (Reuel), the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away [from Egypt], ³ along with her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom (stranger), for Moses said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.” ⁴ The other [son] was named Eliezer (my God is help), for Moses said, “The God of my father was my help, and He rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

⁵ Then Jethro, his father-in-law, came with Moses’ sons and his wife to [join] Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mountain of God [that is, Mt. Sinai in Horeb]. ⁶ He sent a message to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons [who are] with her.” ⁷ So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down [in respect] and kissed him. They asked each other about their well-being and went into the tent. ⁸ Moses told his father-in-law about all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and about all the hardship that had happened during the journey, and how the Lord had rescued them. ⁹ Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done to Israel, in that He had rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who has rescued the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that the Lord is ^[z]greater than all gods; indeed, it was proven when they acted insolently toward Israel [and the Lord showed Himself infinitely superior to all their gods].” ¹² Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and [other] sacrifices [to offer] to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

¹³ Now the next day Moses sat to judge [the disputes] the people [had with one another], and the people stood around Moses from dawn to dusk. ¹⁴ When Moses’ father-in-law saw everything that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone [as a judge] with all the people standing around you from dawn to dusk?” ¹⁵ Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to ask [about the will] of God. ¹⁶ When they have a dispute they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Jethro Counsels Moses

¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you [to bear]; you cannot do it alone. ¹⁹ Now listen to ^[aa]me; ^[ab]I will advise you, and may God be with you [to confirm my advice]. You shall represent the people before God. You shall bring their disputes and causes to Him. ²⁰ You shall teach them the decrees and laws. You shall show them the way they are to live and the work they are to do. ²¹ Furthermore, you shall select from all the people competent men who [reverently] fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; you shall place these over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. ²² They shall judge the people at all times; have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them judge every minor dispute themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. ²³ If you will do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure [the responsibility], and all these people will also go [back] to their tents in peace.”

²⁴ So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said. ²⁵ Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens [from the highest to the lowest judicial levels]. ²⁶ And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but every minor dispute they judged and decided themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses ^[ac]said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went back to his own land (Midian).

Moses on Sinai

19 In the third month after the children of Israel had left the land of Egypt, the very same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai. ² When they moved out from Rephidim, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai and they camped there; Israel camped at the base of the mountain [of Sinai]. ³ Moses went up to God [on the mountain], and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now therefore, if you will in fact obey My voice and keep My covenant (agreement), then you shall be My own special possession and treasure from among all peoples [of the world], for all the earth is Mine; ⁶ and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation [set apart for My purpose].’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

⁷ So Moses called for the elders of the people, and told them all these words which the Lord commanded him. ⁸ All the people answered together and said, “We will do everything that the Lord has spoken.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may believe and trust in you forever.” Then Moses repeated the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰ The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow [that is, prepare them for My sacred purpose], and have them wash their clothes ¹¹ and be ready by the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people. ¹² You shall set barriers for the people all around [the mountain], saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch its border; whoever touches the mountain must be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him [that is, no one shall try to save the guilty party], but the offender must be stoned or shot through [with arrows]; whether man or animal [that touches the mountain], he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”^{(G) 14} So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified them [for God’s sacred purpose], and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ He said to the people, “Be prepared for the third day; do not ^[ad]be intimate with a woman.”

¹⁶ So it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and flashes of lightning, and a thick cloud was on the mountain, and a very loud blast was sounded on a ram’s horn, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood and presented themselves at the foot of the mountain.

The Lord Visits Sinai

¹⁸ Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. ¹⁹ And it happened, as the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with [a voice of] thunder.^{(H) 20} The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up. ²¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through [the barriers around the mountain] to the Lord to see [Me], and many of them perish [as a result]. ²² Also have the priests who approach the Lord consecrate (sanctify, set apart) themselves [for My sacred purpose], or else the Lord will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them].” ²³ Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, because You warned us, saying, ‘Set barriers around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through [the barriers] to come up to the Lord, or He will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them].” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them [again about God’s warning].

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before Me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship]. ⁵ You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [^[ae]demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,^{(I) 6} but showing graciousness and steadfast lovingkindness to thousands [of generations] of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷ “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who ^[af]takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God). ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes].

¹² “Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.

¹³ “You shall not commit murder (unjustified, deliberate homicide).^(J)

¹⁴ “You shall not commit ^[ag]adultery.^(K)

¹⁵ “You shall not steal [secretly, openly, fraudulently, or through carelessness].^(L)

¹⁶ “You shall not testify falsely [that is, lie, withhold, or manipulate the truth] against your neighbor (any person).^(M)

¹⁷ “You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”^(N)

¹⁸ Now all the people witnessed the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the smoking mountain; and as they looked, the people were afraid, and they trembled [and moved backward] and stood at a [safe] distance. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us or we will die.” ²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him [that is, a profound reverence for Him] will remain with you, so that you do not sin.” ²¹ So the people stood at a [safe] distance, but Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. ²³ You shall not make other gods [to worship] besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make [these lifeless idols] for yourselves. ²⁴ You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause My Name to be recorded and remembered [through revelation of My divine nature] I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you use a chisel on it, you will ^[ah]profane it. ²⁶ Nor shall you go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness will not be ^[ai]exposed on it.’

Ordinances for the People

21 “Now these are the ordinances (laws) which you shall set before the Israelites:

² “If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing.^{(O) 3} If he came [to you] alone, he shall leave alone; if he came married, then his wife shall leave with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave [your service] alone. ⁵ But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him to God [that is, to the judges who act in God’s name], then he shall bring him to the door or doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl (strong needle); and he shall serve him for life.

⁷ “If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go free [after six years] as male servants do. ⁸ If she does not please her master who has chosen her for himself [as a wife], he shall let her be redeemed [by her family]. He does not have the authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has been unfair to her. ⁹ If her master chooses her [as a wife] for his son, he shall act toward her as if she were legally his daughter. ¹⁰ If her master marries another wife, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her privilege as a wife. ¹¹ If he does not do these three things for her, then shall she leave free, without payment of money.

Personal Injuries

¹² “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies must be put to death. ¹³ However, ^[aj]if he did not lie in wait [for him], but God allowed him to fall into his hand, then I will establish for you a ^[ak]place to which he may escape [for protection until duly tried].^{(P) 14} But if a man acts intentionally against another and kills him by [design through] treachery, you are to take him from My altar [to which he may have fled for protection], so that he may be put to death.

¹⁵ “Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.

¹⁶ “Whoever kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or is found with him in his possession, must be put to death.

¹⁷ “Whoever ^[al]curses his father or his mother or treats them contemptuously must be put to death.

¹⁸ “If men quarrel and one strikes another with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed, ¹⁹ if he gets up and walks around leaning on his cane, then the one who struck him shall be left [physically] unpunished; he must only pay for his loss of time [at work], and the costs [of treatment and recuperation] until he is thoroughly healed.

²⁰ “If a man strikes his male or his female servant with a staff and the servant dies at his hand, he must be punished. ²¹ If, however, the servant survives for a day or two, the offender shall not be punished, for the [injured] servant is his own property.

²² “If men fight with each other and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely [and the baby lives], yet there is no further injury, the one who hurt her must be punished with a fine [paid] to the woman’s husband, as much as the judges decide. ²³ But if there is any further injury, then you shall require [as a penalty] life for life, ^24 [am]eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

²⁶ “If a man hits the eye of his male servant or female servant and it is destroyed, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the eye. ²⁷ And if he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or female servant, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the tooth.

²⁸ “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be cleared [of responsibility]. ²⁹ But if the ox has tried to gore on a previous occasion, and its owner has been warned, but has not kept it confined and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner shall be put to death as well. ³⁰ If a ransom is demanded of him [in return for his life], then he shall give whatever is demanded for the redemption of his life. ³¹ If the ox has gored another’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. ³² If the ox gores a male or a female servant, the owner shall give to the servant’s master thirty shekels of silver [the purchase price for a slave], and the ox shall be stoned.

³³ “If a man leaves a pit open, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to the animal’s owner, but the dead [animal] shall be his.

³⁵ “If one man’s ox injures another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the proceeds equally; they shall also divide the dead ox [between them]. ³⁶ Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, and its owner has not kept it confined, he must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead [animal] shall be his.

Property Rights

22 “If a man steals an ox or sheep and kills or sells it, he shall make restitution of five oxen for an ox or four sheep for a sheep.

² “If a thief is caught breaking in [after dark] and is struck [by the owner] so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him. ³ But if the sun has risen, there will be bloodguilt for him. The thief [if he lives] must make [full] restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold [as a slave to make restitution] for his theft. ⁴ If the animal that he stole is found alive in his possession, whether it is ox or donkey or sheep, he shall pay double [for it].

⁵ “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed bare or lets his livestock loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶ “If fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes so that the stacked grain or standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.

⁷ “If a man gives his neighbor money or [other] goods to keep [for him while he is away] and it is stolen from the neighbor’s house, then, if the thief is caught, he shall pay double [for it]. ⁸ If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house shall appear before the judges [who act in God’s name], to determine whether or not he had stolen his neighbor’s goods. ⁹ For every offense involving property, whether it concerns ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or any piece of lost property, which another identifies as his, the case of both parties shall come before the judges [who act in God’s name]. Whomever the judges pronounce guilty shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰ “If a man gives his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any [other] animal to keep [for him], and it dies or is injured or taken away while no one is looking, ¹¹ then an oath before the Lord shall be made by the two of them that he has not taken his neighbor’s property; and the owner of it shall accept his word and not require him to make restitution. ¹² But if it is actually stolen from him [when in his care], he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If it is torn to pieces [by some predator or by accident], let him bring the mangled carcass as evidence; he shall not make restitution for what was torn to pieces.

¹⁴ “And if a man borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it gets injured or dies while its owner is not with it, the borrower shall make full restitution. ¹⁵ But if the owner is with it [when the damage is done], the borrower shall not make restitution. If it was hired, the damage is included in [the price of] its fee.

Various Laws

¹⁶ “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry (marriage price) for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must [still] pay money equivalent to the dowry of virgins.

¹⁸ “You shall not allow a woman who practices sorcery to live.

¹⁹ “Whoever lies with an animal must be put to death.^(Q)

²⁰ “He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be put under a ban (designated) for destruction (execution).

²¹ “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ²² You shall not harm or oppress any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you harm or oppress them in any way, and they cry at all to Me [for help], I will most certainly hear their cry; ²⁴ and My wrath shall be kindled and burn; I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵ “If you lend money to any one of My people with you who is poor, you shall not act as a creditor (professional moneylender) to him; you shall not charge him interest. ²⁶ If you ever take your [poor] neighbor’s robe in pledge, you must return it to him before sunset, ²⁷ for that is his only covering; it is his clothing for his body. In what shall he sleep? And when he cries to Me [for help], I will hear him, for I am compassionate and gracious.

²⁸ “You shall not curse God, nor curse the ruler of your people [since he administers God’s law].^(R)

²⁹ “You shall not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. You shall give (consecrate, dedicate) to Me the firstborn of your sons.^{(S) 30} You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother for seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it [as an offering] to Me.

³¹ “You shall be ^[an]holy men to Me; therefore you shall not eat meat [from any animal] that has been torn to pieces [by predators] in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Various Laws

23 “You shall not give a false report; you shall not join hands with the wicked to be a malicious witness [promoting wrong and violence]. ² You shall not follow a crowd to do [something] evil, nor shall you testify at a trial or in a dispute so as to side with a crowd in order to pervert justice; ³ nor shall you favor or be partial to a poor man in his dispute [simply because he is poor].

⁴ “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering off, you must bring it back to him. ⁵ If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall not leave the man to deal with it [alone]; you must help him release the animal [from its burden].

⁶ “You shall not pervert (bend) the justice due to your poor in his dispute. ⁷ Keep far away from a false charge or action, and do not condemn to death the innocent or the righteous, for I will not justify and acquit the guilty.

⁸ “You shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the testimony and the cause of the righteous.

⁹ “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the soul [the feelings, thoughts, and concerns] of a stranger, for you were strangers in Egypt.

The Sabbath and Land

¹⁰ “You shall sow your land six years and harvest its yield, ¹¹ but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat [what the land grows naturally]; whatever they leave the animals of the field may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.

¹² “Six days [each week] you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall stop [working] so that your ox and your donkey may settle down and rest, and the son of your female servant, as well as your stranger, may be refreshed. ¹³ Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; do not mention the name of other gods [either in a blessing or in a curse]; do not let such speech be heard [coming] from your mouth.

Three National Feasts

¹⁴ “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast [dedicated] to Me. ¹⁵ You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed [but you shall bring sacrificial offerings]. ¹⁶ Also [you shall observe] the Feast of Harvest (Weeks, Pentecost, or First Fruits), acknowledging the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. And [third] the Feast of Ingathering (Booths or Tabernacles) at the end of the year when you gather in [the fruit of] your labors from the field. ¹⁷ Three times a year all your males shall appear before the ^[ao]Lord God.

¹⁸ “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with ^[ap]leavened bread; and the fat of My feast is not to be left overnight until morning.

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

“You shall not ^[aq]boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Conquest of the Land

²⁰ “Behold, I am going to send an ^[ar]Angel before you to keep and guard you on the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. ²¹ Be on your guard before Him, listen to and obey His voice; do not be rebellious toward Him or provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgression, since My Name (authority) is in Him.^{(T) 22} But if you will indeed listen to and truly obey His voice and do everything that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ²³ When My Angel goes before you and brings you to [the land of] the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, I will reject them and completely destroy them. ²⁴ You shall not bow down to worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do [anything] in accordance with their practices. You shall completely overthrow them and break down their [sacred] pillars and images [of pagan worship]. ²⁵ You shall serve [only] the Lord your God, and He shall bless your bread and water. I will also remove sickness from among you. ²⁶ No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; ^[as]I will fulfill the number of your days. ²⁷ I will send My terror ahead of you, and I will throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you [in flight]. ²⁸ I will send hornets ahead of you which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you. ²⁹ I will not drive them out before you in a single year, so that the land does not become desolate [due to lack of attention] and the [wild] animals of the field do not become too numerous for you. ³⁰ I will drive them out before you little by little, until you have increased and are strong enough to take possession of the land. ³¹ I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean), and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will hand over the residents of the land to you, and you shall drive them out before you. ³² You shall not make a covenant with them or with their gods. ³³ They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it is certain to be a trap for you [resulting in judgment].”

People Affirm Their Covenant with God

24 Then God said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (Aaron’s older sons), and seventy of Israel’s elders, and you shall worship at a [safe] distance. ² Moses alone shall approach the Lord, but the others shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”

³ Then Moses came and told the people everything that the Lord had said and all the ordinances. And all the people answered with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” ⁴ Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar [for worship] at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars (memorial stones) representing the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood and put it in large basins, and [the other] half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people; and they said, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do, and we will be obedient.” ⁸ So Moses took the blood [which had been placed in the large basins] and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”^(U)

⁹ Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up [the mountainside], ¹⁰ and they saw [a manifestation of] the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, just as clear as the sky itself.^{(V) 11} Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the Israelites; and they saw [the manifestation of the presence of] God, and ate and drank.^(W)

¹² Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments which I have written for their instruction.”^{(X) 13} So Moses ^[at]arose with Joshua his attendant, and he went up to the mountain of God. ¹⁴ And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Remember that Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him go to them.” ¹⁵ Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ The glory and brilliance of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day God called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ In the sight of the Israelites the appearance of the glory and brilliance of the Lord was like consuming fire on the top of the mountain. ¹⁸ Moses entered the midst of the cloud and went up the mountain; and he was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Offerings for the Sanctuary

25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell the children of Israel to take an offering for Me. From every man whose heart moves him [to give willingly] you shall take My offering. ³ This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, ⁴ blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, fine twisted linen, goats’ hair, ⁵ rams’ ^[au]skins dyed red, ^[av]porpoise skins, ^[aw]acacia wood, ⁶ [olive] oil for lighting, ^[ax]balsam for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ^7 [ay]onyx stones and setting stones for the [priest’s] ephod and for the breastpiece. ⁸ Have them build a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.^{(Y) 9} You shall construct it in accordance with everything that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture.

Ark of the Covenant

¹⁰ “They shall make an ark of acacia wood two and a half ^[az]cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. ¹¹ You shall overlay the ark with pure gold, overlay it inside and out, and you shall make a gold border (frame) around its top. ¹² You shall cast four gold rings for it and attach them to the four feet, two rings on either side. ¹³ You shall make [carrying] poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, ¹⁴ and put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, by which to carry it. ¹⁵ The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it [so that the ark itself need not be touched]. ¹⁶ You shall put into the ark the Testimony (Ten Commandments) which I will give you.

¹⁷ “You shall make a ^[ba]mercy seat (cover) of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁸ You shall make two cherubim (winged angelic figures) of [solid] hammered gold at the two ends of the mercy seat. ¹⁹ Make one cherub at each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing each other. The faces of the cherubim are to be looking downward toward the mercy seat. ²¹ You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony which I will give you. ²² There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, I will speak [intimately] with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites.

The Table of Bread

²³ “You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. ²⁴ You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a border of gold around the top of it. ²⁵ You shall make a rim of a hand width around it; you shall make a gold border for the rim around it. ²⁶ You shall make four gold rings for it and fasten them at the four corners that are on the table’s four legs. ²⁷ The rings shall be close against 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 the table may be carried with them. ²⁹ You shall make its plates [for the showbread] and its cups [for incense] and its pitchers and bowls for sacrificial drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. ³⁰ You shall set the bread of the ^[bb]Presence (showbread) on the table before Me at all times.^(Z)

The Golden Lampstand

³¹ “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The ^[bc]lampstand and its base and its shaft shall be made of hammered work; its cups, its ^[bd]calyxes and its flowers shall be all of one piece with it. ³² Six branches shall come out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand out of the one side and three branches of the lampstand out of its other side [the shaft being the seventh branch]. ³³ Three cups shall be made like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and a flower on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms on the other branch with a calyx and a flower—so for the six branches coming out of the lampstand; ³⁴ and in the [center shaft of the] lampstand [you shall make] four cups shaped like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and their flowers. ³⁵ A calyx shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a calyx under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a calyx under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. ³⁶ Their calyxes 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 the lamps [of the lampstand] ^[be]seven in number [with one lamp at the top of the shaft]. The priests shall set up its seven lamps so that they will light the space in front of it. ³⁸ Its snuffers and their trays shall be of pure gold. ³⁹ It shall be made from a talent (50-80 lbs.) of pure gold, including all these utensils. ⁴⁰ See that you make them [exactly] after their pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.^(AA)

Curtains of Linen

26 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle (sacred tent of worship) with ten [interior] curtains of fine twisted linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet fabric; you shall make them with [embroidered] cherubim, the handwork of a skillful craftsman. ² The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all of the curtains shall measure the same. ³ The five curtains shall be joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another. ⁴ You shall make loops of blue on the outer edge of the last curtain in the first set, and likewise in the second set. ⁵ You shall make fifty loops on the one curtain, and fifty loops on the edge of the last curtain that is in the second set. The loops on one curtain correspond to the loops on the other. ⁶ You shall make fifty gold hooks, and fasten the curtains together with the hooks; and the tabernacle shall be one unit.

Curtains of Goats’ Hair

⁷ “Then you shall make [exterior] curtains of goats’ hair as a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains in all. ⁸ Each curtain shall be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. The eleven curtains shall all measure the same. ⁹ You shall join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent [to make a closed door]. ¹⁰ Make fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set.

¹¹ “You shall make fifty bronze hooks and put the hooks into the loops and join the tent together so that it may be one unit. ¹² The overlapping part that is left over from the tent curtains, 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 the other side, to cover it. ¹⁴ You shall make a third covering for the tent of rams’ ^[bf]skins dyed red, and a fourth covering above that of ^[bg]porpoise skins.

Boards and Sockets

¹⁵ “Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright [as a trellis-like frame]. ¹⁶ The length of each board shall be ten cubits and the width of each board shall be one and a half cubits. ¹⁷ Make two dovetails in each board for fitting [them] together; you shall do the same for all the tabernacle boards. ¹⁸ You shall make the boards for the tabernacle [in the following quantities]: twenty boards for the south side. ¹⁹ You shall make forty silver sockets under the twenty boards, two sockets under each board for its two dovetails, and two sockets under another board for its two dovetails; ²⁰ for the north side of the tabernacle there shall be twenty boards, ²¹ and their forty silver sockets, two sockets under each board. ²² For the back or west side of the tabernacle you shall make six boards. ²³ Make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear [on both sides]. ²⁴ They shall be joined together underneath, and joined together on top with one ring. So shall it be for both of them; they shall form the two [rear] corners. ²⁵ There shall be eight boards and sixteen silver sockets; two sockets under each board.

²⁶ “Then you shall make [fifteen] bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle, ²⁷ and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the rear end of the tabernacle, for the back wall toward the west. ²⁸ And the middle bar in the center of the boards shall pass through [horizontally] from end to end. ²⁹ You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold to hold the bars. You shall overlay the bars with gold. ³⁰ You shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan [the direction corresponding to its meaning and purpose] which has been shown to you on the mountain.

The Veil and Screen

³¹ “You shall make a veil [to divide the two rooms] of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine twisted linen, skillfully worked with cherubim on it. ³² You shall hang it on four pillars (support poles) of acacia wood overlaid with gold, with gold hooks, on four silver sockets. ³³ You shall hang the veil from the hooks [that connect the curtains together], and you shall bring the ark of the Testimony there within the veil. The veil shall separate for you the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. ³⁴ You shall put the ^[bh]mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies. ³⁵ You shall set the table [for the bread] outside the veil [in the Holy Place] on the north side, and the lampstand opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle.

³⁶ “You shall make a screen [to provide a covering] for the doorway of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and finely woven [embroidered] linen, the work of an embroiderer.^{(AB) 37} You shall make five pillars (support poles) of acacia wood to support the hanging curtain and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five [base] sockets of bronze for them.

The Bronze Altar

27 “And you shall make the altar [for burnt offerings] of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. ² Make horns (horn-shaped projections) for it on its four corners; the horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. ³ You shall make pots to remove its ashes, and shovels, basins [to catch the blood of the sacrificed animal], meat-forks, and firepans [to store live coals]. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. ⁴ Also make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the grid you are to make four bronze rings at its four corners. ⁵ And you shall put it under the ledge of the altar, so that the grid will extend halfway up the altar. ⁶ You shall make [carrying] poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, overlaid with bronze. ⁷ The poles shall be inserted through the rings on the two sides of the altar so that it may be carried.^{(AC) 8} You are to make the altar hollow with planks; as you were shown on the mountain [of Sinai], so shall it be made.

Court of the Tabernacle

⁹ “You shall make the court of the tabernacle. The south side of the court is to have curtains of fine twisted linen, a hundred cubits long for one side; ¹⁰ it shall have twenty pillars and twenty bronze sockets; but the hooks of the pillars and their fasteners shall be silver; ¹¹ likewise for the north side there shall be curtains, a hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars and twenty bronze sockets; but the hooks of the pillars and their fasteners shall be silver. ¹² For the width of the court on the west side there shall be curtains of fifty cubits, with ten pillars (support poles) and ten sockets. ¹³ The width of the court [to the front], on the east side shall be fifty cubits. ¹⁴ The curtains for one side [of the gate] shall be fifteen cubits with three pillars and three sockets. ¹⁵ On the other side [of the gate] the curtains shall be fifteen cubits with three pillars and three sockets. ¹⁶ For the gate of the court there shall be a screen [to provide a covering] of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and finely woven [embroidered] linen, the work of an embroiderer, with four pillars and four [base] sockets. ¹⁷ All the pillars (support poles) around the court shall be joined together with silver rods; their hooks shall be of silver and their sockets of bronze. ¹⁸ The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the width fifty [cubits] throughout, and the height five cubits of fine twisted linen, and their sockets of bronze. ¹⁹ All the tabernacle’s utensils and instruments used in all its service, and all its stakes, and all the stakes for the court, shall be of bronze.

²⁰ “You shall command the Israelites to provide you with clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually [every night]. ²¹ In the Tent of Meeting [of God with His people], outside the veil which is in front of the [ark of the] Testimony [and sets it apart], Aaron [the high priest] and his sons shall keep the lamp burning from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a perpetual statute [to be observed] throughout their generations on behalf of the Israelites.

Garments of the Priests

28 “Now bring your brother Aaron near, and his sons with him from among the sons of Israel, so that he may serve as priest to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. ² You are to make sacred garments [official clothing reserved for holy services] for Aaron your brother, for honor and for beauty (ornamentation). ³ Tell all the skilled and talented people whom I have endowed with a spirit of wisdom, that they are to make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him and set him apart to serve as a priest for Me. ⁴ These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod [for the breastpiece] and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make sacred garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, so that he may serve as a priest to Me. ⁵ They are to use the gold and the blue and the purple and the scarlet fabric and fine twisted linen [from the people],

⁶ and they shall make the ephod of gold and blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine twisted linen, skillfully woven and [beautifully] worked. ⁷ It is to have two shoulder pieces joined to its two [back and front] ends, so that it may be joined together. ⁸ And the skillfully woven sash, which is on the ephod shall be made of the same material: of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine twisted linen. ⁹ You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the [twelve] sons of Israel, ¹⁰ six of their names on one stone and the remaining six names on the other stone, arranged in the order of their births. ¹¹ With the work of a jeweler, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel. You shall have them set in ^[bi]filigree [settings] of gold. ¹² You shall put the two stones on the [two] shoulder pieces of the ephod [of the high priest], as memorial stones for Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names on his two shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. ¹³ You shall make filigree [settings] of gold, ¹⁴ and you are to make two chains of pure gold like twisted cords, and fasten the corded chains to the settings.

¹⁵ “You are to make a breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skilled and talented craftsman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and of fine twisted linen. ¹⁶ The breastpiece shall be square and folded double; a span [about nine inches] in length and a span in width. ¹⁷ You shall mount on it four rows of stones: the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; ¹⁸ the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹⁹ the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ²⁰ and the fourth row a beryl and an onyx and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. ²¹ The [engraved] stones shall be twelve, according to the names of [the twelve tribes of] the sons of Israel; they shall be like the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes. ²² You shall make for the breastpiece chains of pure gold twisted like cords. ²³ You shall make on the breastpiece two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. ²⁴ You shall put the two twisted cords of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastpiece. ²⁵ The other two ends of the two cords you shall fasten in the two filigree settings in front, putting them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ²⁶ You shall make two gold rings and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷ You are to make two gold rings and attach them to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod in front, close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven sash of the ephod. ²⁸ They shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it will be above the skillfully woven sash of the ephod, so that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod. ²⁹ So Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob) in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the Holy Place, to bring them in continual remembrance before the Lord. ³⁰ In the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the ^[bj]Urim (Lights) and the Thummim (Perfections) [to be used for determining God’s will in a matter]. They shall be over Aaron’s heart whenever he goes before the Lord, and Aaron shall always carry the judgment (verdict, judicial decisions) of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord.

³¹ “And you shall make the ^[bk]robe of the ephod all of blue. ³² There shall be an opening at its top in the center [for the head], with a binding of woven work around the opening, like the opening in a coat of armor, so that it will not tear or fray. ³³ You shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric all around its hem, with gold bells between them; ³⁴ a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around the [bottom] hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron shall wear the robe when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes [alone] into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he will not die there.

³⁶ “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’^{(AD) 37} You shall fasten it on the front of the turban with a blue cord. ³⁸ It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take away the guilt from the holy things which the sons of Israel dedicate, with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be accepted before the Lord.^(AE)

³⁹ “You shall weave the tunic of checkered work of fine linen, and make a turban of fine linen. You shall make a sash, the work of an embroiderer.

⁴⁰ “For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics and sashes and [ornamental] caps, for glory and honor and beauty. ⁴¹ You shall put the various articles of clothing on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain and sanctify them, so that they may serve Me as priests. ⁴² You shall make for them [white] linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, reaching from the waist to the thighs. ⁴³ The various articles of clothing shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the Tent of Meeting, or when they approach the altar [of incense] to minister in the Holy Place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It shall be a statute forever to Aaron and to his descendants after him.

Consecration of the Priests

29 “This is what you shall do to consecrate Aaron and his sons so that they may serve Me as priests: take one young bull and two rams, without blemish, ² and unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. ³ You shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. ⁴ Then bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting [out where the basin is] and wash them with water. ⁵ Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece, and wrap him with the skillfully woven sash of the ephod; ⁶ and you shall put the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. ⁸ You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. ⁹ And you shall wrap them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the [ornamental] caps on them; and the priest’s office shall be theirs by a perpetual statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

The Sacrifices

¹⁰ “Then you shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall ^[bl]lay their hands on the bull’s head. ¹¹ Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord by the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ¹² And you shall take some of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar [of burnt offering], and you shall pour out the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹³ You shall take all the fat that covers the intestines and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and offer them up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁴ But the meat of the bull, its hide, and the contents of its intestines you shall burn in the fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.^(AF)

¹⁵ “And you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram; ¹⁶ then you shall kill the ram and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it around the altar [of burnt offering]. ¹⁷ Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its intestines and legs, and place them with its pieces and its head, ¹⁸ and you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord: it is a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Then you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. ²⁰ Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ears of Aaron and his sons and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, and sprinkle the [rest of the] blood around on the altar [of burnt offering]. ²¹ Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Now Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments shall be consecrated (dedicated, made holy, declared sacred for God’s purpose).

²² “You shall also take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the intestines, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh; (for it is a ram of ordination), ²³ and one loaf of bread and one cake of oiled bread and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord; ²⁴ and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and wave them as a ^[bm]wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Then you shall take them from their hands, add them to the burnt offering, and burn them on the altar for a sweet and soothing aroma before the Lord; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.

²⁶ “Then you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination, and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be your (Moses) portion. ²⁷ You shall consecrate the waved breast offering [of the ram] used in the ordination and the waved thigh offering of the priests’ portion, since it is [a contribution] for Aaron and for his sons. ²⁸ It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their due portion from the Israelites forever, for it is a ^[bn]heave offering. It shall be a heave offering to the Lord from the Israelites from the sacrifices of their peace offerings.

²⁹ “The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed and ordained in them. ³⁰ That son who is [high] priest in his place shall put them on [each day for] seven days when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

Food of the Priests

³¹ “You shall take the ram of the ordination and boil its meat in a holy place. ³² Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread in the basket, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ³³ They shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy [that is, set apart to the worship of God]. ³⁴ And if any of the meat of ordination or the bread remains until morning, you shall burn it in the fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ “So you shall do to Aaron and to his sons in accordance with all I have commanded you; during seven days you are to ordain them. ³⁶ You shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar from sin when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it [for God’s sacred purpose]. ³⁷ For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar [of burnt offering] and consecrate it; then the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy (set apart for God’s service).

³⁸ “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one year old lambs shall be offered each day, continuously. ³⁹ One lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb ^[bo]at twilight; ⁴⁰ and with the one lamb there shall be one-tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten [olive] oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering [to be poured out]. ⁴¹ And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and do with it as with the grain offering of the morning and with the drink offering, for a sweet and soothing aroma [to appease God], an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁴² This will be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. ⁴³ There I will meet with the Israelites, and the Tent of Meeting shall be ^[bp]sanctified by My glory [the ^[bq]Shekinah, God’s dwelling presence]. ⁴⁴ I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering]; also I will sanctify Aaron and his sons to serve as priests to Me. ⁴⁵ I will dwell among the sons of Israel and be their God. ⁴⁶ They shall know [from personal experience] and acknowledge that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.

The Altar of Incense

30 “You shall make an altar upon which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ² It shall be a cubit long and a cubit wide. It shall be square and it shall be two cubits high. Its horns of one piece with it. ³ You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around it. ⁴ You shall make two gold rings under its molding, make them on the two side walls—on opposite sides—they shall be holders for the poles with which to carry it. ⁵ You shall make the poles of acacia wood overlaid with gold. ⁶ You shall put the altar of incense [in the Holy Place] in front and outside of the veil that screens the ark of the ^[br]Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ Aaron shall burn sweet and fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims and tends the lamps.^{(AG) 8} When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; you shall not pour out a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ Once a year Aaron shall make atonement [for sin] on its horns. He shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

The Ransom Money

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “When you take the census of the Israelites, each one shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord when you count them, so that no plague will come on them when you number them.^{(AH) 13} This is what everyone who is counted shall give [as he joins those already counted]: a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel (the shekel is twenty gerahs); a half shekel as a contribution to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who is counted, from twenty years old and over, [as he joins those already counted], shall give this contribution to the Lord.^{(AI) 15} The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give this contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. ¹⁶ You shall take the atonement money from the Israelites and use it [exclusively] for the service of the Tent of Meeting, so that it may be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with a base of bronze, for washing. You shall put it [outside in the court] between the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering], and you shall put water in it. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. ²⁰ When they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister, to burn an offering in the fire to the Lord [they shall do the same].^{(AJ) 21} They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil

²² Moreover, the Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Take for yourself the best spices: five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much—two hundred and fifty—of sweet-scented cinnamon, and two hundred and fifty of fragrant cane, ²⁴ and five hundred shekels of cinnamon blossom according to the sanctuary shekel, and a hin of olive oil. ²⁵ You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a sacred anointing oil. ²⁶ You shall anoint the Tent of Meeting with it, and the ark of the Testimony, ²⁷ and the table [for the bread] and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, ²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin [for cleansing] and its base. ²⁹ You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy (set apart for God). ³⁰ You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve as priests to Me. ³¹ You shall say to the Israelites, ‘This shall be a holy and sacred anointing oil, to Me [alone] throughout your generations.^{(AK) 32} It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same composition. It is holy, and it shall be sacred to you. ³³ Whoever prepares any like it or puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’”

The Incense

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take sweet and fragrant spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum, sweet and fragrant spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal amount of each— ³⁵ and make incense with it, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure and sacred. ³⁶ You shall crush some of it [into a] very fine [powder], and put some of it before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. ³⁷ The incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord. ³⁸ Whoever makes any like it, to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].”

The Skilled Craftsmen

31 Now the Lord said to Moses, ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel, son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³ I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom and skill, in understanding and intelligence, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, ⁴ to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, ⁵ and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship. ⁶ And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; to all who are wise-hearted I have given the skill and ability to make everything that I have commanded you: ⁷ the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the mercy seat that is upon it, all the furnishings of the tent— ⁸ the table [for the bread] and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the [golden] altar of incense, ⁹ the [bronze] altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, the basin and its base— ¹⁰ the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the [high] priest and the garments for his sons to minister as priests, ¹¹ and the anointing oil and the sweet and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them according to all that I have commanded you.”

The Sign of the Sabbath

¹² And the Lord said to Moses, ¹³ “But as for you, say to the Israelites, ‘You shall most certainly observe My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I am the Lord who sanctifies you and sets you apart [for Myself]. ¹⁴ Therefore, you shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it must be put to death; for whoever does work on the Sabbath, that person (soul) shall be cut off from among his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them]. ¹⁵ For six days work may be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of complete rest, sacred to the Lord; whoever does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. ¹⁶ So the Israelites shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He ceased and was refreshed.”

¹⁸ When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The Golden Calf

32 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered together before Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a ^[bs]god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” ² So Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ And he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten ^[bt]calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” ⁵ Now when Aaron saw the molten calf, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord!” ⁶ So they got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; then the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play [shamefully—without moral restraint].

⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. ⁸ They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” ⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people. ¹⁰ Now therefore, let Me alone and do not interfere, so that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you (your descendants) a great nation.”

Moses’ Entreaty

¹¹ But Moses appeased and entreated the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil [intent] their God brought them out to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from Your burning anger and change Your mind about harming Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob), Your servants to whom You swore [an oath] by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ¹⁴ So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He had said He would do to His people.

¹⁵ Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand; tablets that were written on both sides—they were written on one side and on the other. ¹⁶ The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. ¹⁷ Now when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of battle in the camp.” ¹⁸ But Moses said,

Moses’ Anger

¹⁹ And as soon as he approached the camp and he saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned; and he threw the tablets from his hands and smashed them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ Then Moses took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it on the surface of the water and made the Israelites drink it.

²¹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin on them?” ²² Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. ²³ For they said to me, ‘Make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ²⁴ I said to them, ‘Let whoever has gold [jewelry], take it off.’ So they gave it to me; then I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

²⁵ Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to the point of being an object of mockery among their enemies— ²⁶ then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him. ²⁷ He said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Every man strap his sword on his thigh and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor [all who continue pagan worship].’” ²⁸ So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people [of Israel] were killed that day. ²⁹ Then Moses said [to the Levites], “Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for each man has been against his own son and his own brother [in his attempt to escape execution]—so that He may restore and bestow His blessing on you this day.”

³⁰ Then the next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” ³¹ So Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin [against You], and have made themselves a god of gold. ³² Yet now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of Your book which You have written (kill me)!” ³³ But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book [not you].^{(AL) 34} But now go, lead the people [to the place] where I have told you. Behold, My ^[bu]Angel shall go before you; nevertheless, in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin!”^{(AM) 35} So the Lord struck the people with a plague, because of what they had done with the calf which Aaron had made [for them].

The Journey Resumed

33 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought from the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ ² I will send an Angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.^{(AN) 3} Go up to a land [of abundance] ^[bv]flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

⁴ When the people heard this sad word, they mourned, and none of them put on his ornaments. ⁵ For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people! If I should come among you for one moment, I would destroy you. Now therefore, [penitently] take off your ornaments, so that I may know what to do with you.’” ⁶ So the Israelites left off all their ornaments [in repentance], from Mount Horeb (Sinai) onward.

⁷ Now Moses used to take his own tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting [of God with His own people]. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the [temporary] tent of meeting which was outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each at his tent door, and look at Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹ Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the doorway of the tent; and the Lord would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tent door, all the people would rise and worship, each at his tent door. ¹¹ And so the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his attendant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses Intercedes

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. And consider also, that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And the Lord said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest [by bringing you and the people into the promised land].”^{(AO) 15} And Moses said to Him, “If Your presence does not go [with me], do not lead us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we are distinguished, Your people and I, from all the [other] people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have found favor (lovingkindness, mercy) in My sight and I have known you [personally] by name.”^{(AP) 18} Then Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory!” ¹⁹ And God said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion (lovingkindness) on whom I will show compassion.”^{(AQ) 20} But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!” ²¹ Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; ²² and while My glory is passing by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and protectively cover you with My hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

The Two Tablets Replaced

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed [when you learned of Israel’s idolatry]. ² So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. ³ No man is to come up with you, nor let any man be seen anywhere on the mountain; nor let flocks or herds feed in front of that mountain.” ⁴ So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and he got up early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took ^[bw]the two tablets of stone in his hand. ⁵ Then the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he proclaimed the Name of the Lord. ⁶ Then the Lord passed by in front of him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (faithfulness); ⁷ keeping mercy and lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers upon the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].” ⁸ Moses bowed to the earth immediately and worshiped [the Lord]. ⁹ And he said, “If now I have found favor and lovingkindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, please, go in our midst, though it is a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your possession.”

The Covenant Renewed

¹⁰ Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will do wondrous works (miracles) such as have not been created or produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live shall see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful and awesome thing that I am going to do with you.

¹¹ “Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ¹² Watch yourself so that you do not make a covenant (solemn agreement, treaty) with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a [dangerous] trap among you. ¹³ But you shall tear down and destroy their [pagan] altars, smash in pieces their [sacred] pillars (obelisks, images) and cut down their ^[bx]Asherim ¹⁴ —for you shall not worship any other god; for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]— ¹⁵ otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the prostitute with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you ^[by]to eat his sacrifice (meal), ¹⁶ and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters would play the prostitute with their gods and cause your sons also to play the prostitute (commit apostasy) with their gods [that is, abandon the true God for man-made idols]. ¹⁷ You shall make for yourselves no molten gods.

¹⁸ “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover). For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I have commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “All the firstborn males among your livestock belong to Me, whether cattle or sheep. ²⁰ You shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None of you are to appear before Me empty-handed.

²¹ “You shall work for six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; [even] in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest [on the Sabbath]. ²² You shall observe and celebrate the Feast of Weeks (Harvest, First Fruits, or Pentecost), the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering (Booths or Tabernacles) at the year’s end. ²³ Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^[bz]God, the God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will drive out and dispossess nations before you and enlarge your borders; nor shall any man covet (actively seek for himself) your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times a year.

²⁵ “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover (Unleavened Bread) be left over until morning.

²⁶ “You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your ground to the house of the Lord your God.

“You shall not ^[ca]boil a young goat in his mother’s milk [as some pagans do].”

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” ²⁸ Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Moses’ Face Shines

²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand, he did not know that the skin of his face was shining [with a unique radiance] because he had been speaking with God. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him. ³¹ But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him; and he spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites approached him, and he commanded them to do everything that the Lord had said to him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, ^[cb]he would take off the veil until he came out. When he came out and he told the Israelites what he had been commanded [by God], ³⁵ the Israelites would see the face of Moses, how his skin shone [with a unique radiance]. So Moses put the veil on his face again until he went in to speak with God.

The Sabbath Emphasized

35 Moses gathered all the congregation of the sons of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the things which the Lord has commanded you to do:

² “For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any kind of work on that day shall be put to death. ³ You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

⁴ And Moses said to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ⁵ ‘Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever has a willing heart, let him bring it as the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, and bronze, ⁶ blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, fine linen, goats’ hair, ⁷ and ^[cc]rams’ skins dyed red, and skins of ^[cd]porpoises, and acacia wood, ⁸ and [olive] oil for the lighting, and balsam for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, ⁹ and ^[ce]onyx stones and other stones to be set for the ephod and the breastpiece.

Tabernacle Workmen

¹⁰ ‘Let every skilled and talented man among you come, and make everything that the Lord has commanded: ¹¹ the tabernacle (sacred dwelling of God), its tent and its covering, its hooks, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; ¹² the ark [of the covenant] and its carrying poles, with the ^[cf]mercy seat and the veil (partition curtain) of the screen [to hang between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies]; ¹³ the table and its carrying poles, and all its utensils, and the bread of the [divine] Presence (showbread); ¹⁴ the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; ¹⁵ and the altar of incense and its carrying poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, the screen (curtain) for the doorway at the entrance of the tabernacle; ¹⁶ the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its carrying poles, and all its utensils, the wash basin and its base (stand); ¹⁷ the court’s curtains, its support poles and their sockets, and the curtain for the gate of the courtyard; ¹⁸ the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords; ¹⁹ the finely-woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, to minister as priests.’”

Gifts Received

²⁰ Then all the congregation of the Israelites left Moses’ presence. ²¹ Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord’s offering to be used for the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. ²² Then all whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches, earrings or nose rings, signet rings, and necklaces, all jewels of gold; everyone bringing an offering of gold to the Lord. ²³ Every man who had in his possession blue or purple or scarlet fabric, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and ^[cg]rams’ skins dyed red and ^[ch]porpoise skins, brought them. ²⁴ Everyone who could make an offering of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord’s offering; every man who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. ²⁵ All the skilled and talented women spun thread with their hands, and brought what they had spun, blue and purple and scarlet fabric and fine linen. ²⁶ All the women whose heart stirred with a skill spun the goats’ hair. ²⁷ The leaders brought onyx stones and other stones to be put in settings for the ephod and for the breastpiece, ²⁸ and spice and [olive] oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. ²⁹ The Israelites, all the men and women whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill (voluntary) offering to the Lord.

³⁰ Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; ³¹ and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and skill, with intelligence and understanding, and with knowledge in all [areas of] craftsmanship, ³² to devise artistic designs to work in gold, silver, and bronze, ³³ and in the cutting of stones for setting and in the carving of wood, for work in every skilled craft. ³⁴ He has also put in Bezalel’s heart [the willingness] to teach [others the same skills], both he and Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. ³⁵ He has filled them with skill to do the work of an engraver, of a designer, and of an embroiderer, in blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and in fine linen, and of a weaver; makers of every work and embroiderers of [excellent] designs.

The Tabernacle Underwritten

36 “Bezalel and Oholiab, and every skilled person in whom the Lord has put ability and understanding to know how to do all the work in the construction of the sanctuary, shall work according to all that the Lord has commanded.”

² So Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom the Lord had put ability, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come to do the work. ³ They received from Moses all the offerings which the Israelites had brought for the construction of the sanctuary, to prepare it for service. And they continued to bring him freewill (voluntary) offerings every morning. ⁴ And all the skilled men who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came, each one from the work which he was doing, ⁵ and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to do.” ⁶ So Moses issued a command, and it was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the sanctuary offering.” So the people were restrained from bringing anything more; ⁷ for the material they had was sufficient and more than enough to do all the work.

Construction Proceeds

⁸ All the skilled men among them who were doing the work on the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, with cherubim [worked into them], the work of an embroiderer, Bezalel made them. ⁹ Each curtain was twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide; all the curtains were one size. ¹⁰ Bezalel joined five curtains one to another, and [the other] five curtains he joined one to another. ¹¹ He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set; he also did this on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set. ¹² He made fifty loops in the one curtain [of the first set] and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which was in the second set; the loops were opposite one another. ¹³ He made fifty gold hooks and joined the curtains together with the hooks, so that the tabernacle became a unit.

¹⁴ Then he made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains in all. ¹⁵ Each curtain was thirty cubits long and four cubits wide; the eleven curtains were of equal size. ¹⁶ Bezalel joined five curtains by themselves and [the other] six curtains by themselves. ¹⁷ He made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set. ¹⁸ He made fifty bronze hooks to join the tent together into a unit. ¹⁹ He made a [third] covering for the tent of rams’ ^[ci]skins dyed red, and above it a [fourth] covering of ^[cj]porpoise skins.

²⁰ Bezalel made boards of acacia wood for the upright framework of the tabernacle. ²¹ Each board was ten cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ²² Each board had two tenons (dovetails), fitted to one another; he did this for all the boards of the tabernacle. ²³ And [this is how] he made the boards [for frames] for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side; ²⁴ and he made under the twenty boards forty silver sockets; two sockets under one board for its two tenons (dovetails), and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. ²⁵ For the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty boards, ²⁶ and their forty silver sockets; two sockets under [the end of] each board. ²⁷ And for the rear of the tabernacle, to the west, he made six [frame] boards. ²⁸ And he made two boards for each corner of the tabernacle in the rear. ²⁹ They were separate below, but linked together at the top with one ring; thus he made both of them in both corners. ³⁰ There were eight boards with sixteen silver sockets, and under [the end of] each board two sockets.

³¹ Bezalel made bars of acacia wood, five for the [frame] boards of the one side of the tabernacle, ³² and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle’s other side, and five bars for the boards at the rear side to the west. ³³ And he made the middle bar pass through [horizontally] halfway up the boards from one end to the other. ³⁴ He overlaid the boards and the bars with gold and made their rings of gold as holders for the bars.

³⁵ Further, Bezalel made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen; he made it with cherubim, the work of an embroiderer.^{(AR) 36} For the veil (partition curtain) he made four support poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were gold, and he cast for them four silver sockets. ³⁷ He made a screen (curtain) for the doorway of the tent, of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer; ³⁸ and [he made] the five support poles with their hooks, and overlaid their [ornamental] tops and connecting rings with gold; but their five sockets were bronze.

Construction Continues

37 Bezalel made the ark [of the covenant] of acacia wood—it was two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. ² And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and out, and made a molding (border) of gold to go all around [the top of it]. ³ He cast four rings of gold for it on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. ⁴ He made carrying poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ He put the carrying poles through the rings at the sides of the ark, to carry it. ⁶ Bezalel made the mercy seat of pure gold; it was two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide. ⁷ He made two cherubim of hammered gold; he made them at the two ends of the mercy seat, ⁸ one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; he made the cherubim [of one piece] with the mercy seat at the two ends. ⁹ The cherubim spread out their wings upward, covering and protecting the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward each other; the faces of the cherubim were [looking downward] toward the mercy seat.^(AS)

¹⁰ Bezalel made the table [for the bread] of acacia wood; it was two cubits long, a cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. ¹¹ He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a border of gold for it all around [its top]. ¹² He made a rim for it [just under the top] a hand width wide all around, and a border of gold around its rim. ¹³ He cast four rings of gold for it and fastened the rings to the four corners that were at its four legs. ¹⁴ Close by the rim were the rings, the holders for the poles [to pass through] to carry the table. ¹⁵ Bezalel made the carrying poles of acacia wood to carry the table and overlaid them with gold. ¹⁶ He made the utensils which were to be on the table, its dishes and its pans [for bread], its bowls and its jars for pouring drink offerings, of pure gold.

¹⁷ Then he made the lampstand (menorah) of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work, its base and its [center] shaft; its cups, its ^[ck]calyxes, and its flowers were all of one piece with it. ¹⁸ There were six branches coming out of the sides of the lampstand, three branches from one side of the center shaft and three branches from the other side of it; ¹⁹ three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a calyx and a flower in one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a calyx and a flower in the opposite branch—so for the six branches coming out of the center shaft of the lampstand. ²⁰ On the center shaft of the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, with calyxes and flowers [one at the top]; ²¹ and a calyx was under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a calyx under the second pair of branches, coming out of it, and a calyx under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. ²² Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it; all of it was a single hammered work of pure gold. ²³ He made its seven lamps with its snuffers and its trays of pure gold. ²⁴ He made the lampstand and all its utensils from a talent of pure gold.^(AT)

²⁵ Then Bezalel made the incense altar of acacia wood; its top was a cubit square and it was two cubits high; the horns were of one piece with it. ²⁶ He overlaid it with pure gold, its top, its sides all around and its horns; he also made a rim of gold around it. ²⁷ He made two rings of gold for it under its rim, on its two opposite sides, as holders for the poles [to pass through] to carry it. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ²⁹ He also made the holy anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense of spices, the work of a perfumer.

The Tabernacle Completed

38 Then Bezalel made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; its top was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide, and three cubits high. ² And he made its horns (horn-shaped projections) on the four corners of it; the horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. ³ He made all the utensils and vessels of the altar [of burnt offering], the pots, shovels, basins [to catch the blood of the sacrificed animal], meat hooks and the firepans [to store live coals]. He made all its utensils of bronze. ⁴ He made for the altar a grating of bronze mesh under its rim, extending halfway up it. ⁵ He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the carrying poles. ⁶ And he made the carrying poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷ He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it; he made it hollow with planks.

⁸ Bezalel made the basin and its base of bronze from the mirrors of the attending women who served and ministered at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

⁹ Then he made the court: for the south side the curtains of the court were of fine twisted linen, a hundred cubits; ¹⁰ their twenty support poles, and their twenty bronze sockets; the hooks of the support poles and their connecting rings were silver. ¹¹ And for the north side [of the court the curtains were also] a hundred cubits; their twenty support poles and their twenty bronze sockets; the hooks of the support poles and their connecting rings were silver. ¹² For the west side [of the court] there were curtains of fifty cubits with their ten support poles and their ten sockets; the hooks of the support poles and their connecting rings were silver. ¹³ For the east side [the front of the courtyard, there were curtains of] fifty cubits. ¹⁴ The curtains for one side of the court gate were fifteen cubits, with their three support poles and their three sockets; ¹⁵ and the same for the other side [of the court gate]. Left and right of the court gate there were curtains of fifteen cubits; with their three support poles and their three sockets. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the court were of fine twisted linen. ¹⁷ The sockets for the support poles were made of bronze, the hooks of the support poles and their connecting rings were made of silver; and silver overlaid their tops. All the support poles of the court had silver connecting rings. ¹⁸ The screen (curtain) for the gate of the courtyard [on the east side] was the work of an embroiderer, in blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen; it was twenty cubits long and five cubits high, corresponding to the curtains of the court. ¹⁹ Their four support poles and their four sockets were bronze; their hooks were silver, and silver overlaid their tops and their connecting rings. ²⁰ All the pegs for the tabernacle and the court were bronze.

The Cost of the Tabernacle

²¹ This is the sum of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, as counted according to the command of Moses, for the work of the Levites, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ²² Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord commanded Moses. ²³ With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and a skillful craftsman and an embroiderer in blue and in purple and in scarlet fabric, and in fine linen.

²⁴ All the gold that was used for the work, in all the building and furnishing of the sanctuary, the gold from the wave offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. ²⁵ The silver from those of the congregation who were assembled and counted was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; ²⁶ a beka for each man (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary) for everyone who was counted, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. ²⁷ The hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil (partition curtain); a hundred sockets for the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. ²⁸ Of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the support poles and overlaid their tops and made connecting rings for them. ²⁹ The bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels. ³⁰ With it Bezalel made the sockets for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, and the bronze altar and its bronze grating, and all the utensils of the altar, ³¹ and the sockets of the court all around and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pegs of the tabernacle and all the pegs around the court.

The Priestly Garments

39 Moreover, from the blue and purple and scarlet fabric, they made finely woven garments for serving and ministering in the Holy Place; they made the holy garments for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

² Bezalel made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen. ³ Then Bezalel and Oholiab hammered the gold [into thin sheets] and cut it into threads to work into the blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and into the fine linen, the work of a skilled craftsman. ⁴ They made attaching shoulder pieces for the ephod; it was attached at its two [upper] edges. ⁵ The skillfully woven sash with which to bind it, which was on the ephod [to hold it in place], was like its workmanship, of the same material: of gold and of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ They made the onyx stones, set in settings of gold filigree; they were engraved as signets are engraved, with the names of [the twelve tribes of] the sons of Israel. ⁷ And he put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be memorial stones (a remembrance) for the sons of Israel (Jacob), just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁸ Bezalel made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful craftsman, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold and of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen. ⁹ It was square; they made the breastpiece folded double, a [hand’s] span long and a [hand’s] span wide when folded double. ¹⁰ And they mounted four rows of stones on it. The first row was a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; ¹¹ and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹² and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were mounted in settings of gold filigree. ¹⁴ The stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel; they were twelve [in all], corresponding to their names, engraved like a signet, each with its name, for the twelve tribes. ¹⁵ And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords of pure gold. ¹⁶ They made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. ¹⁷ Then they put the two twisted cords of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastpiece. ¹⁸ They put the [other] two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. ¹⁹ They made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inner edge which was next to the ephod. ²⁰ Furthermore, they made two [other] gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it, close to the place where it is joined, above the woven sash of the ephod. ²¹ They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would lie on the woven sash of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²² Then Bezalel made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue; ²³ there was an opening [for the head] in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of armor, with a hem around it, so that it would not be frayed or torn. ²⁴ On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and fine twisted linen. ²⁵ They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates around the hem of the robe; ²⁶ a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all [the way] around the hem of the robe, for service and ministering, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²⁷ And they made tunics of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸ and the turban of fine linen, and the ornamental caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twisted linen, ²⁹ and the sash of fine twisted linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁰ They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engravings of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.”^{(AU) 31} They tied a blue cord to it, to fasten it on the turban above, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³² Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was finished; and the Israelites did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; that is what they did. ³³ They brought the tabernacle to Moses [for him to inspect]: the tent and all its furnishings, its hooks, its [frame] boards, its bars, its support poles, its sockets or bases; ³⁴ and the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of ^[cl]porpoise skins, and the veil (partition) of the screen (curtain); ³⁵ the ark of the Testimony, its carrying poles and the mercy seat; ³⁶ the table and all its utensils and the bread of the Presence (showbread); ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand and its lamps, with the lamps placed in order, all its utensils, and the oil for the light; ³⁸ the golden altar [of incense], the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the [hanging] veil for the doorway of the tent; ³⁹ the bronze altar [of burnt offering] and its grating of bronze, its poles and all its utensils, the basin and its base; ⁴⁰ the curtains of the courtyard, its support poles and sockets, and the screen (curtain) for the courtyard gate, its cords and pegs, and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the Tent of Meeting [of God with His people];^{(AV) 41} the [finely] woven garments for serving and ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons to minister as priests. ⁴² So the Israelites did all the work according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴³ And Moses [carefully] inspected all the work, and behold, they had done it; just as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. So Moses blessed them.

The Tabernacle Erected

40 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “On the first day of the first month (Abib) you shall set up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting [of God with you]. ³ You shall place the ark of the Testimony there, and you shall screen off the ark [from the Holy Place of God’s Presence] with the veil (partition curtain).^{(AW) 4} You shall bring in the table [for the bread] and arrange its setting; you shall bring in the lampstand and mount and light its lamps.^{(AX) 5} You shall set the golden altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony [outside the veil], and put the [hanging] veil at the doorway of the tabernacle. ⁶ You shall set the [bronze] altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. ⁷ You shall set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering], and put water in it. ⁸ You shall set up the courtyard [curtains] all around and hang up the screen (curtain) for the gateway of the courtyard. ⁹ Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture; and it shall be holy (declared sacred, separated from secular use). ¹⁰ You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy. ¹¹ You shall anoint the basin and its base, and consecrate it. ¹² Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.^{(AY) 13} You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve as a priest to Me. ¹⁴ You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them; ¹⁵ you shall anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may serve as priests to Me; and their anointing shall qualify them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.” ¹⁶ Thus Moses did; in accordance with all that the Lord commanded him, so he did.

¹⁷ Now it happened on the first day of the first month (Abib) in the second year [after the exodus from Egypt], that the tabernacle was erected. ¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle, laid its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars and erected its support poles. ¹⁹ He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, just as the Lord had commanded him. ²⁰ He took the Testimony [the stones inscribed with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], and placed the poles [through the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. ²¹ Moses brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil (partition) for the screen (curtain), and screened off the ark of the Testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him. ²² Then he put the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. ²³ He set the bread [of the Presence] in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him.^{(AZ) 24} Then he put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. ²⁵ Moses mounted and lighted the lamps [on the lampstand] before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded him. ²⁶ He put the golden altar [of incense] in the Tent of Meeting in front of the veil; ²⁷ he burned fragrant incense [as a symbol of prayer] on it, just as the Lord commanded him.^{(BA) 28} Then he set up the screen (curtain) at the doorway of the tabernacle. ²⁹ He set the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the Lord commanded him. ³⁰ He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering], and put water in it for washing. ³¹ Then from it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. ³² When they entered the Tent of Meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord commanded Moses. ³³ And he erected the courtyard all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung the screen (curtain) at the gateway of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

³⁴ Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God’s visible, dwelling presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle.^{(BB) 35} Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained on it, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ In all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out; ³⁷ but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey on until the day when it was taken up. ³⁸ For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.