Exodus 19-34

New American Standard Bible

Moses on Sinai

19 ^(A)In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, ^[a]on that very day they came into the wilderness of ^(B)Sinai. ² When they set out from ^(C)Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of ^(D)the mountain. ³ And Moses went up to God, and ^(E)the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ⁴ ‘^(F)You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on ^(G)eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now then, ^(H)if you will indeed obey My voice and ^(I)keep My covenant, then you shall be ^(J)My ^[b]own possession among all the peoples, for ^(K)all the earth is Mine; ⁶ and you shall be to Me ^(L)a kingdom of priests and ^(M)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

^7 (N)So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ Then ^(O)all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in ^(P)a thick cloud, so that the ^(Q)people may hear when I speak with you and may also trust in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

¹⁰ The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(R)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them ^(S)wash their garments; ¹¹ and have them ready for the third day, for on ^(T)the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² But you shall set boundaries for the people all around, saying, ‘^[c]Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; ^(U)whoever touches the mountain shall certainly be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him, but ^(V)he shall certainly be stoned or ^[d]shot through; whether animal or person, the violator shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to ^(W)the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. ¹⁵ He also said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

^16 (X)So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were ^[e]thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the ^[f]foot of the mountain.

The Lord Visits Sinai

^18 (Y)Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it ^(Z)in fire; and its smoke ascended like ^(AA)the smoke of a furnace, and ^(AB)the entire mountain ^[g]quaked violently. ¹⁹ When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and ^(AC)God answered him with ^[h]thunder. ²⁰ Then ^(AD)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 Moses went up. ²¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down, ^[i]warn the people, so that ^(AE)they do not break through to the Lord to stare, and many of them ^[j]perish. ²² Also have the ^(AF)priests who approach the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them.” ²³ And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You ^[k]warned us, saying, ‘^(AG)Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “^[l]Go down and come up again, ^(AH)you and Aaron with you; but do not let the ^(AI)priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words, saying,

² “^(AJ)I am the Lord your God, ^(AK)who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of ^[m]slavery.

³ “^(AL)You shall have no other ^(AM)gods ^[n]before Me.

⁴ “^(AN)You shall not make for yourself ^[o]an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. ^5 (AO)You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a ^(AP)jealous God, ^(AQ)inflicting the ^[p]punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶ but showing ^[q]favor to ^(AR)thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

⁷ “^(AS)You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not ^[r]leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

⁸ “Remember ^(AT)the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ^9 (AU)For six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it ^(AV)you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your ^[s]resident who ^[t]stays with you. ^11 (AW)For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² “^(AX)Honor your father and your mother, so that your ^(AY)days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.

¹³ “^(AZ)You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “^(BA)You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “^(BB)You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “^(BC)You shall not ^[u]give false testimony against your ^(BD)neighbor.

¹⁷ “^(BE)You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; ^(BF)you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸ And ^(BG)all the people were watching and hearing the ^[v]thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it all, they trembled and stood at a distance. ^19 (BH)Then they said to Moses, “Speak ^[w]to us yourself and we will listen; but do not have God speak ^[x]to us, or we will die!” ²⁰ However, Moses said to the people, “^(BI)Do not be afraid; for God has come in order ^(BJ)to test you, and in order that ^(BK)the fear of Him may ^[y]remain with you, so that you will not sin.” ²¹ So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached ^(BL)the thick darkness where God was.

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that ^(BM)I have spoken ^[z]to you from heaven. ^23 (BN)You shall not make other gods besides Me; ^(BO)gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. ²⁴ You shall make ^(BP)an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your ^(BQ)burnt offerings and your ^(BR)peace offerings, ^(BS)your sheep and your oxen; in every place ^(BT)where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ And if you make an altar of stone for Me, ^(BU)you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your chisel on it, you will profane it. ²⁶ And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that ^(BV)your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’

Ordinances for the People

21 “Now these are the ^(BW)ordinances which you are to set before them:

² “If you buy ^(BX)a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you. ³ If he comes ^[aa]alone, he shall leave ^[ab]alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall leave with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave ^[ac]alone. ⁵ But ^(BY)if the slave 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 ^[ad]God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an ^[ae]awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

⁷ “Now ^(BZ)if a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to ^[af]go free ^(CA)as the male slaves ^[ag]do. ⁸ If she is ^[ah]displeasing in the eyes of her master ^[ai]who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people, because of his ^[aj]unfairness to her. ⁹ And if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. ¹⁰ If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her ^[ak]food, her clothing, or ^(CB)her conjugal rights. ¹¹ But if he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go ^[al]free for nothing, without payment of money.

Personal Injuries

¹² “^(CC)He who strikes someone so that he dies shall certainly be put to death. ^13 (CD)Yet ^[am]if he did not lie in wait for him, but ^(CE)God caused him to fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee. ^14 (CF)If, however, someone is enraged against his neighbor, so as to kill him in a cunning way, you are to take him even from My altar, to be put to death.

¹⁵ “And one who strikes his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁶ “Now ^(CG)one who ^[an]kidnaps someone, whether he sells him or he is found in his ^[ao]possession, shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁷ “And ^(CH)one who curses his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁸ “Now if people have a quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but ^[ap]is confined to bed, ¹⁹ if he gets up and walks around outside on his staff, then he who struck him shall go unpunished; he shall only pay for his ^[aq]loss of time, and ^[ar]shall pay for his care until he is completely healed.

²⁰ “And if someone strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies ^[as]at his hand, he shall ^[at]be punished. ²¹ If, however, the slave ^[au]survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; ^(CI)for the slave is his ^[av]property.

²² “Now if people struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that ^[aw]she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury, the guilty person shall certainly be fined as the woman’s husband ^[ax]may demand of him, and he shall ^(CJ)pay ^[ay]as the judges decide. ²³ But if there is any further injury, ^(CK)then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, ^24 (CL)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, ^[az]bruise for bruise.

²⁶ “And if someone strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he shall let ^[ba]the slave go free on account of the eye. ²⁷ And if he ^[bb]knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let ^[bc]the slave go free on account of the tooth.

²⁸ “Now if an ox gores a man or a woman ^[bd]to death, ^(CM)the ox shall certainly be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished. ²⁹ If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰ If a ransom is ^[be]demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is ^[bf]demanded of him. ³¹ Whether it gores a son or ^[bg]a daughter, it shall be done to him according to ^[bh]the same rule. ³² If the ox gores a male or female slave, ^[bi]the owner shall give his or her master ^[bj](CN)thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

Property Rights

³³ “Now if someone opens a pit, or ^[bk]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 ^[bl]give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall become his.

³⁵ “And if someone’s ox injures another’s ox so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide its proceeds equally; and they shall also divide the dead ox. ³⁶ Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not confined it, he must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead animal shall become his.

Property Rights

22 “^[bm]If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and ^(CO)four sheep for the sheep— ^2 [bn]If the ^(CP)thief is ^[bo]caught while ^[bp]breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no guilt for bloodshed on his account. ³ If the sun has risen on him, there will be guilt for bloodshed on his account—A thief shall certainly make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be ^(CQ)sold for his theft. ⁴ If what he stole is actually found alive in his ^[bq]possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, ^(CR)he shall pay double.

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

⁶ “If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, and stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, the one who started the fire must make restitution.

⁷ “^(CS)If someone gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him and it is stolen from the ^[br]neighbor’s house, if the thief is ^[bs]caught, then the thief shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not ^[bt]caught, then the owner of the house shall ^[bu]appear before ^[bv](CT)the judges, to determine whether he ^[bw]laid his hands on his neighbor’s property. ⁹ For every ^[bx]breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the ^[by]case of both parties shall come before ^[bz](CU)the judges; he whom ^[ca]the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

¹⁰ “If someone gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is injured or is driven away while no one is looking, ¹¹ an ^(CV)oath before the Lord shall be ^[cb]taken by the two of them ^[cc]that he has not ^[cd]laid a hand on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not be compelled to make restitution. ¹² But if it is actually stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If it is all torn to pieces, have him bring it as evidence; he shall not be compelled to make restitution for what has been torn to pieces.

¹⁴ “And if someone ^[ce]borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution. ¹⁵ If its owner is with it, the borrower shall not be compelled to make restitution. If it is hired, it ^[cf]came by its hire.

Various Laws

¹⁶ “^(CW)If a man seduces a virgin who is not ^[cg]betrothed and sleeps with her, he must pay a ^[ch]dowry for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall ^[ci]pay money equal to the ^(CX)dowry for virgins.

¹⁸ “You shall not allow a ^(CY)sorceress to live.

¹⁹ “^(CZ)Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death.

²⁰ “^(DA)He who sacrifices to ^[cj]any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be ^[ck]utterly destroyed.

²¹ “^(DB)You shall not oppress a stranger nor torment him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ^22 (DC)You shall not oppress any widow or orphan. ²³ If you oppress him at all, and ^(DD)if he does cry out to Me, ^(DE)I will assuredly hear his cry; ²⁴ and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, ^(DF)and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵ “^(DG)If you lend money to My people, to the poor ^[cl]among you, you are not to ^[cm]act as a creditor to him; you shall not ^[cn]charge him ^(DH)interest. ²⁶ If you ever seize your neighbor’s cloak ^(DI)as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, ²⁷ for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his ^[co]body. What else is he to sleep in? And it will come about that ^(DJ)when he cries out to Me, I will listen to him, for ^(DK)I am gracious.

²⁸ “You shall not ^[cp](DL)curse God, ^(DM)nor curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹ “^(DN)You shall not hold back the offering from your entire harvest and your ^[cq]wine. ^(DO)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ^30 (DP)You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother for seven days; ^(DQ)on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “^(DR)You shall be holy people to Me, therefore ^(DS)you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Various Laws

23 “^(DT)You shall not give a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked person to be a ^(DU)malicious witness. ² You shall not follow ^[cr]the crowd in doing evil, nor shall you ^[cs]testify in a dispute so as to join together with ^[ct]a crowd in order to ^(DV)pervert justice; ^3 (DW)nor shall you ^[cu]show favor to a poor person in his dispute.

⁴ “^(DX)If you encounter your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you must return it to him. ^5 (DY)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall not leave it helpless for ^[cv]its owner; you must arrange the load with him.

⁶ “^(DZ)You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. ^7 (EA)Keep far from a false charge, and ^(EB)do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for ^(EC)I will not acquit the guilty.

⁸ “^(ED)You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and ^[cw]subverts the cause of the just.

⁹ “^(EE)You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the ^[cx]feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Sabbath and the Land

¹⁰ “Now ^(EF)you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, ¹¹ but in the seventh year you shall let it ^[cy]rest and lie uncultivated, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the animal of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

¹² “^(EG)For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as the stranger residing with you, may refresh themselves. ¹³ Now ^(EH)concerning everything which I have said to you, be careful; and ^(EI)do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard ^[cz]from your mouth.

Three National Feasts

¹⁴ “^(EJ)Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. ¹⁵ You shall keep ^(EK)the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the ^(EL)month of Abib, for in ^[da]that month you came out of Egypt. And ^[db](EM)no one is to appear before Me empty-handed. ¹⁶ Also you shall keep ^(EN)the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year ^(EO)when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. ^17 (EP)Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^[dc]God.

¹⁸ “^(EQ)You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; ^(ER)nor is the fat of My ^[dd]feast to remain overnight until morning.

¹⁹ “You shall bring ^(ES)the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.

“^(ET)You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Conquest of the Land

²⁰ “Behold, I am going to send ^(EU)an angel before you to guard you along the way and ^(EV)to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Be attentive to him and obey his voice; ^(EW)do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your rebellion, since ^(EX)My name is in him. ²² But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then ^(EY)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ^23 (EZ)For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. ^24 (FA)You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; ^(FB)but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their ^(FC)memorial stones in pieces. ^25 (FD)And you shall serve the Lord your God, ^[de]and He will bless your bread and your water; and ^(FE)I will remove sickness from your midst. ²⁶ There will be no one miscarrying or ^(FF)unable to have children in your land; ^(FG)I will fulfill the number of your days. ²⁷ I will ^(FH)send My terror ahead of you, and ^(FI)throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will ^(FJ)make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And I will send ^(FK)hornets ahead of you so that they will ^(FL)drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from you. ^29 (FM)I will not drive them out from you in a single year, so that the land will not become desolate and the animals of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ I will drive them out from you ^(FN)little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land. ^31 (FO)I will set your boundary from the ^[df]Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River; ^(FP)for I will hand over the inhabitants of the land to you, and you will ^(FQ)drive them out from you. ^32 (FR)You shall ^[dg]make no covenant with them ^(FS)or with their gods. ^33 (FT)They shall not live in your land, otherwise they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, ^(FU)it is certain to be a snare to you.”

People Affirm Their Covenant with God

24 Then He said to Moses, “^(FV)Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, ^(FW)Nadab and Abihu, and ^(FX)seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. ² Moses alone, however, shall approach the Lord, but they shall not approach, nor shall the people come up with him.”

³ Then Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ^[dh]ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “^(FY)All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” ⁴ And ^(FZ)Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an ^(GA)altar ^[di]at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, ^(GB)and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. ^6 (GC)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ Then he took ^(GD)the Book of the Covenant and read it ^[dj]as the people listened; and they said, “^(GE)All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” ⁸ So ^(GF)Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold ^(GG)the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has ^[dk]made with you ^[dl]in accordance with all these words.”

⁹ Then Moses went up ^[dm]with Aaron, ^(GH)Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, ¹⁰ and ^(GI)they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet ^[dn](GJ)there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, ^[do]as clear as the sky itself. ¹¹ Yet He did not reach out with His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and ^(GK)they saw God, and they ate and drank.

¹² Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and ^[dp]stay there, and ^(GL)I will give you the stone tablets ^[dq]with the Law and the ^[dr]commandments which I have written for their instruction.” ¹³ So Moses got up ^[ds]along with ^(GM)Joshua his ^[dt]servant, and Moses went up to ^(GN)the mountain of God. ¹⁴ But to the elders he said, “^(GO)Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, ^(GP)Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever ^[du]has a legal matter, have him approach them.” ¹⁵ Then Moses went up to the mountain, and ^(GQ)the cloud covered the mountain. ^16 (GR)The glory of the Lord ^[dv]settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He ^(GS)called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. ^17 (GT)And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a ^(GU)consuming fire on the mountain top. ¹⁸ Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud ^[dw]as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain for ^(GV)forty days and forty nights.

Offerings for the Sanctuary

25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “^(GW)Tell the sons of Israel to take a ^[dx]contribution for Me; ^(GX)from everyone whose heart moves him you shall take My ^[dy]contribution. ³ This is the ^[dz]contribution which you are to take from them: gold, silver, and bronze, ^4 [ea](GY)violet, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, ⁵ rams’ skins dyed red, ^[eb]fine leather, acacia wood, ^6 (GZ)oil for lighting, ^(HA)balsam oil for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ⁷ onyx stones and setting stones for the ^(HB)ephod and for the ^[ec](HC)breastpiece. ⁸ Have them ^(HD)construct a sanctuary for Me, ^(HE)so that I may dwell among them. ^9 (HF)According to all that I am going to show you as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, so you shall construct it.

Ark of the Covenant

¹⁰ “Now ^(HG)they shall construct an ^[ed]ark of acacia wood ^[ee]two and a half cubits ^[ef]long, one and a half cubits ^[eg]wide, and one and a half cubits ^[eh]high. ¹¹ You shall ^(HH)overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding ^[ei]around it. ¹² You shall also cast four gold rings for it and ^[ej]fasten them on its four feet; two rings shall be on one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. ¹³ And you shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. ¹⁵ The ^(HI)poles shall ^[ek]remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. ¹⁶ You shall ^(HJ)put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.

¹⁷ “And you shall ^(HK)make ^[el]an atoning cover of pure gold, ^[em]two and a half cubits ^[en]long and one and a half cubits ^[eo]wide. ¹⁸ You shall make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work ^[ep]at the two ends of the atoning cover. ¹⁹ Make one cherub ^[eq]at one end and one cherub ^[er]at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece ^[es]with the atoning cover at its two ends. ²⁰ And ^(HL)the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the atoning cover with their wings and ^[et]facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the atoning cover. ²¹ Then ^(HM)you shall put the atoning cover ^[eu]on top of the ark, and ^(HN)in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. ^22 (HO)There I will meet with you; and from above the atoning cover, from ^(HP)between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about ^[ev]every commandment that I will give you for the sons of Israel.

Bread of the Presence

²³ “^(HQ)You shall also make a table of acacia wood, ^[ew]two cubits ^[ex]long and one cubit ^[ey]wide, and one and a half cubits ^[ez]high. ²⁴ You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold ^(HR)border around it. ²⁵ And you shall make for it a rim of a ^[fa]hand width around it; and you shall make a gold border for the rim around it. ²⁶ You shall also make four gold rings for it and put rings on the four corners which are on its four legs. ²⁷ The rings shall be close to the rim, as holders for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸ And you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that with them the table may be carried. ²⁹ You shall also make its ^(HS)dishes, its pans, its jars, and its libation bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. ³⁰ And you shall set ^(HT)the bread of the ^[fb]Presence on the table before Me continually.

The Golden Lampstand

³¹ “^(HU)Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand, its base and its shaft, are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its ^[fc]bulbs, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. ^32 (HV)Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its ^[fd]other side. ^33 (HW)Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms on the one branch, a ^[fe]bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the ^[ff]other branch, a ^[fg]bulb and a flower—the same for six branches going out from the lampstand; ³⁴ and ^(HX)on the lampstand four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its ^[fh]bulbs and its flowers. ^35 (HY)A ^[fi]bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a ^[fj]bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a ^[fk]bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. ^36 (HZ)Their ^[fl]bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold. ³⁷ Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and ^(IA)they shall ^[fm]mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it. ³⁸ Its tongs and its trays shall be of pure gold. ³⁹ It shall be made from a ^[fn]talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. ^40 (IB)See that you make them ^(IC)by the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.

Curtains of Linen

26 “^(ID)Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and ^[fo]violet, purple, and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer. ² The length of each curtain shall be ^[fp]twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have ^[fq]the same measurements. ³ Five curtains shall be ^[fr]joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be ^[fs]joined to one another. ⁴ You shall make loops of violet on the edge of the ^[ft]outermost curtain in the first set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second ^[fu]set. ⁵ You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the ^[fv]edge of the curtain that is in the second ^[fw]set; the loops shall be opposite each other. ⁶ You shall also make fifty clasps of gold, and ^[fx]join the curtains to one another with the clasps so that the ^[fy]tabernacle will be a unit.

Curtains of Goats’ Hair

⁷ “Then ^(IE)you shall make curtains of goats’ hair as a tent over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains in all. ⁸ The length of each curtain shall be ^[fz]thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have ^[ga]the same measurements. ⁹ You shall ^[gb]join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain ^[gc]at the front of the tent. ¹⁰ You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the ^[gd]curtain that is outermost in the first ^[ge]set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second ^[gf]set.

¹¹ “You shall also make fifty clasps of ^[gg]bronze, and you shall put the clasps into the loops and ^[gh]join the tent together so that it will be ^[gi]a unit. ¹² The ^[gj]overhanging part that is left over in the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that is left over, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. ¹³ The ^[gk]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 hang over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and on the other, to cover it. ¹⁴ And ^(IF)you shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins ^[gl]dyed red and a covering of ^[gm]fine leather above.

Boards and Bases

¹⁵ “Then you shall make ^(IG)the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright. ^16 [gn]Ten cubits shall be the length of ^[go]each board and one and a half cubits the width of each board. ¹⁷ There shall be two tenons for each board, ^[gp]fitted to one another; that is what you shall do for all the boards of the tabernacle. ¹⁸ You shall make the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards ^[gq]for the south side. ¹⁹ You shall make forty ^(IH)bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board for its two tenons and two bases under another board for its two tenons; ²⁰ and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards, ²¹ and their forty bases of silver; two bases under one board and two bases under another board. ²² For the ^[gr]back of the tabernacle, to the west, you shall make six boards. ²³ You shall make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the ^[gs]back. ²⁴ They shall be double beneath, and together they shall be complete ^[gt]to its top ^[gu]to the first ring; this is how it shall be with both of them: they shall form the two corners. ²⁵ And there shall be eight boards with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one board and two bases under another board.

²⁶ “Then you shall make ^(II)bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle, ²⁷ and five bars for the boards of the ^[gv]other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle for the ^[gw]back side to the west. ²⁸ The middle bar in the ^[gx]center of the boards shall pass through from end to end. ²⁹ And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold as holders for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold. ³⁰ Then you shall erect the tabernacle ^(IJ)according to its plan which you have been shown on the mountain.

The Veil and Curtain

³¹ “You shall also make ^(IK)a veil of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer. ³² Then you shall ^[gy]hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also of gold, on four bases of silver. ³³ You shall ^[gz]hang up the veil under the clasps, and bring in ^(IL)the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall ^[ha]serve as a partition for you ^(IM)between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. ^34 (IN)You shall put the ^[hb]atoning cover on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. ³⁵ And ^(IO)you shall set the table outside the veil, and the ^(IP)lampstand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.

³⁶ “^(IQ)You shall also make a curtain for the doorway of the tent of violet, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a ^[hc]weaver. ³⁷ And ^(IR)you shall make five pillars of acacia for the curtain and overlay them with gold, their hooks also of gold; and you shall cast five bases of ^[hd]bronze for them.

The Bronze Altar

27 “Now you shall make ^(IS)the altar of acacia wood, ^[he]five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be ^[hf]three cubits. ² You shall make ^(IT)its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with ^[hg]bronze. ³ And you shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels, its basins, its forks, and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. ⁴ You shall also make for it a grating, a netting of bronze, and on the netting you shall make four bronze rings ^[hh]at its four corners. ⁵ And you shall put it under the ledge of the altar, so that the netting will reach halfway up the altar. ⁶ You shall also make carrying poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood and overlay them with bronze. ⁷ Its poles shall be inserted into the rings, so that the poles will be on the two sides of the altar ^(IU)when it is carried. ⁸ You shall make it hollow with planks; ^(IV)as it was shown to you on the mountain, so they shall make it.

Courtyard of the Tabernacle

⁹ “Now you shall make ^(IW)the courtyard of the ^[hi]tabernacle. ^[hj]On the south side there shall be hangings for the courtyard of fine twisted linen, a ^[hk]hundred cubits long for one side; ¹⁰ and its pillars shall be twenty, with their twenty bases of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their ^[hl]bands shall be of silver. ¹¹ Likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings a ^[hm]hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars with their twenty bases of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. ¹² For the width of the courtyard on the west side shall be hangings of ^[hn]fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten bases. ¹³ The width of the courtyard on the ^[ho]east side shall be fifty cubits. ¹⁴ The hangings for the one ^[hp]side of the gate shall be ^[hq]fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. ¹⁵ And for the ^[hr]other ^[hs]side there shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. ¹⁶ And for the gate of the courtyard there shall be a curtain of ^[ht]twenty cubits, of ^[hu]violet, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a ^[hv]weaver, with their four pillars and their four bases. ¹⁷ All the pillars around the courtyard shall be joined together with silver, with their hooks of silver and their bases of bronze. ¹⁸ The length of the courtyard shall be a ^[hw]hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits of fine twisted linen, and their bases of bronze. ¹⁹ All the utensils of the tabernacle used in all its service, and all its pegs, and all the pegs of the courtyard, shall be of bronze.

²⁰ “And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring you ^(IX)clear oil of beaten olives for the ^[hx]light, to make a lamp ^[hy]burn continually. ²¹ In the ^(IY)tent of meeting, outside ^(IZ)the veil which is before the testimony, ^(JA)Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord; it shall be a permanent ^(JB)statute throughout their generations ^[hz]for the sons of Israel.

Garments of the Priests

28 “Then ^(JC)bring forward to yourself your brother Aaron, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to serve as priest to Me—Aaron, ^(JD)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. ² And you shall make ^(JE)holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. ³ You shall speak to all the ^[ia](JF)skillful people ^(JG)whom I have endowed with ^[ib]the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may serve as priest to Me. ⁴ And these are the garments which they shall make: a ^[ic](JH)breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a tunic of checkered work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that he may serve as priest to Me. ⁵ They shall take ^(JI)the gold, the ^[id]violet, the purple, the scarlet material, and the fine linen.

⁶ “They shall also make ^(JJ)the ephod of gold, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, the work of the skilled embroiderer. ⁷ It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, so that it may be joined. ⁸ The skillfully woven band of its overlay, which is on it, shall be like its workmanship, ^[ie]of the same material: of gold, of violet and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. ⁹ And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the ^[if]other stone, according to their birth. ^11 [ig]As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall ^[ih]set them in filigree settings of gold. ¹² And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall ^(JK)carry their names before the Lord on his two shoulders ^(JL)as a memorial. ¹³ And ^(JM)you shall make filigree settings of gold, ¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them of twisted cord work, and you shall put the corded chains on the filigree settings.

¹⁵ “^(JN)You shall make a ^[ii]breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skilled embroiderer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen you shall make it. ¹⁶ It shall be square and folded double, a ^[ij]span ^[ik]in length and a ^[il]span ^[im]in width. ¹⁷ And you shall ^[in]mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; ¹⁸ and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹⁹ and 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 stones shall be engraved according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a signet, each ^(JO)according to his name for the twelve tribes. ²² You shall also make on the ^[io]breastpiece twisted chains of cord work in pure gold. ²³ And you shall make on the breastpiece two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. ²⁴ And you shall put the two cords of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. ²⁵ You shall 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. ²⁶ And you shall make two rings of gold and place them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. ²⁷ And you shall make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸ And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a violet cord, so that it will be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod. ²⁹ So Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the Holy Place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. ³⁰ And ^(JP)you shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the ^[ip](JQ)Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.

³¹ “^(JR)You shall make the robe of the ephod all of violet. ³² There shall be an opening ^[iq]at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. ³³ You shall make on its hem pomegranates of violet, purple, and scarlet material all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: ³⁴ a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. ³⁵ It shall be on Aaron ^[ir]when he ministers; and its sound shall be heard when he enters and leaves the Holy Place before the Lord, so that he will not die.

³⁶ “You shall also make ^(JS)a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘^(JT)Holy to the Lord.’ ³⁷ You shall ^[is]fasten it on a violet cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be at the front of the turban. ³⁸ It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall ^[it](JU)take away the guilt of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, regarding all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, so that ^(JV)they may be accepted before the Lord.

³⁹ “And you shall weave ^(JW)the tunic of checkered work of fine linen, and shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of a ^[iu]weaver.

⁴⁰ “For Aaron’s sons you shall also make ^(JX)tunics; you shall also make sashes for them, and you shall make ^[iv](JY)caps for them, for glory and for beauty. ⁴¹ Then you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall ^(JZ)anoint them and ^[iw]ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve Me as priests. ⁴² You shall make for them ^(KA)linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh; they shall ^[ix]reach from the waist even to the thighs. ⁴³ And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or ^(KB)when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they do not incur ^[iy]guilt and die. ^(KC)It shall be a statute forever to him and to his ^[iz]descendants after him.

Consecration of the Priests

29 “^(KD)Now this is ^[ja]what you shall do to them to consecrate them to serve as priests to Me: take one bull and two rams without blemish, ² and ^(KE)unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers ^[jb]spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. ³ And you shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. ⁴ Then ^(KF)you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. ⁵ And you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the ^(KG)tunic and ^(KH)the robe of the ephod, and ^(KI)the ephod and ^(KJ)the ^[jc]breastpiece, and wrap his waist with the skillfully ^(KK)woven band of the ephod; ⁶ and you shall set the ^(KL)turban on his head and put ^(KM)the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ Then you shall take ^(KN)the anointing oil and pour it on his head, and anoint him. ⁸ You shall also bring his sons and put ^(KO)tunics on them. ⁹ And you shall wrap their waists with ^(KP)sashes, Aaron and his sons, and fit ^[jd]caps on them, and they shall have ^(KQ)the priesthood by a permanent statute. So you shall ^[je](KR)ordain Aaron and his sons.

The Sacrifices

¹⁰ “Then you shall bring the bull in front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall ^(KS)lay their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ And you shall slaughter the bull before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ¹² Then you shall ^(KT)take some of the blood of the bull and put it on ^(KU)the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹³ And you shall ^(KV)take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the ^[jf]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 ^(KW)the flesh of the bull and its hide and its refuse, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “^(KX)You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram; ¹⁶ and you shall slaughter the ram and take its blood and sprinkle it around on the altar. ¹⁷ Then you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them ^[jg]with its pieces and ^[jh]its head. ¹⁸ And you shall offer up in smoke the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord: ^(KY)it is a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Then ^(KZ)you shall take the ^[ji]other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. ²⁰ And you shall slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the lobes of his sons’ right ears, 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. ²¹ Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the ^(LA)anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him; so he and his garments shall be consecrated, as well as his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

²² “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail, and the fat that covers the entrails and the ^[jj]lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ^[jk]ordination), ²³ and one loaf of bread, and ^(LB)one cake of bread mixed with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which is set before the Lord; ²⁴ and you shall put ^[jl]all these ^[jm]in the ^[jn]hands of Aaron and ^[jo]in the ^[jp]hands of his sons, and shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Then ^(LC)you shall take them from their hands, and offer them up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering for a soothing aroma before the Lord; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.

²⁶ “Then you shall take ^(LD)the breast of Aaron’s ram of ^[jq]ordination, and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be your portion. ²⁷ You shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the ^[jr]contribution which was waved and which was ^[js]offered from the ram of ^[jt]ordination, from the one which was for Aaron and from the one which was for his sons. ²⁸ It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion forever from the sons of Israel, for it is ^[ju]a contribution; and it shall be ^[jv]a contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, their ^[jw]contribution to the Lord.

²⁹ “^(LE)The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, ^[jx]so that they may be anointed and ordained in them. ³⁰ For seven days the one of his sons who is priest in his place shall put them on when he enters the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

Food of the Priests

³¹ “Now you shall take the ram of ^[jy]ordination and ^(LF)boil its flesh in a holy place. ³² Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket, at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ³³ So ^(LG)they shall eat ^[jz]those things by which atonement was made ^[ka]at their ordination and consecration; but a ^[kb](LH)layman shall not eat them, because they are holy. ³⁴ And ^(LI)if any of the flesh of ^[kc]ordination or any of the bread remains until morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ “So you shall do for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you shall ^[kd]ordain them for ^(LJ)seven days. ^36 (LK)Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall ^[ke]purify the altar when you make atonement ^[kf]for it, and ^(LL)you shall anoint it to consecrate it. ³⁷ For seven days you shall make atonement ^[kg]for the altar and consecrate it; then ^(LM)the altar shall be most holy, and whatever touches the altar shall be holy.

³⁸ “Now ^(LN)this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one-year-old lambs each day, continuously. ³⁹ The ^(LO)one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the ^[kh]other lamb you shall offer at ^[ki]twilight; ⁴⁰ and there shall be a ^[kj]tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a ^[kk]fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering with one lamb. ⁴¹ The ^[kl]other lamb you shall offer at ^[km]twilight, and shall offer with it ^[kn]the same grain offering and ^[ko]the same drink offering as in the morning, for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁴² It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the Lord, ^(LP)where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. ⁴³ I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. ⁴⁴ I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve as priests to Me. ⁴⁵ And ^(LQ)I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. ⁴⁶ And they shall know that ^(LR)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 “Now you shall make ^(LS)an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ² Its length shall be ^[kp]a cubit, and its width a cubit; it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be ^[kq]of one piece with it. ³ You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its ^[kr]sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it. ⁴ You shall also make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two sides—on ^[ks]opposite sides—and ^[kt]they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵ And you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ You shall put ^[ku]this altar in front of the veil that is ^[kv]near the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^[kw](LT)atoning cover that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps. ⁸ And when Aaron sets up the lamps at ^[kx]twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer any ^[ky]strange incense on ^[kz]this altar, or burnt offering, or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ However, Aaron shall ^(LU)make atonement on its horns once a year; 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.”

¹¹ The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “When you take ^(LV)a ^[la]census of the sons of Israel ^[lb]to count them, then each one of them shall give ^(LW)a ransom for ^[lc]himself to the Lord, when you ^[ld]count them, so that there will be no plague among them when you ^[le]count them. ¹³ This is what everyone who ^[lf]is counted shall give: half a ^[lg]shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (^(LX)the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a ^[lh]contribution to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who ^[li]is counted, from twenty years old and over, shall give the ^[lj]contribution to the Lord. ¹⁵ The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less, than the half shekel, when you give the ^[lk]contribution to the Lord to make atonement for ^[ll]yourselves. ¹⁶ And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and give it for the service of the tent of meeting, so that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for ^[lm]yourselves.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “You shall also make ^(LY)a basin of ^[ln]bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall ^(LZ)put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons shall ^(MA)wash their hands and their feet from it; ²⁰ when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they do not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the Lord. ²¹ So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they do not die; and ^(MB)it shall be a permanent statute for them, for ^[lo]Aaron and his ^[lp]descendants throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil

²² Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of liquid myrrh ^[lq]five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, 250, and of fragrant cane 250, ²⁴ and of cassia 500, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a ^[lr]hin. ²⁵ You shall make ^[ls]from these a holy anointing oil, a fragrant mixture of ointments, the work of a perfumer; it shall be ^(MC)a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ And ^(MD)you shall anoint the tent of meeting with it, and the ark of the testimony, ²⁷ and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, ²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand. ²⁹ You shall also consecrate them, so that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. ³⁰ And ^(ME)you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests to Me. ³¹ Furthermore, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. ³² It shall not be poured on ^[lt]anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in ^[lu]the same proportions; ^(MF)it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ^33 (MG)Whoever mixes any like it or whoever puts any of it on a ^[lv]layman ^[lw](MH)shall be cut off from his people.’”

The Incense

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum, spices and pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. ³⁵ You shall make incense from it all, a skillful mixture, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. ³⁶ And you shall crush some of it very fine, and put part of it in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting ^(MI)where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. ³⁷ And the incense which you shall make, ^(MJ)you shall not make in ^[lx]the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord. ^38 (MK)Whoever makes any like it, to ^[ly]use as perfume, ^[lz]shall be cut off from his people.”

The Skilled Craftsmen

31 ^(ML)Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the ^(MM)son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³ And I have ^(MN)filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of ^[ma]craftsmanship, ⁴ to create ^[mb]artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in ^[mc]bronze, ⁵ and in the cutting of stones ^[md]for settings, and in the carving of wood, so that he may work in all kinds of ^[me]craftsmanship. ⁶ And behold, I Myself have ^[mf]appointed with him ^(MO)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are ^[mg]skillful I have put ^[mh]skill, so that they may make everything that I have commanded you: ^7 (MP)the tent of meeting, ^(MQ)the ark of testimony, ^(MR)the ^[mi]atoning cover that is on it, and all the furniture of the tent, ^8 (MS)the table and its ^[mj]utensils, the ^(MT)pure gold lampstand with all its ^[mk]utensils, and ^(MU)the altar of incense, ^9 (MV)the altar of burnt offering with all its ^[ml]utensils, and ^(MW)the basin and its stand, ¹⁰ the ^[mm](MX)woven garments as well: the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, with which to ^[mn]carry out their priesthood; ^11 (MY)the anointing oil also, and the ^(MZ)fragrant incense for the Holy Place, they are to make them according to everything that I have commanded you.”

The Sign of the Sabbath

¹² Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹³ “Now as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^(NA)You must keep My Sabbaths; for this is ^(NB)a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ¹⁴ Therefore you are to keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. ^(NC)Everyone who profanes it must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. ^15 (ND)For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a ^(NE)Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; ^(NF)whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. ¹⁶ So the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to ^[mo]celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a permanent covenant.’ ^17 (NG)It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; ^(NH)for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

¹⁸ When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses ^(NI)the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, ^(NJ)written by the finger of God.

The Golden Calf

32 Now when the people saw that Moses ^(NK)delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled around Aaron and said to him, “Come, ^(NL)make us ^[mp]a god who will go before us; for ^(NM)this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.” ² Aaron said to them, “^(NN)Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ Then he took the gold from their ^[mq]hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a ^(NO)cast metal calf; and they said, “^[mr]This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” ⁵ Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” ⁶ So the next day they got up early and ^(NP)offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and ^(NQ)the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up ^(NR)to engage in lewd behavior.

⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go ^[ms]down at once, for your people, whom ^(NS)you brought up from the land of Egypt, have ^(NT)behaved corruptly. ⁸ They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. ^(NU)They have made for themselves a cast metal calf, and have worshiped it and ^(NV)have sacrificed to it and said, ‘^[mt](NW)This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” ^9 (NX)Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are ^[mu](NY)an obstinate people. ¹⁰ So now ^(NZ)leave Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and ^(OA)I will make of you a great nation.”

Moses’ Plea

¹¹ Then ^(OB)Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should ^(OC)the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘With evil motives He brought them out, to kill them on the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and relent of doing harm to Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You ^(OD)swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will ^(OE)multiply your ^[mv]descendants as the stars of the heavens, and ^(OF)all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your ^[mw]descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ^14 (OG)So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.

^15 (OH)Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, ^(OI)tablets which were written on both ^[mx]sides; they were written on one side and the other. ¹⁶ The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. ¹⁷ Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people ^[my]as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.” ¹⁸ But he said,

Moses’ Anger

¹⁹ And it came about, as soon as ^[mz]Moses approached the camp, that ^(OJ)he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and ^(OK)he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces ^[na]at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ Then ^(OL)he took the calf which they had made and completely burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

²¹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” ²² And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, ^(OM)that they are ^[nb]prone to evil. ²³ For ^(ON)they said to me, ‘Make ^[nc]a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ ²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ Then they gave it to me, and ^(OO)I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

²⁵ Now when Moses saw that the people were ^[nd]out of control—for Aaron had ^(OP)let them ^[ne]get out of control to the point of being an object of ridicule among ^[nf]their enemies— ²⁶ Moses then stood at the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. ²⁷ And he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Every man of you put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his ^[ng]neighbor.’” ²⁸ So ^(OQ)the sons of Levi did ^[nh]as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “^[ni]Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

³⁰ And on the next day Moses said to the people, “^(OR)You yourselves have ^[nj]committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord; perhaps I can ^(OS)make atonement for your sin.” ³¹ Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, this people has ^[nk]committed a great sin, and they have made a ^(OT)god of gold for themselves! ³² But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well; but if not, please wipe me out from Your ^(OU)book which You have written!” ³³ However, the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, ^(OV)I will wipe him out of My book. ³⁴ But go now, lead the people ^(OW)where I told you. Behold, ^(OX)My angel shall go before you; nevertheless ^(OY)on the day when I ^[nl]punish, ^(OZ)I will ^[nm]punish them for their sin.” ^35 (PA)Then the Lord struck the people with a plague, because of ^(PB)what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

The Journey Resumed

33 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which ^(PC)I swore to Abraham, ^(PD)Isaac, and ^(PE)Jacob, saying, ‘^(PF)To your ^[nn]descendants I will give it.’ ² And I will send ^(PG)an angel before you and ^(PH)I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ³ Go up to a land ^(PI)flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are ^[no](PJ)an obstinate people, and ^(PK)I might destroy you on the way.”

⁴ When the people heard this ^[np]sad word, ^(PL)they went into mourning, and none of them put on his jewelry. ⁵ For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are ^[nq](PM)an obstinate people; if I ^[nr]were to go up in your midst for just one moment, I would destroy you. So now, take off your ^[ns]jewelry that I may know what I shall do to you.’” ⁶ So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their jewelry, from Mount Horeb onward.

⁷ Now Moses used to take ^(PN)the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And ^(PO)everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. ⁸ And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹ Whenever Moses entered the tent, ^(PP)the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; ^(PQ)and ^[nt]the Lord would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would stand and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. ¹¹ So ^(PR)the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When ^[nu]Moses returned to the camp, ^(PS)his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses Intercedes

¹² Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘^(PT)Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know ^(PU)whom You will send with me. ^(PV)Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ ¹³ Now then, if I have found favor in Your sight in any way, please ^(PW)let me know Your ways so that I may know You, in order that I may find favor in Your sight. ^(PX)Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “^(PY)My presence shall go with you, and ^(PZ)I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “^(QA)If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that ^(QB)we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are on the face of the ^[nv]earth?”

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; ^(QC)for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” ^18 (QD)Then Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory!” ¹⁹ And He said, “^(QE)I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and ^(QF)I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.” ²⁰ He further said, “You cannot see My face, ^(QG)for mankind shall not see Me and live!” ²¹ Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place ^[nw]by Me, and ^(QH)you shall stand there on the rock; ²² and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and ^(QI)cover you with My hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but ^(QJ)My face shall not be seen.”

The Two Tablets Replaced

34 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself ^(QK)two stone tablets like the former ones, and ^(QL)I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you smashed. ² So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to ^(QM)Mount Sinai, and ^[nx]present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. ³ And ^(QN)no one is to come up with you, nor let anyone be seen ^[ny]anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.” ⁴ So he cut out ^(QO)two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses got up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he took the two stone tablets in his hand. ⁵ And ^(QP)the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he ^[nz]called upon the name of the Lord. ⁶ Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, ^(QQ)compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and ^[oa]truth; ⁷ who ^(QR)keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He ^(QS)will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, ^(QT)inflicting the ^[ob]punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” ⁸ And Moses hurried ^[oc](QU)to bow low toward the ground and worship. ⁹ Then he said, “^(QV)If in any way I have found favor in Your sight, Lord, please may the Lord go along in our midst, even though ^[od](QW)the people are so obstinate, and ^(QX)pardon our wrongdoing and our sin, and ^(QY)take us as Your own ^[oe]possession.”

The Covenant Renewed

¹⁰ Then ^[of]God said, “Behold, ^(QZ)I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people ^(RA)I will perform miracles which have not been ^[og]produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people ^[oh]among whom you live will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.

¹¹ “^[oi]Be sure to comply with what I am commanding you this day: behold, ^(RB)I am going to drive out the Amorite from you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ^12 (RC)Be careful that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. ^13 (RD)But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones, and cut down their ^[oj](RE)Asherim ¹⁴ —for ^(RF)you shall not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God— ¹⁵ otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they would prostitute themselves with their gods and ^(RG)sacrifice to their gods, and someone ^(RH)might invite you ^[ok]to eat of his sacrifice, ¹⁶ and ^(RI)you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons also to prostitute themselves with their gods. ^17 (RJ)You shall not make for yourself any gods cast in metal.

¹⁸ “You shall keep ^(RK)the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For ^(RL)seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, ^[ol]as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the ^(RM)month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “^(RN)The ^[om]firstborn from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the ^[on]firstborn from ^[oo]cattle and sheep. ^20 (RO)You shall redeem with a lamb the firstborn from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem ^(RP)all the firstborn of your sons. ^[op](RQ)None are to appear before Me empty-handed.

²¹ “You shall work ^(RR)six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest. ²² And you shall celebrate ^(RS)the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. ^23 (RT)Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord ^[oq]God, the God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will ^[or](RU)drive out nations from you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

²⁵ “^(RV)You shall not ^[os]offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, ^(RW)nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to ^[ot]be left over until morning.

²⁶ “You shall bring ^(RX)the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.

“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(RY)Write ^[ou]down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made ^(RZ)a covenant with you and with Israel.” ²⁸ So he was there with the Lord for ^(SA)forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And ^[ov](SB)He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, ^(SC)the Ten ^[ow]Commandments.

Moses’ Face Shines

²⁹ And it came about, when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the ^(SD)two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that ^(SE)the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. ³⁰ So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and ^(SF)they were afraid to approach him.