Exodus 25:1-39:33

Easy-to-Read Version

Gifts for the Holy Things

25 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to bring me gifts. You will accept gifts for me from everyone who is willing to give. ³ Here is the list of the things that you should accept from the people: gold, silver, and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen; goat hair, ⁵ ram skins dyed red, and fine leather; acacia wood; ⁶ oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and spices for the sweet-smelling incense. ⁷ Also accept onyx stones and other jewels to be put on the ephod and the judgment pouch.

The Holy Tent

⁸ “The people will build a holy place for me. Then I can live among them. ⁹ I will show you what the Holy Tent and everything in it should look like. Build everything exactly as I show you.

The Box of the Agreement

¹⁰ “Use acacia wood and build a special box. This Holy Box must be 2 1/2 cubits^[a] long, 1 1/2 cubits^[b] wide, and 1 1/2 cubits high. ¹¹ Use pure gold to cover the Box inside and out. Put gold trim around the edges of the Box. ¹² Make four gold rings for carrying the Box. Put the gold rings on the four corners, two rings on each side. ¹³ Then make poles for carrying the Box. These poles should be made from acacia wood and covered with gold. ¹⁴ Put the poles through the rings on the corners of the Box. Use these poles to carry the Box. ¹⁵ These poles should always stay in the rings of the Box. Don’t take the poles out.

¹⁶ “I will give you the Agreement. Put it into this Box. ¹⁷ Then make a lid, the mercy-cover. Make it from pure gold. Make it 2 1/2 cubits long and 1 1/2 cubits wide. ¹⁸ Then make two Cherub angels and put them on each end of the mercy-cover. Hammer gold to make these angels. ¹⁹ Put one angel on one end of the mercy-cover, and put the other angel on the other end. Join the angels together with the mercy-cover to make one piece. ²⁰ The wings of these angels should spread up toward the sky. The angels should cover the Box with their wings and should face each other, looking toward the mercy-cover.

²¹ “I will give you the Agreement. Put it in the Box, and put the mercy-cover on the Box. ²² When I meet with you, I will speak from between the Cherub angels on the mercy-cover that is on the Box of the Agreement. From that place, I will give all my commands to the Israelites.

The Table

²³ “Make a table from acacia wood. The table must be 2 cubits^[c] long, 1 cubit^[d] wide, and 1 1/2 cubits high. ²⁴ Cover the table with pure gold and put gold trim around it. ²⁵ Then make a frame 1 handbreadth^[e] wide around the table. And put gold trim on the frame. ²⁶ Then make four gold rings and put them on the four corners of the table, where the four legs are. ²⁷ Put the rings close to the frame around the top of the table. These rings will hold the poles used to carry the table. ²⁸ Use acacia wood to make the poles, and cover them with gold. The poles are for carrying the table. ²⁹ Make the plates, the spoons, the pitchers, and the bowls from pure gold. The pitchers and bowls will be used for pouring the drink offerings. ³⁰ Put the special bread^[f] before me on the table. It must always be there in front of me.

The Lampstand

³¹ “Then you must make a lampstand. Use pure gold and hammer it to make the base and the shaft.^[g] Make flowers, buds, and petals from pure gold. Join all these things together into one piece.

³² “The lampstand must have six branches—three branches on one side and three branches on the other. ³³ Each branch must have three flowers. Make these flowers like almond flowers with buds and petals. ³⁴ Make four more flowers for the lampstand. These flowers must be made like almond flowers with buds and petals. ³⁵ There will be six branches on the lampstand—three branches coming out from each side of the shaft. Make a flower with buds and petals below each of the three places where the branches join the shaft. ³⁶ The whole lampstand with the flowers and branches must be made from pure gold. All this gold must be hammered and joined together into one piece. ³⁷ Then make seven lamps^[h] to go on the lampstand. These lamps will give light to the area in front of the lampstand. ³⁸ Use pure gold to make the lamp snuffers and trays. ³⁹ Use 75 pounds^[i] of pure gold to make the lampstand and the things to be used with it. ⁴⁰ Be very careful to make everything exactly the way I showed you on the mountain.

The Holy Tent

26 “The Holy Tent should be made from ten curtains. These curtains must be made from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. A skilled worker should sew pictures of Cherub angels with wings into the curtains. ² Make each curtain the same size. Each curtain should be 28 cubits^[j] long and 4 cubits^[k] wide. ³ Join the curtains together into two groups. Join five curtains together to make one group and join five curtains together to make the other group. ⁴ Use blue cloth to make loops along the edge of the end curtain in one group. Do the same on the end curtain in the other group. ⁵ There must be 50 loops on the end curtain of the first group. And there must be 50 loops on the end curtain of the other group. These loops must be opposite each other. ⁶ Then make 50 gold rings to join the curtains together. This will join the Holy Tent together into one piece.

⁷ “Make another tent that will cover the Holy Tent. Use eleven curtains to make this tent. Make these curtains from goat hair. ⁸ All these curtains must be the same size. They must be 30 cubits^[l] long and 4 cubits wide. ⁹ Join five of the curtains together into one group. Then join the other six curtains together into another group. Fold back half of the sixth curtain at the front of the Tent. ¹⁰ Make 50 loops down the edge of the end curtain of one group. Do the same for the end curtain of the other group. ¹¹ Then make 50 bronze rings to join the curtains together. This will join the tent together into one piece. ¹² Half of the end curtain of this tent will hang down below the back edge of the Holy Tent. ¹³ On the sides, the curtains of this tent will hang down 1 cubit^[m] below the bottom edges of the Holy Tent. So this tent will completely cover the Holy Tent. ¹⁴ Make two coverings to go over the outer tent. One covering should be made from ram skins dyed red. The other covering should be made from fine leather.

¹⁵ “Use acacia wood to make frames to support the Holy Tent. ¹⁶ The frames should be 10 cubits^[n] high and 1 1/2 cubits^[o] wide. ¹⁷ Two side poles should be joined together with cross pieces to make each frame. All the frames for the Holy Tent must be the same. ¹⁸ Make 20 frames for the south side of the Holy Tent. ¹⁹ And make 40 silver bases for the frames. Each frame should have two silver bases to go under it—one base for each side pole. ²⁰ Make 20 more frames for the other side (the north side) of the Holy Tent. ²¹ And make 40 silver bases for these frames—two bases under each frame. ²² Make six more frames for the back (the west side) of the Holy Tent. ²³ Make two frames for the corners at the back of the Holy Tent. ²⁴ The frames at the corners should be joined together at the bottom. At the top a ring will hold the frames together. Do the same for both corners. ²⁵ There will be a total of eight frames for the west end of the Tent. There will be 16 silver bases—two bases under each frame.

²⁶ “Use acacia wood and make braces for the frames of the Holy Tent. There should be five braces for the first side of the Holy Tent. ²⁷ And there should be five braces for the frames on the other side of the Holy Tent. And there should be five braces for the frames at the back (the west side) of the Holy Tent. ²⁸ The middle brace should pass through the frames from one end to the other.

²⁹ “Cover the frames with gold. And make rings for the frames to hold the braces. Make these rings from gold. Also cover the braces with gold. ³⁰ Build the Holy Tent the way I showed you on the mountain.

Inside the Holy Tent

³¹ “Use fine linen and make a special curtain for the inside of the Holy Tent. Use blue, purple, and red yarn and sew pictures of Cherub angels into the curtain. ³² Make four posts from acacia wood, and cover the posts with gold. Put hooks made from gold on the four posts. Put four silver bases under the posts. Then hang the curtain on the gold hooks. ³³ Put the curtain under the gold rings.^[p] Then put the Box of the Agreement behind the curtain. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. ³⁴ Put the mercy-cover on the Box of the Agreement in the Most Holy Place.

³⁵ “Put the special table you made outside of the curtain. The table should be on the north side of the Holy Tent. Then put the lampstand on the south side, across from the table.

The Door of the Holy Tent

³⁶ “Then make a curtain to cover the entrance to the Holy Tent. Use blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen to make this curtain. Weave pictures into it. ³⁷ Make gold hooks for this curtain. Make five posts using acacia wood covered with gold and make five bronze bases for the five posts.

The Altar for Burning Offerings

27 “Use acacia wood and build an altar. The altar should be square. It must be 5 cubits^[q] long, 5 cubits wide, and 3 cubits^[r] high. ² Make a horn for each of the four corners of the altar. Join each horn to its corner so that everything is one piece. Then cover the altar with bronze.

³ “Use bronze to make all the tools and dishes that will be used on the altar. Make pots, shovels, bowls, forks, and pans. These will be used for cleaning ashes from the altar. ⁴ Make a grating for the altar. This grating will be shaped like a net. And make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the grating. ⁵ Put the grating under the ledge at the bottom of the altar. The grating will go halfway up into the altar from below.

⁶ “Use acacia wood to make poles for the altar, and cover them with bronze. ⁷ Put the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar. Use these poles for carrying the altar. ⁸ Make the altar like an empty box with the sides made from boards. Make the altar just as I showed you on the mountain.

The Courtyard Around the Holy Tent

⁹ “Make a courtyard for the Holy Tent. The south side should have a wall of curtains 100 cubits^[s] long. These curtains must be made from fine linen. ¹⁰ Use 20 posts and 20 bronze bases under the posts. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods^[t] should be made from silver. ¹¹ The north side must also have a wall of curtains 100 cubits long. It must have 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods must be made from silver.

¹² “On the west side of the courtyard there must be a wall of curtains 50 cubits^[u] long. There must be ten posts and ten bases. ¹³ The east side of the courtyard must also be 50 cubits long. ¹⁴ Here at the entrance to the courtyard, one side must have curtains 15 cubits^[v] long. There must be three posts and three bases on this side. ¹⁵ The other side of the entrance must also have curtains 15 cubits long. There must be three posts and three bases on that side.

¹⁶ “Make a curtain 20 cubits^[w] long to cover the entrance to the courtyard. Make that curtain from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. Weave designs into that curtain. There must be four posts and four bases for that curtain. ¹⁷ All the posts around the courtyard must be joined with silver curtain rods. The hooks on the posts must be made from silver, and the bases for the posts must be bronze. ¹⁸ The courtyard should be 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide. The wall of curtains around the courtyard should be 5 cubits high. The curtains must be made from fine linen. The bases under the posts must be bronze. ¹⁹ All the tools, tent pegs, and other things used in the Holy Tent must be made from bronze. And all the pegs for the curtains around the courtyard must be made from bronze.

Oil for the Lamp

²⁰ “Command the Israelites to bring their best olive oil for the lamp that must be lit each evening. ²¹ This lamp is in the first room of the Meeting Tent, outside the curtain for the room where the Agreement is. Aaron and his sons will make sure this lamp is burning before the Lord every day from evening until morning. The Israelites and their descendants must obey this law forever.

Clothes for the Priests

28 “Tell your brother Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to come to you from the Israelites. These men will serve me as priests.

² “Make special clothes for your brother Aaron. These clothes will give him honor and respect. ³ I have given special wisdom to some of the skilled men. Tell them to make the clothes for Aaron. These clothes will show that he serves me in a special way. Then he can serve me as a priest. ⁴ These are the clothes the men should make: the judgment pouch, the ephod, a blue robe, a white woven robe, a turban, and a cloth belt. They must make these special clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then Aaron and his sons can serve me as priests. ⁵ Tell the men to use gold thread, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn.

The Ephod and the Cloth Belt

⁶ “Use gold thread, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn to make the ephod. This must be the work of a very skilled person. ⁷ At each shoulder of the ephod, there should be a shoulder piece. These shoulder pieces should be tied to the two corners of the ephod.

⁸ “The men will very carefully weave a cloth belt for the ephod. This belt must be made the same way as the ephod—use gold threads, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn.

⁹ “Take two onyx stones. Write the names of the twelve sons of Israel on these jewels. ¹⁰ Write six names on one jewel and six names on the other jewel. Write the names in order, from the oldest son to the youngest. ¹¹ Cut the names of the sons of Israel into these stones. Do this the way a worker makes a seal. Put the jewels in gold settings. ¹² Then put these two jewels on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. Aaron will wear this special coat when he stands before the Lord. And the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel will be on the ephod. These jewels will cause the Lord to remember the Israelites. ¹³ Use fine gold to hold the stones on the ephod. ¹⁴ Twist chains of pure gold together like a rope. Make two of these gold chains and fasten them to the gold settings.

The Judgment Pouch

¹⁵ “Make the judgment pouch for the high priest. Skilled workers should make this pouch just as they made the ephod. They must use gold threads, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn. ¹⁶ The judgment pouch should be folded double to make a square pocket. It should be 1 span^[x] long and 1 span wide. ¹⁷ Put four rows of beautiful jewels on the judgment pouch. The first row of jewels should have a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl. ¹⁸ The second row should have a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald. ¹⁹ The third row should have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row should have a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. Set all these jewels in gold. ²¹ There will be twelve jewels on the judgment pouch—one stone for each of the sons of Israel. Each stone will be like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes cut into it.

²² “Make chains of pure gold for the judgment pouch. These chains must be braided like a rope. ²³ Make two gold rings and put them on two corners of the judgment pouch. ²⁴ Put the two golden chains through the two rings at the corners of the judgment pouch. ²⁵ Fasten the other ends of the gold chains to the two settings. This will fasten them to the two shoulder pieces of the ephod on the front. ²⁶ Make two more gold rings and put them on the other two corners of the judgment pouch. This will be on the inside edge of the judgment pouch next to the ephod. ²⁷ Make two more gold rings and put them on the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod. Put the gold rings above the cloth belt of the ephod. ²⁸ Use blue ribbon to tie the rings of the judgment pouch to the rings of the ephod. In this way the judgment pouch will rest close to the cloth belt and will be held against the ephod.

²⁹ “When Aaron enters the Holy Place, he must wear the judgment pouch. In this way he will wear the names of the twelve sons of Israel over his heart. And the Lord will always be reminded of them. ³⁰ Put the Urim and Thummim inside the judgment pouch. They will be over Aaron’s heart when he goes before the Lord. So Aaron will always carry with him a way of judging for the Israelites when he is before the Lord.

Other Clothes for the Priests

³¹ “Make a blue robe for the ephod. ³² Make a hole in the center for the head. And sew a piece of cloth around the edge of this hole. This cloth will be like a collar that keeps the hole from tearing. ³³ Use blue, purple, and red yarn to make cloth pomegranates. Hang these pomegranates around the bottom edge of the robe, and hang gold bells between the pomegranates. ³⁴ So around the bottom edge of the robe there should be bells and pomegranates. There should be a bell following each pomegranate. ³⁵ Aaron will wear this robe when he serves as a priest. The bells will ring as Aaron goes into the Holy Place to stand before the Lord, and the bells will ring as he leaves the Holy Place. This way Aaron will not die.

³⁶ “Make a strip of pure gold and carve these words into the gold like the writing on a seal: holy to the lord.^{[y] 37} Fasten the gold strip to a blue ribbon. Tie the blue ribbon around the turban. The gold strip should be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ Aaron will wear this on his head. In this way he will remove the guilt if anything is wrong with the gifts that the Israelites^[z] give to God. Aaron will always wear this on his head so that the Lord will accept the gifts of the people.

³⁹ “Use fine linen to make the white woven robe and the turban. The cloth belt should have designs sewn into it. ⁴⁰ Also make coats, belts, and cloth caps for Aaron’s sons. This will give them honor and respect. ⁴¹ Put the clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons. Then pour the special oil on them to make them priests. This will make them holy, and they will serve me as priests.

⁴² “Use linen to make underclothes for the priests. These underclothes will cover them from the waist to the thighs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons must wear these clothes whenever they enter the Meeting Tent. They must wear these clothes when they come near to the altar to serve as priests in the Holy Place. If they don’t wear these clothes, they will be guilty of wrong and will have to die. All this should be a law that continues forever for Aaron and all his family after him.

The Ceremony for Appointing the Priests

29 “Now I will tell you what you must do to show that Aaron and his sons serve me in a special way as priests. Find one young bull and two rams that have nothing wrong with them. ² Then use fine wheat flour without yeast to make bread. And use the same things to make cakes mixed with olive oil. Make small thin cakes spread with oil. ³ Put this bread and the cakes in a basket. Then give the basket to Aaron and his sons. At the same time, give them the bull and the two rams.

⁴ “Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Wash them with water. ⁵ Put the special clothes on Aaron. Put on him the white woven robe and the blue robe that is worn with the ephod. Put the ephod and the judgment pouch on him. Then tie the beautiful cloth belt on him. ⁶ Put the turban on his head and the special crown around the turban. ⁷ Take the anointing oil and pour it on Aaron’s head. This will show that he is chosen for this work.

⁸ “Then bring Aaron’s sons to that place. Put the white woven robes on them. ⁹ Then tie cloth belts around their waists, and give them cloth caps to wear. At that time they will begin to be priests. They will be priests because of the special law that will continue forever. This is the way you will make Aaron and his sons priests.

¹⁰ “Then bring the bull to that place at the front of the Meeting Tent. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on the bull’s head. ¹¹ Then kill the bull there in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ¹² Then take some of the bull’s blood and go to the altar. Use your finger to put some blood on the horns of the altar. Pour out all the blood that is left at the bottom of the altar. ¹³ Then take all the fat from inside the bull, the fatty part of the liver, both kidneys, and the fat around them. Burn this fat on the altar. ¹⁴ Then take the bull’s meat, his skin, and his other parts and go outside your camp and burn them. This bull is an offering to take away the sins of the priests.

¹⁵ “Then tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of one of the rams. ¹⁶ Kill that ram and save the blood. Throw the blood against the altar on all four sides. ¹⁷ Then cut the ram into several pieces. Wash all the parts from inside the ram and the legs. Put these things with the head and the other pieces of the ram. ¹⁸ Then burn everything on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the other ram. ²⁰ Kill that ram and save some of its blood. Put that blood on the right ear lobes of Aaron and his sons. Also put some of the blood on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then throw blood against all four sides of the altar. ²¹ Then take some of the blood from the altar. Mix it with the special oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes. And sprinkle it on his sons and their clothes. This will show that Aaron and his sons serve me in a special way. And it will show that their clothes are used only at special times.

²² “Then take the fat from the ram. (This is the ram that will be used in the ceremony to make Aaron the high priest.) Take the fat from around the tail and the fat that covers the organs inside the body. Then take the fat that covers the liver, both kidneys and the fat on them, and the right leg. ²³ Then take the basket of bread that you made without yeast. This is the basket you put before the Lord. Take these things out of the basket: one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one small thin cake. ²⁴ Give them to Aaron and his sons. Tell them to hold these things in their hands before the Lord. This will be a special offering to the Lord. ²⁵ Then take them from Aaron and his sons and put them on the altar with the ram. Then burn everything on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.

²⁶ “Then take the breast from the ram. (This is the ram that will be used in the ceremony to make Aaron the high priest.) Hold the breast of the ram before the Lord as a special offering. Then take it back and keep it. This part of the animal will be for you. ²⁷ Take the breast and the leg of the ram that was used to make Aaron the high priest and make these parts holy. Then give these special parts to Aaron and his sons. ²⁸ The Israelites will always give Aaron and his sons these parts. These parts will always belong to the priests when the Israelites make an offering to the Lord. When they give these parts to the priest, it will be the same as giving them to the Lord.

²⁹ “Save these special clothes that were made for Aaron and his descendants. They will wear these clothes when they are chosen to be priests. ³⁰ Aaron’s son will become the next high priest after him. That son will wear these clothes seven days when he comes to the Meeting Tent to serve in the Holy Place.

³¹ “Cook the meat from the ram that was used to make Aaron the high priest. Cook that meat in a holy place. ³² Then Aaron and his sons must eat the meat at the front door of the Meeting Tent. And they must also eat the bread that is in the basket. ³³ These offerings were used to take away their sins when they were made priests. Now they should eat these offerings. ³⁴ If any of the meat from that ram or any of the bread is left the next morning, then it must be burned. You must not eat that bread or the meat because it should be eaten only in a special way at a special time.

³⁵ “You must do all these things for Aaron and his sons. You must do them exactly as I told you. The ceremony for appointing them to be priests must continue for seven days. ³⁶ You must kill one bull every day for seven days. This will be an offering for the sins of Aaron and his sons. You will use these sacrifices to make the altar pure, and pour olive oil on the altar to make it holy. ³⁷ You will make the altar pure and holy for seven days. At that time the altar will be most holy. Anything that touches the altar will also be holy.

³⁸ “Every day you must make an offering on the altar. You must kill two lambs that are one year old. ³⁹ Offer one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening. ^40-41 When you kill the first lamb, also offer 8 cups^[aa] of fine wheat flour. Mix that flour with 1 quart^[ab] of the best oil. Also offer 1 quart of wine as an offering. When you kill the second lamb in the evening, also offer the 8 cups of fine flour mixed with 1 quart of the best oil and offer 1 quart of wine. This is the same as you did in the morning. This will be a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. When you burn this offering, he will smell it, and it will please him.

⁴² “You must burn these things as an offering to the Lord every day. Do this at the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord. Continue to do this for all time. When you make the offering, I will meet you there and speak to you. ⁴³ I will meet with the Israelites at that place, and my Glory will make that place holy.

⁴⁴ “So I will make the Meeting Tent and the altar holy. I will also make Aaron and his sons holy so that they can serve me as priests. ⁴⁵ I will live with the Israelites. I will be their God. ⁴⁶ The people will know that I am the Lord their God. They will know that I am the one who led them out of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am the Lord their God.

The Altar for Burning Incense

30 “Make an altar from acacia wood. You will use this altar for burning incense. ² You must make the altar square—1 cubit^[ac] long and 1 cubit wide. It must be 2 cubits^[ad] high. There will be horns at the four corners. These horns must be made as one piece with the altar. ³ Cover the top, the horns, and all four sides of the altar with pure gold. Then put gold trim all around the altar. ⁴ Below this trim there should be two gold rings. There should be two gold rings on opposite sides of the altar. These gold rings will be used with poles to carry the altar. ⁵ Make the poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. ⁶ Put the altar just outside the special curtain that hangs in front of the Box of the Agreement. So the altar will be in front of the mercy-cover that is above the Agreement. This is the place where I will meet with you.

⁷ “Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on the altar every morning. He will do this when he comes to care for the lamps. ⁸ He must burn incense again when he checks the lamps in the evening so that incense will be burned before the Lord every day forever. ⁹ Don’t use this altar for offering any other kind of incense or burnt offering or for any kind of grain offering or drink offering.

¹⁰ “Once a year Aaron must make a special sacrifice. He will use the blood of the sin offering to erase the sins of the people. He will do this at the horns of this altar. This day will be called the Day of Atonement, and it will be a very special day for the Lord.”

The Temple Tax

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “Count the Israelites so that you will know how many people there are. Every time this is done, each man must make a payment for himself to the Lord so that nothing terrible will happen to the people. ¹³ Each man who is counted must pay 1/2 shekel of silver. (That is 1/2 shekel by the official measure. This shekel weighs 20 gerahs.^[ae]) This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Every man who is at least 20 years old must be counted. And every man who is counted must give the Lord this offering. ¹⁵ The rich must not give more than 1/2 shekel, and the poor must not give less than 1/2 shekel. All people will make the same offering to the Lord. This will be a payment for your life. ¹⁶ Gather this money from the Israelites. Use the money for the service in the Meeting Tent. This payment will be a way for the Lord to remember his people. They will be paying for their own lives.”

The Washing Bowl

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Make a bronze bowl and put it on a bronze base. You will use this for washing. Put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar. Fill the bowl with water. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet with the water from this bowl. ²⁰ Every time they enter the Meeting Tent, they must wash with that water so that they will not die. They must also wash every time they come near the altar to burn incense or to offer gifts to the Lord. ²¹ They must wash their hands and their feet so that they will not die. This will be a law that continues forever for Aaron and his people who will live in the future.”

The Anointing Oil

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Find the finest spices. Get 12 pounds^[af] of liquid myrrh, half that amount (that is, 6 pounds^[ag]) of sweet-smelling cinnamon, and 12 pounds of sweet-smelling cane, ²⁴ and 12 pounds of cassia. Use the official measure to measure all these things. Also get 1 gallon^[ah] of olive oil.

²⁵ “Mix all these things to make a special sweet-smelling anointing oil. ²⁶ Pour this oil on the Meeting Tent and on the Box of the Agreement. This will show that these things have a special purpose. ²⁷ Pour the oil on the table and on all the dishes on the table. And pour this oil on the lamp and on all its tools. Pour the oil on the incense altar. ²⁸ Also, pour the oil on the altar for burning offerings to God. Pour this oil on everything on that altar. Pour this oil on the bowl and on the base under the bowl. ²⁹ You will make all these things holy. They will be very special to the Lord. Anything that touches these things will also become holy.

³⁰ “Pour the oil on Aaron and his sons to show that they are separated from the rest of the people to serve as priests. ³¹ Tell the Israelites that the anointing oil is holy—it must always be used only for me. ³² This oil is holy and you must treat it as something special. Don’t use the same formula for making perfume and don’t let people use this oil like an ordinary perfume. ³³ Whoever makes a perfume like that and puts it on anyone except a priest^[ai] must be separated from the people.”

The Incense

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get these sweet-smelling spices: resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense. Be sure that you have equal amounts of these spices. ³⁵ Mix the spices together to make a sweet-smelling incense. Do this the same as a perfume maker would do it. Also mix salt with this incense. This will make it pure and special. ³⁶ Grind some of the incense until it becomes a fine powder. Put the powder in front of the Holy Box that holds the Agreement^[aj] in the Meeting Tent. This is the place where I meet with you. You must use this incense powder only for its very special purpose. ³⁷ You must use it only in this special way for the Lord. You must also make it in a special way. Don’t make any other incense in this way. ³⁸ There may be people who will want to make some of this incense for themselves so that they can enjoy the smell. But whoever does this must be separated from their people.”

Bezalel and Oholiab

31 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “I have chosen a man from the tribe of Judah to do some special work for me. His name is Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur. ³ I have filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God—I have given him the skill and knowledge to do all kinds of things. ⁴ He is a very good designer. And he can make things from gold, silver, and bronze. ⁵ He can cut and set beautiful jewels. And he can work with wood. He can do all kinds of work. ⁶ I have also chosen Oholiab to work with him. Oholiab is the son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan. And I have given skills to all the other workers so that they can make everything that I have commanded you:

These workers must make everything the way that I have commanded you.”

The Sabbath

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹³ “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You must follow the rules about my special days of rest. You must do this because they will be a sign between you and me for all generations. This will show you that I, the Lord, have made you my special people.

¹⁴ “‘Make the Sabbath a special day. If someone treats the Sabbath like any other day, that person must be killed. Whoever works on the Sabbath day must be separated from their people. ¹⁵ There are six other days in the week for working. But the seventh day is a very special day of rest. That is the special day to honor the Lord. Anyone who works during the Sabbath must be killed. ¹⁶ The Israelites must remember the Sabbath and make it a special day. They must continue to do this forever. It is an agreement between them and me that will continue forever. ¹⁷ The Sabbath will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever.’” (The Lord worked six days and made the sky and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and relaxed.)

¹⁸ When God finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets of the agreement. God had written on the stones with his finger.

The Golden Calf

32 The people saw that a long time had passed and Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “Look, Moses led us out of the land of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us some gods to go before us and lead us.”

² Aaron said to the people, “Bring me the gold earrings that belong to your wives, sons, and daughters.”

³ So the people collected all their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took the gold from the people and used it to make an idol. Using a special tool, he shaped the gold into a statue of a calf.

Then the people said, “Israel, here are your gods! These are the gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”^[ak]

⁵ Aaron saw all these things, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then Aaron made an announcement. He said, “Tomorrow will be a special festival to honor the Lord.”

⁶ The people woke up very early the next morning. They killed animals and offered them as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had a wild party.

⁷ At the same time, the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain. Your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have committed a terrible sin. ⁸ They have very quickly turned away from what I commanded them to do. They made a calf from melted gold for themselves. They are worshiping that calf and making sacrifices to it. The people have said, ‘Israel, these are the gods that led you out of Egypt.’”

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and I know that they are very stubborn. They will always turn against me. ¹⁰ So now let me destroy them in anger. Then I will make a great nation from you.”

¹¹ But Moses begged the Lord his God, “Lord, don’t let your anger destroy your people. You brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength. ¹² But if you destroy your people, the Egyptians will say, ‘God planned to do bad things to his people. That is why he led them out of Egypt. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to wipe them off the earth.’ So don’t be angry with your people. Please change your mind! Don’t destroy them. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. These men served you, and you used your name to make a promise to them. You said, ‘I will make your people as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your people all this land as I promised. This land will be theirs forever.’”

¹⁴ So the Lord felt sorry for the people. He did not do what he said he might do—he did not destroy them.

¹⁵ Then Moses went down the mountain. He had the two stone tablets with the agreement on them. The commandments were written on both sides of the stone, front and back. ¹⁶ God himself made the stones, and God himself wrote the commandments on them.

¹⁷ Joshua heard the noise from the party in camp. He said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp!”

¹⁸ Moses answered, “It is not the noise of an army shouting for victory. And it is not the noise of an army crying from defeat. The noise I hear is the sound of music.^[al]”

¹⁹ When Moses came near the camp, he saw the golden calf and the people dancing. He became very angry, and he threw the stone tablets on the ground. The stones broke into several pieces at the bottom of the mountain. ²⁰ Then Moses destroyed the calf that the people had made. He melted it in the fire. Then he ground the gold until it became dust and threw it into the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink that water.

²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you that would make you do this? Why did you lead them to do such a terrible sin?”

²² Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, sir. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. ²³ The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us some gods to lead us.’ ²⁴ So I told the people, ‘If you have any gold rings, then give them to me.’ The people gave me their gold. I threw the gold into the fire, and out of the fire came this calf!”

²⁵ Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get out of control. They were being wild, and all their enemies could see them acting like fools. ²⁶ So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Anyone who wants to follow the Lord should come to me.” Everyone from the tribe of Levi ran to Moses.

²⁷ Then Moses said to them, “I will tell you what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every man must get his sword and go from one end of the camp to the other. You men must kill those who are against the Lord, even if they are your brothers, friends, or neighbors.’”

²⁸ The people from the tribe of Levi obeyed Moses. That day about 3000 of the people died. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “Take your role today as special servants of the Lord because you were willing to fight against even your own sons and brothers. You will receive a blessing for this.”^[am]

³⁰ The next morning Moses told the people, “You have committed a terrible sin! But now I will go up to the Lord, and maybe I can do something so that he will forgive you for your sin.” ³¹ So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Please listen! These people committed a terrible sin and made a god from gold. ³² Now, forgive them of this sin. If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from your book.^[an]”

³³ But the Lord said to Moses, “The only people I erase from my book are those who sin against me. ³⁴ So now, go down and lead the people where I tell you to go. My angel will go before you and lead you. When the time comes to punish those who sinned, they will be punished.” ³⁵ So the Lord caused a terrible sickness to come to the people. He did this because they told Aaron to make the golden calf.

I Will Not Go With You

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised them that I would give that land to their descendants. ² So I will send an angel to go before you, and I will defeat the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. I will force them to leave your land. ³ So go to the land filled with many good things,^[ao] but I will not go with you. You people are very stubborn. If I go with you, I might destroy you along the way.”

⁴ The people heard this bad news and became very sad, so they stopped wearing jewelry. ⁵ This was because the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stubborn people. I might destroy you even if I travel with you only a short time. So take off all your jewelry while I decide^[ap] what to do with you.’” ⁶ So the Israelites stopped wearing their jewelry at Mount Horeb.

The Temporary Meeting Tent

⁷ Moses used to take a tent a short way outside the camp. He called it “the meeting tent.^[aq]” Anyone who wanted to ask something from the Lord would go to the meeting tent outside the camp. ⁸ Any time Moses went out to the tent, all the people watched him. They stood at the entrance of their tents and watched Moses until he entered the meeting tent. ⁹ Whenever Moses went into the tent, the tall cloud would come down and stay at the entrance to the tent. And the Lord would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ So when the people saw the cloud at the entrance of the tent, they would go to the entrance of their own tents and bow down to worship God.

¹¹ In this way the Lord spoke to Moses face to face like a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would go back to the camp, but his helper, Joshua son of Nun, always stayed in the tent.

Moses Sees the Glory of the Lord

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You told me to lead these people, but you did not say who you would send with me. You said to me, ‘I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.’ ¹³ If I have really pleased you, then teach me your ways. I want to know you. Then I can continue to please you. Remember that these people are your nation.”

¹⁴ The Lord answered, “I myself will go with you. I will lead you.”^[ar]

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If you don’t go with us, then don’t make us leave this place. ¹⁶ Also, how will we know if you are pleased with me and these people? If you go with us, we will know for sure. If you don’t go with us, these people and I will be no different from any other people on the earth.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you ask. I will do this because I am pleased with you and because I know you very well.”^[as]

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your Glory.”

¹⁹ Then the Lord answered, “I will show my love and mercy to anyone I want to. So I will cause my perfect goodness to pass by in front of you, and I will speak my name, Yahweh, so that you can hear it. ²⁰ But you cannot see my face. No one can see me and continue to live.”

²¹ Then the Lord said, “Here is a place for you to stand by me on this large rock. ²² I will put you in a large crack in that rock. Then I will cover you with my hand, and my Glory will pass by. ²³ Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But you will not see my face.”

The New Stone Tablets

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make two more stone tablets like the first two that were broken. I will write the same words on these stones that were written on the first two stones. ² Be ready tomorrow morning and come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. ³ No one will be allowed to come with you. No one should even be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even your herds of animals or flocks of sheep will not be allowed to eat grass at the bottom of the mountain.”

⁴ So Moses made two more stone tablets like the first ones. Early the next morning Moses went up Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded. Moses carried the two stone tablets with him. ⁵ Then the Lord came down to him in a cloud, stood there with Moses, and spoke his own name. ⁶ That is, the Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “Yahweh, the Lord, is a kind and merciful God. He is slow to become angry. He is full of great love. He can be trusted. ⁷ He shows his faithful love to thousands of people.^[at] He forgives people for the wrong things they do, but he does not forget to punish guilty people. Not only will he punish the guilty people, but their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren will also suffer for the bad things these people do.”

⁸ Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped the Lord. Moses said, ⁹ “Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people, but forgive us for the bad things we did. Accept us as your people.”

¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with all of your people. I will do amazing things that have never before been done for any other nation on earth. The people with you will see that I, the Lord, am very great. They will see the wonderful things that I will do for you. ¹¹ Obey what I command you today, and I will force your enemies to leave your land. I will force out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ¹² Be careful! Don’t make any agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you make an agreement with them, it will bring you trouble. ¹³ So destroy their altars, break the stones they worship, and cut down their idols.^{[au] 14} Don’t worship any other god. I am Yahweh Kanah—the jealous Lord. That is my name. I hate for my people to worship other gods.^[av]

¹⁵ “Be careful not to make any agreements with the people who live in that land. If you do this, you might join them when they worship their gods. They will invite you to join them, and you will eat their sacrifices. ¹⁶ You might choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons. Those daughters serve false gods. They might lead your sons to do the same thing.

¹⁷ “Don’t make idols.

¹⁸ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days, eat the bread made without yeast as I commanded you before. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib, because that is the month you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “A woman’s first baby always belongs to me. Even the first animals that are born from your cattle or sheep belong to me. ²⁰ If you want to keep a donkey that is the first born, then you can buy it with a lamb. But if you don’t buy that donkey with a lamb, you must break the donkey’s neck. You must buy back all of your firstborn sons from me. No one should come before me without a gift.

²¹ “You will work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. You must rest even during the times of planting and harvesting.

²² “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest. Use the first grain from the wheat harvest for this festival. And in the fall^[aw] celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

²³ “Three times each year all your men must go to be with the Lord God, the God of Israel.

²⁴ “When you go into your land, I will force your enemies out of that land. I will expand your borders—you will get more and more land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. At that time no one will try to take your land from you.

²⁵ “When you kill an animal and offer its blood as a sacrifice, you must not include anything that has yeast in it.

“Don’t let any of the meat from the Passover meal remain until morning.

²⁶ “Give the Lord the very first crops that you harvest. Bring them to the house^[ax] of the Lord your God.

“Never cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write everything that I have told you. This is the agreement that I made with you and the Israelites.”

²⁸ Moses stayed there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses did not eat any food or drink any water. And he wrote the words of the agreement (the Ten Commandments) on the two stone tablets.

Moses’ Shining Face

²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he carried the two stone tablets of the agreement. Because he had talked with the Lord, his face was shining, but he did not know it. ³⁰ Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses’ face was shining bright. So they were afraid to go near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the people went to him. Moses talked with them. ³² After that all the Israelites came near Moses, and he gave them the commands that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³ When Moses finished speaking to the people, he put a covering over his face. ³⁴ Any time Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering. Then Moses would come out and tell the Israelites what the Lord commanded. ³⁵ The people would see that Moses’ face was shining bright, so he would cover his face again. He kept his face covered until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.

Rules About the Sabbath

35 Moses gathered all the Israelites together and said to them, “I will tell you what the Lord has commanded you to do:

² “There are six days for working, but the seventh day will be a very special day of rest for you. You will honor the Lord by resting on that special day. Anyone who works on the seventh day must be killed. ³ On the Sabbath you should not even light a fire in any of the places where you live.”

Things for the Holy Tent

⁴ Moses said to all the Israelites, “This is what the Lord commanded: ⁵ Gather special gifts for the Lord. Each of you should decide in your heart what you will give. And then you should bring that gift to the Lord. Bring gold, silver, and bronze; ⁶ blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ⁷ ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood; ⁸ oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and spices for the sweet-smelling incense. ⁹ Also, bring onyx stones and other jewels to be put on the ephod and the judgment pouch.

¹⁰ “All of you who are skilled workers should make all the things the Lord commanded: ¹¹ the Holy Tent, its outer tent, and its covering; the hooks, boards, braces, posts, and bases; ¹² the Holy Box, its poles, the mercy-cover, and the curtain that covers the area where the Box stays; ¹³ the table and its poles, all the things on the table, and the special bread on the table; ¹⁴ the lampstand that is used for light and the things used with the lampstand, the lamps, and oil for the light; ¹⁵ the altar for burning incense and its poles; the anointing oil and the sweet-smelling incense; the curtain that covers the door at the entrance to the Holy Tent; ¹⁶ the altar for burning offerings and its bronze grating, the poles, and all the things used at the altar; the bronze bowl and its base; ¹⁷ the curtains around the yard, their posts and bases, and the curtain that covers the entrance to the yard; ¹⁸ the pegs used to support the Tent and the wall of curtains around the courtyard, and the ropes that tie to the pegs; ¹⁹ and the special woven clothes for the priest to wear in the Holy Place. These are the special clothes for Aaron the priest and his sons to wear when they serve as priests.”

The Great Offering From the People

²⁰ Then all the Israelites went away from Moses. ²¹ All the people who wanted to give came and brought a gift to the Lord. These gifts were used for making the Meeting Tent, everything in the Tent, and the special clothes. ²² All the men and women who wanted to give brought gold jewelry of all kinds. They brought pins,^[ay] earrings, rings, and other jewelry. They all gave their jewelry as a special offering to the Lord.

²³ Everyone who had fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn brought it to the Lord. Anyone who had goat hair or ram skins dyed red or fine leather brought it to the Lord. ²⁴ Everyone who wanted to give silver or bronze brought that as a gift to the Lord. Everyone who had acacia wood came and gave it to the Lord. ²⁵ Every skilled woman made fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. ²⁶ And all the women who were skilled and wanted to help made cloth from the goat hair.

²⁷ The leaders brought onyx stones and other jewels. These stones and jewels were put on the ephod and judgment pouch of the priest. ²⁸ The people also brought spices and olive oil. These things were used for the sweet-smelling incense, the anointing oil, and the oil for the lamps.

²⁹ All the Israelites who wanted to help brought gifts to the Lord. They gave these gifts freely, because they wanted to. These gifts were used to make everything the Lord had commanded Moses and the people to make.

Bezalel and Oholiab

³⁰ Then Moses said to the Israelites, “Look, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, from the tribe of Judah. (Uri was the son of Hur.) ³¹ And he has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God—he gave Bezalel special skill and knowledge to do all kinds of things. ³² He can design and make things with gold, silver, and bronze. ³³ He can cut and set stones and jewels. He can work with wood and make all kinds of things. ³⁴ The Lord has given Bezalel and Oholiab special skills to teach other people. (Oholiab was the son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan.) ³⁵ He has given both of these men special skills to do all kinds of work. They are able to do the work of carpenters and metalworkers. They can weave cloth with designs in it from blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen. And they are able to weave things with wool.

36 “So Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the other skilled men must do the work the Lord has commanded. The Lord has given these men the wisdom and understanding to do all the skilled work needed to build this holy place.”

² Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the other skilled men who the Lord had given special skills to. And they came because they wanted to help with the work. ³ Moses gave them everything the Israelites had brought as gifts, and they used these things to build the holy place. The people continued to bring gifts each morning. ⁴ Finally, all the skilled workers left the work they were doing on the holy place, and they went to speak to Moses. They said, ⁵ “The people have brought too much. We have more than we need to finish the work the Lord told us to do.”

⁶ Then Moses sent this message throughout the camp: “No man or woman should make anything else as a gift for the holy place.” So the people were forced to stop giving more. ⁷ The people had brought more than enough things to finish the work of building God’s holy place.

The Holy Tent

⁸ Then the skilled workers began making the Holy Tent. They made the ten curtains from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. And they sewed pictures of Cherub angels with wings into the curtains. ⁹ Each curtain was the same size—28 cubits^[az] long and 4 cubits^[ba] wide. ¹⁰ The workers joined the curtains together into two groups of curtains. They joined five curtains together to make one group and five curtains together to make the other group. ¹¹ Then they used blue cloth to make loops along the edge of the end curtain of one group. And they did the same on the end curtain in the other group. ¹² There were 50 loops on the end curtain in one group and 50 loops on the end curtain in the other group. The loops were opposite each other. ¹³ Then they made 50 gold rings to join the two curtains together. So the Holy Tent was joined together into one piece.

¹⁴ Then the workers made another tent to cover the Holy Tent. They used goat hair to make eleven curtains. ¹⁵ All the curtains were the same size—30 cubits^[bb] long and 4 cubits wide. ¹⁶ The workers joined five curtains together into one group and six curtains together into another group. ¹⁷ They put 50 loops along the edge of the end curtain of one group. And they did the same on the end curtain of the other group. ¹⁸ The workers made 50 bronze rings to join the two groups of curtains together to form one tent. ¹⁹ Then they made two more coverings for the Holy Tent. One covering was made from ram skins dyed red. The other covering was made from fine leather.

²⁰ Then the workers made frames from acacia wood to support the Holy Tent. ²¹ Each frame was 10 cubits^[bc] long and 1 1/2 cubits^[bd] wide. ²² There were two side poles joined together with cross pieces to make each frame. Every frame for the Holy Tent was made the same. ²³ They made 20 frames for the south side of the Holy Tent. ²⁴ Then they made 40 silver bases for the frames. There were two bases for each frame—one base for each side pole. ²⁵ They also made 20 frames for the other side (the north side) of the Holy Tent. ²⁶ They made 40 silver bases for the frames—two bases for each frame. ²⁷ They made six more frames for the back (the west side) of the Holy Tent. ²⁸ They also made two frames for the corners at the back of the Holy Tent. ²⁹ These frames were joined together at the bottom. And at the top a ring held the corner frames together. They did the same for both corners. ³⁰ There were eight frames for the west side of the Holy Tent. And there were 16 silver bases—two bases for each frame.

³¹ Then the workers used acacia wood to make the braces for the frames—five braces for the first side of the Holy Tent, ³² five braces for the other side, and five braces for the back of the Holy Tent (that is, the west side). ³³ They made the middle brace so that it passed through the frames from one end to the other. ³⁴ They covered these frames with gold. Then they used gold to make the rings to hold the braces, and they covered the braces with gold.

³⁵ They used fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn to make the special curtain for the entrance to the Most Holy Place. And they sewed pictures of Cherub angels into the curtain. ³⁶ They made four posts using acacia wood, and they covered the posts with gold. Then they made gold hooks for the posts and four silver bases for the posts. ³⁷ Then they made the curtain to cover the entrance to the Tent. They used blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen to make this curtain. And they wove pictures into it. ³⁸ Then they made the five posts and the hooks for this curtain over the entrance. They covered the tops of the posts and the curtain rods^[be] with gold. And they made the five bronze bases for the posts.

The Box of the Agreement

37 Bezalel made the Holy Box from acacia wood. The Box was 2 1/2 cubits^[bf] long, 1 1/2 cubits^[bg] wide, and 1 1/2 cubits high. ² He covered the inside and outside of the Box with pure gold. Then he put gold trim around the Box. ³ He made four rings of gold and put them on the four corners. These rings were used for carrying the Box. There were two rings on each side. ⁴ Then he made the poles for carrying the Box. He used acacia wood and covered the poles with pure gold. ⁵ He put the poles through the rings on each side of the Box. ⁶ Then he made the mercy-cover from pure gold. It was 2 1/2 cubits long and 1 1/2 cubits wide. ⁷ Then Bezalel hammered gold to make two Cherub angels. He put the Cherub angels on each end of the mercy-cover. ⁸ He put one angel on one end and the other angel on the other end. The angels were joined together with the mercy-cover to make one piece. ⁹ The wings of the angels were spread up toward the sky. The angels covered the Box with their wings and faced each other, looking toward the mercy-cover.

The Special Table

¹⁰ Then he made the table from acacia wood. The table was 2 cubits^[bh] long, 1 cubit^[bi] wide, and 1 1/2 cubits high. ¹¹ He covered it with pure gold and put gold trim around it. ¹² Then he made a frame 1 handbreadth^[bj] wide around the table. He put gold trim on the frame. ¹³ Then he made four gold rings and put them at the four corners of the table, where the four legs were. ¹⁴ He put the rings close to the frame. The rings were to hold the poles used to carry the table. ¹⁵ Then he used acacia wood to make the poles for carrying the table. He covered the poles with pure gold. ¹⁶ Then he made everything that was used on the table. He made the plates, the spoons, the bowls, and the pitchers from pure gold. The bowls and pitchers are used for pouring the drink offerings.

The Lampstand

¹⁷ Then he made the lampstand. He used pure gold and hammered it to make the base and the shaft.^[bk] Then he made flowers, buds, and petals and joined everything together into one piece. ¹⁸ The lampstand had six branches—three branches on one side and three branches on the other side. ¹⁹ Each branch had three flowers on it. These flowers were made like almond flowers with buds and petals. ²⁰ The shaft of the lampstand had four more flowers. They were also made like almond flowers with buds and petals. ²¹ There were six branches—three branches coming out from each side of the shaft. And there was a flower with buds and petals below each of the three places where the branches joined the shaft. ²² The whole lampstand, with the flowers and branches, was made from pure gold. All this gold was hammered and joined together into one piece. ²³ He made seven lamps for this lampstand. Then he made lamp snuffers and trays from pure gold. ²⁴ He used 75 pounds^[bl] of pure gold to make the lampstand and the things used with it.

The Altar for Burning Incense

²⁵ He made the altar for burning incense from acacia wood. The altar was square. It was 1 cubit long, 1 cubit wide, and 2 cubits high. There were four horns on the altar. There was one horn on each corner. These horns were joined together with the altar to make one piece. ²⁶ He covered the top, all the sides, and the horns with pure gold. Then he put gold trim around the altar. ²⁷ He made two gold rings for the altar. He put the gold rings below the trim on each side of the altar. These gold rings held the poles for carrying the altar. ²⁸ He made the poles from acacia wood and covered them with gold.

²⁹ Then he made the holy anointing oil. He also made the pure, sweet-smelling incense. These things were made the same way that a perfume maker would make them.

The Altar for Burning Offerings

38 Then Bezalel used acacia wood to build the altar. This was the altar used for burning offerings. The altar was square. It was 5 cubits^[bm] long, 5 cubits wide, and 3 cubits^[bn] high. ² He made a horn for each of the four corners of the altar. He joined each horn to its corner so that everything was one piece. He covered the altar with bronze. ³ Then he used bronze to make all the tools to be used on the altar. He made the pots, shovels, bowls, forks, and pans. ⁴ Then he made a bronze grating for the altar. This grating was shaped like a net. The grating was put under the ledge at the bottom of the altar. It went halfway up into the altar from below. ⁵ Then he made bronze rings to hold the poles for carrying the altar. He put the rings at the four corners of the grating. ⁶ Then he used acacia wood to make the poles and covered them with bronze. ⁷ He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it. He used boards to make the sides of the altar. It was hollow, like an empty box.

⁸ He made the bowl and its base with bronze. He used the bronze mirrors that the women gave. These were the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

The Courtyard Around the Holy Tent

⁹ Then he made a wall of curtains around the courtyard. On the south side, he made a wall of curtains 100 cubits^[bo] long. The curtains were made from fine linen. ¹⁰ The curtains on the south side were supported by 20 posts. The posts were on 20 bronze bases. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods^[bp] were made from silver. ¹¹ The north side of the courtyard also had a wall of curtains 100 cubits long. There were 20 posts with 20 bronze bases. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods were made from silver.

¹² On the west side of the courtyard the wall of curtains was 50 cubits^[bq] long. There were 10 posts and 10 bases. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods were made from silver.

¹³ The east side of the courtyard was 50 cubits wide. The entrance to the courtyard was on this side. ¹⁴ On one side of the entrance the wall of curtains was 15 cubits^[br] long. There were three posts and three bases on this side. ¹⁵ The wall of curtains on the other side of the entrance was also 15 cubits long. There were three posts and three bases on that side. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the courtyard were made from fine linen. ¹⁷ The bases for the posts were made from bronze. The hooks and the curtain rods were made from silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver also. All the posts in the courtyard had silver curtain rods.

¹⁸ The curtain for the entrance of the courtyard was made from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. Designs were woven into that curtain. The curtain was 20 cubits^[bs] long and 5 cubits high. It was the same height as the curtains around the courtyard. ¹⁹ The curtain was supported by four posts and four bronze bases. The hooks on the posts were made from silver. The tops on the posts were covered with silver, and the curtain rods were also made from silver. ²⁰ All the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and for the curtains around the courtyard were made from bronze.

²¹ Moses commanded the Levites to write down everything that was used to make the Holy Tent, that is, the Tent of the Agreement. Ithamar son of Aaron was in charge of keeping the list.

²² Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses. ²³ Also Oholiab son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, helped him. Oholiab was a skilled worker and designer. He was skilled at weaving fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn.

²⁴ The people gave over a ton^[bt] of gold as an offering to the Lord for his holy place. (This was weighed using the official measure.)

^25-26 All the men 20 years old or older were counted. Each man had to pay a tax of 1 beka^[bu] of silver. (Using the official measure, 1 beka is 1/2 shekel.^[bv]) There were 603,550 men. So they collected about 7550 pounds of silver. ²⁷ They used most of the silver to make 100 bases for the Holy Tent and its curtains, 75 pounds^[bw] for each base. ²⁸ They used the remaining 44 pounds^[bx] of silver to make the hooks, the curtain rods, and the silver covers for the posts.

²⁹ They gave more than 2 1/2 tons^[by] of bronze. ³⁰ That bronze was used to make the bases at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They also used the bronze to make the altar and the bronze grating. And the bronze was used to make all the tools and dishes for the altar. ³¹ It was also used to make the bases for the curtains around the courtyard and the bases for the curtains at the entrance. And the bronze was used to make the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and for the curtains around the courtyard.

The Priests’ Special Clothes

39 The workers used the blue, purple, and red yarn to make special clothes for the priests to wear when they served in the holy place. They also made the special clothes for Aaron as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Ephod

² They made the ephod from gold thread, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn. ³ (They hammered the gold into thin strips and cut the gold into long threads. They wove the gold into the blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen. This was the work of a very skilled person.) ⁴ They made the shoulder pieces for the ephod. They tied these shoulder pieces to the two corners of the ephod. ⁵ They wove the cloth belt and fastened it to the ephod. It was made the same way as the ephod—they used gold thread, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁶ The workers put the onyx stones for the ephod in gold settings. They wrote the names of the sons of Israel on these stones. ⁷ Then they put these jewels on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. These jewels were to help God to remember the Israelites. This was done as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Judgment Pouch

⁸ Then they made the judgment pouch. It was the work of a skilled person, just like the ephod. It was made from gold threads, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn. ⁹ The judgment pouch was folded in half to make a square pocket. It was 1 span^[bz] long and 1 span wide. ¹⁰ Then the workers put four rows of beautiful jewels on the judgment pouch. The first row had a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl. ¹¹ The second row had a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald. ¹² The third row had a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ¹³ The fourth row had a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. All these jewels were set in gold. ¹⁴ There were twelve jewels on the judgment pouch—one jewel for each of the sons of Israel. Each stone had the name of one of the sons of Israel carved onto it, like a seal.

¹⁵ The workers made two chains from pure gold for the judgment pouch. The chains were braided like a rope. ¹⁶ The workers made two gold rings and fastened them to two corners of the judgment pouch. Then they made two gold settings for the shoulder pieces. ¹⁷ They fastened the gold chains to the rings at the corners of the judgment pouch. ¹⁸ They fastened the other ends of the gold chains to the settings on the shoulder pieces. They fastened these to the front of the ephod. ¹⁹ Then they made two more gold rings and put them on the other two corners of the judgment pouch. This was on the inside edge of the judgment pouch next to the ephod. ²⁰ They also put two gold rings on the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod. These rings were near the fastener, just above the cloth belt. ²¹ Then they used a blue ribbon and tied the rings of the judgment pouch to the rings of the ephod. In this way the judgment pouch would rest close to the cloth belt and would be held tight against the ephod. They did everything just as the Lord commanded.

Other Clothes for the Priests

²² Then they made the robe for the ephod from blue cloth. It was woven by a skilled worker. ²³ They made a hole in the center of the robe and sewed a piece of cloth around the edge of this hole. This cloth kept the hole from tearing.

²⁴ Then they used fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn to make the cloth pomegranates. They hung these pomegranates around the bottom edge of the robe. ²⁵ Then they made bells from pure gold. They hung these bells around the bottom edge of the robe between the pomegranates. ²⁶ Around the bottom edge of the robe there were bells and pomegranates. There was a bell following each pomegranate. This robe was for the priest to wear when he served the Lord. It was made just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²⁷ Skilled workers wove shirts for Aaron and his sons. These shirts were made from fine linen. ²⁸ And the workers made a turban from fine linen. They also used fine linen to make cloth caps and underclothes. ²⁹ Then they made the cloth belt from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. Designs were sewn into the cloth. These things were made as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰ Then they made a strip of pure gold for the holy crown. They carved these words into the gold like the writing on a seal: holy to the lord.^{[ca] 31} They fastened the gold strip to a blue ribbon. Then they tied the blue ribbon around the turban like the Lord had commanded Moses.

Moses Inspects the Holy Tent

³² So all the work on the Holy Tent, that is, the Meeting Tent, was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ Then they showed the Holy Tent and everything in it to Moses. They showed him the rings, the frames, the braces, the posts, and the bases.