Exodus 19:1-36:22

Living Bible

19 The Israelis arrived in the Sinai peninsula three months after the night of their departure from Egypt. ^2-3 After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the base of Mount Sinai and set up camp there. Moses climbed the rugged mountain to meet with God, and from somewhere in the mountain God called to him and said, “Give these instructions to the people of Israel. Tell them, ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I brought you to myself as though on eagles’ wings. ⁵ Now if you will obey me and keep your part of my contract with you, you shall be my own little flock from among all the nations of the earth; for all the earth is mine. ⁶ And you shall be a kingdom of priests to God, a holy nation.’”

⁷ Moses returned from the mountain and called together the leaders of the people and told them what the Lord had said.

⁸ They all responded in unison, “We will certainly do everything he asks of us.” Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.

⁹ Then he said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in the form of a dark cloud, so that the people themselves can hear me when I talk with you, and then they will always believe you. ¹⁰ Go down now and see that the people are ready for my visit. Sanctify them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothes. ¹¹ Then, the day after tomorrow, I will come down upon Mount Sinai as all the people watch. ¹² Set boundary lines the people may not pass, and tell them, ‘Beware! Do not go up into the mountain or even touch its boundaries; whoever does shall die— ¹³ no hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot to death with arrows, whether man or animal.’ Stay away from the mountain entirely until you hear a ram’s horn sounding one long blast; then gather at the foot of the mountain!”

¹⁴ So Moses went down to the people and sanctified them and they washed their clothing.

¹⁵ He told them, “Get ready for God’s appearance two days from now, and do not have sexual intercourse with your wives.”

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there was a terrific thunder and lightning storm, and a huge cloud came down upon the mountain, and there was a long, loud blast as from a ram’s horn; and all the people trembled. ¹⁷ Moses led them out from the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ All Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because Jehovah descended upon it in the form of fire; the smoke billowed into the sky as from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook with a violent earthquake. ¹⁹ As the trumpet blast grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God thundered his reply. ²⁰ So the Lord came down upon the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses ascended to God.

²¹ But the Lord told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to cross the boundaries. They must not come up here to try to see God, for if they do, many of them will die. ²² Even the priests on duty^[a] must sanctify themselves, or else I will destroy them.”

²³ “But the people won’t come up into the mountain!” Moses protested. “You told them not to! You told me to set boundaries around the mountain and to declare it off limits because it is reserved for God.”

²⁴ But Jehovah said, “Go down and bring Aaron back with you, and don’t let the priests and the people break across the boundaries to try to come up here, or I will punish them.”

²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them what God had said.

20 Then God issued this edict:

² “I am Jehovah your God who liberated you from your slavery in Egypt.

³ “You may worship no other god than me.

⁴ “You shall not make yourselves any idols: no images of animals, birds, or fish. ⁵ You must never bow or worship it in any way; for I, the Lord your God, am very possessive. I will not share your affection with any other god!

“And when I punish people for their sins, the punishment continues upon the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those who hate me; ⁶ but I lavish my love upon thousands of those who love me and obey my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not use the name of Jehovah your God irreverently,^[b] nor use it to swear to a falsehood. You will not escape punishment if you do.

⁸ “Remember to observe the Sabbath as a holy day. ⁹ Six days a week are for your daily duties and your regular work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest before the Lord your God. On that day you are to do no work of any kind, nor shall your son, daughter, or slaves—whether men or women—or your cattle or your house guests. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heaven, earth, and sea, and everything in them, and rested the seventh day; so he blessed the Sabbath day and set it aside for rest.^[c]

¹² “Honor your father and mother, that you may have a long, good life in the land the Lord your God will give you.

¹³ “You must not murder.

¹⁴ “You must not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You must not steal.

¹⁶ “You must not lie.^[d]

¹⁷ “You must not be envious of your neighbor’s house, or want to sleep with his wife, or want to own his slaves, oxen, donkeys, or anything else he has.”

¹⁸ All the people saw the lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, and heard the thunder and the long, frightening trumpet blast; and they stood at a distance, shaking with fear.

¹⁹ They said to Moses, “You tell us what God says and we will obey, but don’t let God speak directly to us, or it will kill us.”

²⁰ “Don’t be afraid,” Moses told them, “for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power, so that from now on you will be afraid to sin against him!”

²¹ As the people stood in the distance, Moses entered into the deep darkness where God was.

²² And the Lord told Moses to be his spokesman to the people of Israel. “You are witnesses to the fact that I have made known my will to you from heaven. ²³ Remember, you must not make or worship idols made of silver or gold or of anything else!

²⁴ “The altars you make for me must be simple altars of earth. Offer upon them your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings of sheep and oxen. Build altars only where I tell you to, and I will come and bless you there. ²⁵ You may also build altars from stone, but if you do, then use only uncut stones and boulders. Don’t chip or shape the stones with a tool, for that would make them unfit for my altar. ²⁶ And don’t make steps for the altar, or someone might look up beneath the skirts of your clothing and see your nakedness.

21 “Here are other laws you must obey:

² “If you buy a Hebrew slave,^[e] he shall serve only six years and be freed in the seventh year, and need pay nothing to regain his freedom.

³ “If he sold himself as a slave before he married, then if he married afterwards, only he shall be freed; but if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife shall be freed with him at the same time. ⁴ But if his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they have sons or daughters, the wife and children shall still belong to the master, and he shall go out by himself free.

⁵ “But if the man shall plainly declare, ‘I prefer my master, my wife, and my children, and I would rather not go free,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him before the judges and shall publicly bore his ear with an awl, and after that he will be a slave forever.

⁷ “If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. ⁸ If she does not please the man who bought her, then he shall let her be bought back again; but he has no power to sell her to foreigners, since he has wronged her by no longer wanting her after marrying her. ⁹ And if he arranges an engagement between a Hebrew slave girl and his son, then he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but must treat her as a daughter. ¹⁰ If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing, or fail to sleep with her as his wife. ¹¹ If he fails in any of these three things, then she may leave freely without any payment.

¹² “Anyone who hits a man so hard that he dies shall surely be put to death. ¹³ But if it is accidental—an act of God—and not intentional, then I will appoint a place where he can run and get protection. ¹⁴ However, if a man deliberately attacks another, intending to kill him, drag him even from my altar, and kill him.

¹⁵ “Anyone who strikes his father or mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁶ “A kidnapper must be killed, whether he is caught in possession of his victim or has already sold him as a slave.

¹⁷ “Anyone who reviles or curses his mother or father shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸ “If two men are fighting, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and injures him so that he must be confined to bed, but doesn’t die, ¹⁹ if later he is able to walk again, even with a limp,^[f] the man who hit him will be innocent except that he must pay for the loss of his time until he is thoroughly healed, and pay any medical expenses.

²⁰ “If a man beats his slave to death—whether the slave is male or female—that man shall surely be punished. ²¹ However, if the slave does not die for a couple of days, then the man shall not be punished—for the slave is his property.

²² “If two men are fighting, and in the process hurt a pregnant woman so that she has a miscarriage, but she lives, then the man who injured her shall be fined whatever amount the woman’s husband shall demand, and as the judges approve. ²³ But if any harm comes to the woman and she dies, he shall be executed.

²⁴ “If her eye is injured, injure his; if her tooth is knocked out, knock out his; and so on—hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, lash for lash.

²⁶ “If a man hits his slave in the eye, whether man or woman, and the eye is blinded, then the slave shall go free because of his eye. ²⁷ And if a master knocks out his slave’s tooth, he shall let him go free to pay for the tooth.

²⁸ “If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner shall not be held— ²⁹ unless the ox was known to gore people in the past, and the owner had been notified and still the ox was not kept under control; in that case, if it kills someone, the ox shall be stoned and the owner also shall be killed. ³⁰ But the dead man’s relatives may accept a fine instead, if they wish. The judges will determine the amount.^[g]

³¹ “The same law holds if the ox gores a boy or a girl. ³² But if the ox gores a slave, whether male or female, the slave’s master shall be given thirty pieces of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

³³ “If a man digs a well and doesn’t cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ the owner of the well shall pay full damages to the owner of the animal, and the dead animal shall belong to him.

³⁵ “If a man’s ox injures another, and it dies, then the two owners shall sell the live ox and divide the price between them—and each shall also own half of the dead ox. ³⁶ But if the ox was known from past experience to gore, and its owner has not kept it under control, then there will not be a division of the income; but the owner of the living ox shall pay in full for the dead ox, and the dead one shall be his.

22 “If a man steals an ox or sheep and then kills or sells it, he shall pay a fine of five to one—five oxen shall be returned for each stolen ox. For sheep, the fine shall be four to one—four sheep returned for each sheep stolen.

² “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is killed, the one who killed him is not guilty. ³ But if it happens in the daylight, it must be presumed to be murder and the man who kills him is guilty.

“If a thief is captured, he must make full restitution; if he can’t, then he must be sold as a slave for his debt.

⁴ “If he is caught in the act of stealing a live ox or donkey or sheep or whatever it is, he shall pay double value as his fine.

⁵ “If someone deliberately lets his animal loose and it gets into another man’s vineyard; or if he turns it into another man’s field to graze, he must pay for all damages by giving the owner of the field or vineyard an equal amount of the best of his own crop.

⁶ “If the field is being burned off and the fire gets out of control and goes into another field so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, are destroyed, the one who started the fire shall make full restitution.

⁷ “If someone gives money or goods to anyone to keep for him, and it is stolen, the thief shall pay double if he is found. ⁸ But if no thief is found, then the man to whom the valuables were entrusted shall be brought before God to determine whether or not he himself has stolen his neighbor’s property.

⁹ “In every case in which an ox, donkey, sheep, clothing, or anything else is lost, and the owner believes he has found it in the possession of someone else who denies it, both parties to the dispute shall come before God for a decision, and the one whom God declares guilty shall pay double to the other.

¹⁰ “If a man asks his neighbor to keep a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal for him, and it dies, or is hurt, or gets away, and there is no eyewitness to report just what happened to it, ¹¹ then the neighbor must take an oath that he has not stolen it, and the owner must accept his word, and no restitution shall be made for it. ¹² But if the animal or property has been stolen, the neighbor caring for it must repay the owner. ¹³ If it was attacked by some wild animal, he shall bring the torn carcass to confirm the fact, and shall not be required to make restitution.

¹⁴ “If a man borrows an animal (or anything else) from a neighbor, and it is injured or killed, and the owner is not there at the time, then the man who borrowed it must pay for it. ¹⁵ But if the owner is there, he need not pay; and if it was rented, then he need not pay, because this possibility was included in the original rental fee.

¹⁶ “If a man seduces a girl who is not engaged to anyone^[h] and sleeps with her, he must pay the usual dowry and accept her as his wife. ¹⁷ But if her father utterly refuses to let her marry him, then he shall pay the money anyway.

¹⁸ “A sorceress shall be put to death.

¹⁹ “Anyone having sexual relations with an animal shall certainly be executed.

²⁰ “Anyone sacrificing to any other god than Jehovah shall be executed.^[i]

²¹ “You must not oppress a stranger in any way; remember, you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

²² “You must not exploit widows or orphans; ²³ if you do so in any way, and they cry to me for my help, I will surely give it. ²⁴ And my anger shall flame out against you, and I will kill you with enemy armies, so that your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵ “If you lend money to a needy fellow Hebrew, you are not to handle the transaction in an ordinary way, with interest. ²⁶ If you take his clothing as a pledge of his repayment, you must let him have it back at night. ²⁷ For it is probably his only warmth; how can he sleep without it? If you don’t return it, and he cries to me for help, I will hear and be very gracious to him at your expense,^[j] for I am very compassionate.

²⁸ “You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse government officials—your judges and your rulers.

²⁹ “You must be prompt in giving me the tithe of your crops and your wine, and the redemption payment for your oldest son.

³⁰ “As to the firstborn of the oxen and the sheep, give it to me on the eighth day, after leaving it with its mother for seven days.

³¹ “And since you yourselves are holy—my special people—do not eat any animal that has been attacked and killed by a wild animal. Leave its carcass for the dogs to eat.

23 “Do not pass along untrue reports. Do not cooperate with an evil man by affirming on the witness stand something you know is false.

^2-3 “Don’t join mobs intent on evil. When on the witness stand, don’t be swayed in your testimony by the mood of the majority present, and do not slant your testimony in favor of a man just because he is poor.

⁴ “If you come upon an enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, you must take it back to its owner. ⁵ If you see your enemy trying to get his donkey onto its feet beneath a heavy load, you must not go on by but must help him.

⁶ “A man’s poverty is no excuse for twisting justice against him.

⁷ “Keep far away from falsely charging anyone with evil; never let an innocent person be put to death. I will not stand for this.^[k]

⁸ “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you unaware of what you clearly see! A bribe hurts the cause of the person who is right.

⁹ “Do not oppress foreigners; you know what it’s like to be a foreigner; remember your own experience in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ “Sow and reap your crops for six years, ¹¹ but let the land rest and lie fallow during the seventh year, and let the poor among the people harvest any volunteer crop that may come up; leave the rest for the animals to enjoy. The same rule applies to your vineyards and your olive groves.

¹² “Work six days only, and rest the seventh; this is to give your oxen and donkeys a rest, as well as the people of your household—your slaves and visitors.

¹³ “Be sure to obey all of these instructions; and remember—never mention the name of any other god.^[l]

¹⁴ “There are three annual religious pilgrimages you must make.^[m]

¹⁵ “The first is the Pilgrimage of Unleavened Bread, when for seven days you are not to eat bread with yeast, just as I commanded you before. This celebration is to be an annual event at the regular time in March, the month you left Egypt; everyone must bring me a sacrifice at that time. ¹⁶ Then there is the Harvest Pilgrimage, when you must bring to me the first of your crops. And, finally, the Pilgrimage of Ingathering at the end of the harvest season. ¹⁷ At these three times each year, every man in Israel shall appear before the Lord God.

¹⁸ “No sacrificial blood shall be offered with leavened bread; no sacrificial fat shall be left unoffered until the next morning.

¹⁹ “As you reap each of your crops, bring me the choicest sample of the first day’s harvest; it shall be offered to the Lord your God.^[n]

“Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²⁰ “See, I am sending an Angel before you to lead you safely to the land I have prepared for you. ²¹ Reverence him and obey all of his instructions; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; he is my representative—he bears my name.^{[o] 22} But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies. ²³ For my Angel shall go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, to live there. And I will destroy those people before you.

²⁴ “You must not worship the gods of these other nations, nor sacrifice to them in any way, and you must not follow the evil example of these heathen people; you must utterly conquer them and break down their shameful idols.

²⁵ “You shall serve the Lord your God only; then I will bless you with food and with water, and I will take away sickness from among you. ²⁶ There will be no miscarriages nor barrenness throughout your land, and you will live out the full quota of the days of your life.

²⁷ “The terror of the Lord shall fall upon all the people whose land you invade, and they will flee before you; ²⁸ and I will send hornets to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites from before you. ²⁹ I will not do it all in one year, for the land would become a wilderness, and the wild animals would become too many to control. ³⁰ But I will drive them out a little at a time, until your population has increased enough to fill the land. ³¹ And I will set your enlarged boundaries from the Red Sea to the Philistine coast, and from the southern deserts as far as the Euphrates River; and I will cause you to defeat the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.

³² “You must make no covenant with them, nor have anything to do with their gods. ³³ Don’t let them live among you! For I know that they will infect you with their sin of worshiping false gods, and that would be an utter disaster to you.”

24 The Lord now instructed Moses, “Come up here with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. All of you except Moses are to worship at a distance. ² Moses alone shall come near to the Lord; and remember, none of the ordinary people are permitted to come up into the mountain at all.”

³ Then Moses announced to the people all the laws and regulations God had given him; and the people answered in unison, “We will obey them all.”

⁴ Moses wrote down the laws; and early the next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars around the altar because there were twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then he sent some of the young men to sacrifice the burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood of these animals and drew it off into basins. The other half he splashed against the altar.

⁷ And he read to the people the Book he had written—the Book of the Covenant—containing God’s directions and laws. And the people said again, “We solemnly promise to obey every one of these rules.”

⁸ Then Moses threw the blood from the basins toward the people and said, “This blood confirms and seals the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these laws.”

⁹ Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up into the mountain. ¹⁰ And they saw the God of Israel; under his feet there seemed to be a pavement of brilliant sapphire stones, as clear as the heavens.

¹¹ Yet, even though the elders saw God, he did not destroy them; and they had a meal together before the Lord.

¹² And the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me into the mountain, and remain until I give you the laws and commandments I have written on tablets of stone, so that you can teach the people from them.” ¹³ So Moses and Joshua, his assistant, went up into the mountain of God.

¹⁴ He told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until we come back; if there are any problems while I am gone, consult with Aaron and Hur.”

¹⁵ Then Moses went up the mountain and disappeared into the cloud at the top. ¹⁶ And the glory of the Lord rested upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; the seventh day he called to Moses from the cloud. ¹⁷ Those at the bottom of the mountain saw the awesome sight: the glory of the Lord on the mountaintop looked like a raging fire. ¹⁸ And Moses disappeared into the cloud-covered mountaintop, and was there for forty days and forty nights.

25 ^1-7 Jehovah said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel that everyone who wants to may bring me an offering from this list: gold, silver, bronze, blue cloth, purple cloth, scarlet cloth, fine-twined linen, goats’ hair, red-dyed rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, olive oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.

⁸ “For I want the people of Israel to make me a sacred Temple where I can live among them.

⁹ “This home of mine shall be a tent pavilion—a Tabernacle. I will give you a drawing of the construction plan and the details of each furnishing.

¹⁰ “Using acacia wood, make an Ark 3-3/4 feet long, 2-1/4 feet wide, and 2-1/4 feet high. ¹¹ Overlay it inside and outside with pure gold, with a molding of gold all around it. ¹² Cast four rings of gold for it and attach them to the four lower corners, two rings on each side. ^13-14 Make poles from acacia wood overlaid with gold, and fit the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it. ¹⁵ These carrying poles shall never be taken from the rings, but are to be left there permanently. ¹⁶ When the Ark is finished, place inside it the tablets of stone I will give you, with the Ten Commandments engraved on them.^[p]

¹⁷ “And make a lid of pure gold, 3-3/4 feet long and 2-1/4 feet wide. This is the place of mercy for your sins.^{[q] 18} Then make two statues of Guardian Angels^[r] using beaten gold, and place them at the two ends of the lid of the Ark. ¹⁹ They shall be one piece with the mercy place, one at each end. ²⁰ The Guardian Angels shall be facing each other, looking down upon the place of mercy, and shall have wings spread out above the gold lid. ²¹ Install the lid upon the Ark, and place within the Ark the tablets of stone I shall give you. ²² And I will meet with you there and talk with you from above the place of mercy between the Guardian Angels; and the Ark will contain the laws of my covenant. There I will tell you my commandments for the people of Israel.

²³ “Then make a table of acacia wood 3 feet long, 1-1/2 feet wide, and 2-1/4 feet high. ²⁴ Overlay it with pure gold, and run a rib of gold around it. ²⁵ Put a molding four inches wide around the edge of the top, and a gold ridge along the molding, all around. ^26-27 Make four gold rings and put the rings at the outside corner of the four legs, close to the top; these are rings for the poles that will be used to carry the table. ²⁸ Make the poles from acacia wood overlaid with gold. ²⁹ And make gold dishes, spoons, pitchers, and flagons; ³⁰ and always keep the special Bread of the Presence on the table before me.

³¹ “Make a lampstand of pure, beaten gold. The entire lampstand and its decorations shall be one piece—the base, shaft, lamps, and blossoms. ^32-33 It will have three branches going out from each side of the center shaft, each branch decorated with three almond flowers. ^34-35 The central shaft itself will be decorated with four almond flowers—one placed between each set of branches; also, there will be one flower above the top set of branches and one below the bottom set. ³⁶ These decorations and branches and the shaft are all to be one piece of pure, beaten gold. ³⁷ Then make seven lamps for the lampstand, and set them so that they reflect their light forward. ³⁸ The snuffers and trays are to be made of pure gold. ³⁹ You will need about 95 pounds^[s] of pure gold for the lampstand and its accessories.

⁴⁰ “Be sure that everything you make follows the pattern I am showing you here on the mountain.

26 ^1-2 “Make the tabernacle-tent from ten colored sheets of fine linen, 42 feet long and 6 feet wide, dyed blue, purple, and scarlet, with figures of Guardian Angels embroidered on them. ³ Join five sheets end to end for each side of the tent, forming two long pieces, one for each side. ^4-5 Use loops at the edges to join these two long pieces together side by side. There are to be fifty loops on each side, opposite each other. ⁶ Then make fifty gold clasps to fasten the loops together, so that the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, becomes a single unit.

^7-8 “The roof of the Tabernacle is made of goats’ hair tarpaulins. There are to be eleven of these tarpaulins, each 45 feet across and 6 feet wide. ⁹ Connect five of these tarpaulins into one wide section; and use the other six for another wide section. (The sixth tarpaulin will hang down to form a curtain across the front of the sacred tent.) ^10-11 Use fifty loops along the edges of each of these two wide pieces, to join them together with fifty bronze clasps. Thus the two widths become one. ¹² There will be a 1-1/2-foot length of this roof covering hanging down from the back of the tent, ¹³ and a 1-1/2-foot length at the front. ¹⁴ On top of these blankets is placed a layer of rams’ skins, dyed red, and over them a top layer of goatskins. This completes the roof covering.

^15-16 “The framework of the sacred tent shall be made from acacia wood, each frame piece being 15 feet high and 2-1/4 feet wide, standing upright, ¹⁷ with grooves on each side to mortise into the next upright piece. ^18-19 Twenty of these frames will form the south side of the sacred tent, with forty silver bases for the frames to fit into—two bases under each piece of the frame. ²⁰ On the north side there will also be twenty of these frames, ²¹ with their forty silver bases, two bases for each frame, one under each edge. ²² On the west side there will be six frames, ²³ and two frames at each corner. ²⁴ These corner frames will be connected at the bottom and top with clasps. ²⁵ So, in all, there will be eight frames on that end of the building with sixteen silver bases for the frames—two bases under each frame.

^26-27 “Make bars of acacia wood to run across the frames, five bars on each side of the Tabernacle. Also five bars for the rear of the building, facing westward. ²⁸ The middle bar, halfway up the frames, runs all the way from end to end of the Tabernacle. ²⁹ Overlay the frames with gold, and make gold rings to hold the bars; and also overlay the bars with gold. ³⁰ Set up this Tabernacle-tent in the manner I showed you on the mountain.

³¹ “Inside the Tabernacle,^[t] make a curtain from fine linen, with blue, purple, and scarlet Guardian Angels embroidered into the cloth. ³² Hang this curtain on gold hooks set into four pillars made from acacia wood overlaid with gold. The pillars are to be set in silver bases. ³³ Behind this curtain place the Ark containing the stone tablets engraved with God’s laws. The curtain will separate the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

³⁴ “Now install the mercy place—the golden lid of the Ark—in the Most Holy Place. ³⁵ Place the table and lampstand across the room from each other on the outer side of the veil, the lampstand on the south and the table on the north.

³⁶ “As a screen for the door of the sacred tent, make another curtain from fine linen, skillfully embroidered in blue, purple, and scarlet. ³⁷ Hang this curtain on gold hooks set into posts made from acacia wood overlaid with gold. The posts are to rest on bronze bases.

27 “Using acacia wood, make a square altar 7-1/2 feet wide, and 4-1/2 feet high. ² Make horns for the four corners of the altar, attach them firmly, and overlay everything with bronze. ³ The ash buckets, shovels, basins, carcass hooks, and fire pans are all to be made of bronze. ⁴ Make a bronze grating, with a metal ring at each corner, ⁵ and fit the grating halfway down into the firebox, resting it upon the ledge built there. ⁶ For moving the altar, make poles from acacia wood overlaid with bronze. ⁷ To carry it, put the poles into the rings at each side of the altar. ⁸ The altar is to be hollow, made from planks, just as was shown you on the mountain.

^9-10 “Then make a courtyard for the Tabernacle, enclosed with curtains made from fine-twined linen. On the south side the curtains will stretch for 150 feet, and be held up by twenty posts, fitting into twenty bronze post holders. The curtains will be held up with silver hooks attached to silver rods, attached to the posts. ¹¹ It will be the same on the north side of the court—150 feet of curtains held up by twenty posts fitted into bronze sockets, with silver hooks and rods. ¹² The west side of the court will be 75 feet wide, with ten posts and ten sockets. ¹³ The east side will also be 75 feet. ^14-15 On each side of the entrance there will be 22-1/2 feet of curtain, held up by three posts imbedded in three sockets.

¹⁶ “The entrance to the court will be a 30-foot-wide curtain, made of beautifully embroidered blue, purple, and scarlet fine-twined linen, and attached to four posts imbedded in their four sockets. ¹⁷ All the posts around the court are to be connected by silver rods, using silver hooks, the posts being imbedded in solid bronze bases. ¹⁸ So the entire court will be 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, with curtain walls 7-1/2 feet high, made from fine-twined linen.

¹⁹ “All utensils used in the work of the Tabernacle, including all the pins and pegs for hanging the utensils on the walls, will be made of bronze.

²⁰ “Instruct the people of Israel to bring you pure olive oil to use in the lamps of the Tabernacle, to burn there continually. ²¹ Aaron and his sons shall place this eternal flame in the outer holy room, tending it day and night before the Lord, so that it never goes out. This is a permanent rule for the people of Israel.

28 “Consecrate Aaron your brother, and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to be priests, to minister to me. ² Make special clothes for Aaron, to indicate his separation to God—beautiful garments that will lend dignity to his work. ³ Instruct those to whom I have given special skill as tailors to make the garments that will set him apart from others, so that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. ⁴ This is the wardrobe they shall make: a chestpiece, an ephod,^[u] a robe, an embroidered shirt, a turban, and a sash. They shall also make special garments for Aaron’s sons.

^5-6 “The ephod shall be made by the most skilled of the workmen, using gold, blue, purple, and scarlet threads of fine linen. ⁷ It will consist of two pieces, front and back, joined at the shoulders. ⁸ And the sash shall be made of the same material—threads of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet fine-twined linen. ⁹ Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁰ Six names shall be on each stone, so that all the tribes are named in the order of their births. ¹¹ When engraving these names, use the same technique as in making a seal; and mount the stones in gold settings. ¹² Fasten the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod, as memorial stones for the people of Israel: Aaron will carry their names before the Lord as a constant reminder. ^13-14 Two chains of pure, twisted gold shall be made and attached to gold clasps on the shoulder of the ephod.

¹⁵ “Then, using the most careful workmanship, make a chestpiece to be used as God’s oracle; use the same gold, blue, purple, and scarlet threads of fine-twined linen as you did in the ephod. ¹⁶ This chestpiece is to be of two folds of cloth, forming a pouch nine inches square. ¹⁷ Attach to it four rows of stones: A ruby, a topaz, and an emerald shall be in the first row. ¹⁸ The second row will be carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond. ¹⁹ The third row will be an amber, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row will be an onyx, a beryl, and a jasper—all set in gold settings. ²¹ Each stone will represent one of the tribes of Israel and the name of that tribe will be engraved upon it like a seal.

^22-24 “Attach the top of the chestpiece to the ephod by means of two twisted cords of pure gold. One end of each cord is attached to gold rings placed at the outer top edge of the chestpiece. ²⁵ The other ends of the two cords are attached to the front edges of the two settings of the onyx stones on the shoulder of the ephod. ²⁶ Then make two more gold rings and place them on the two lower, inside edges of the chestpiece; ²⁷ also make two other gold rings for the bottom front edge of the ephod at the sash. ²⁸ Now attach the bottom of the chestpiece to the bottom rings of the ephod by means of blue ribbons; this will prevent the chestpiece from coming loose from the ephod. ²⁹ In this way Aaron shall carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the chestpiece over his heart (it is God’s oracle) when he goes into the Holy Place; thus Jehovah will be reminded of them continually. ^30-31 Insert into the pocket of the chestpiece the Urim and Thummim,^[v] to be carried over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before Jehovah. Thus Aaron shall always be carrying the oracle over his heart when he goes in before the Lord.

“The ephod shall be made of blue cloth, ³² with an opening for Aaron’s head. It shall have a woven band around this opening, just as on the neck of a coat of mail, so that it will not fray. ^33-34 The bottom edge of the ephod shall be embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates, alternated with gold bells. ³⁵ Aaron shall wear the ephod whenever he goes in to minister to the Lord; the bells will tinkle as he goes in and out of the presence of the Lord in the Holy Place, so that he will not die.

³⁶ “Next, make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, just as you would upon a seal, ‘Consecrated to Jehovah.’ ^37-38 This plate is to be attached by means of a blue ribbon to the front of Aaron’s turban. In this way Aaron will be wearing it upon his forehead, and thus bear the guilt connected with any errors regarding the offerings of the people of Israel. It shall always be worn when he goes into the presence of the Lord, so that the people will be accepted and forgiven.

³⁹ “Weave Aaron’s embroidered shirt from fine-twined linen, using a checkerboard pattern; make the turban, too, of this linen; and make him an embroidered sash.

⁴⁰ “Then, for Aaron’s sons, make robes, sashes, and turbans to give them honor and respect. ⁴¹ Clothe Aaron and his sons with these garments, and then dedicate these men to their ministry by anointing their heads with olive oil, thus sanctifying them as the priests, my ministers. ⁴² Also make linen undershorts for them, to be worn beneath their robes next to their bodies, reaching from hips to knees. ⁴³ These are to be worn whenever Aaron and his sons go into the Tabernacle or to the altar in the Holy Place, lest they be guilty and die. This is a permanent ordinance for Aaron and his sons.

29 “This is the ceremony for the dedication of Aaron and his sons as priests: get a young bull and two rams with no defects, ² and bread made without yeast, and thin sheets of sweetened bread mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers with oil poured over them. (The various kinds of bread shall be made with finely ground wheat flour.) ^3-4 Place the bread in a basket and bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle, along with the young bull and the two rams.

“Bathe Aaron and his sons there at the entrance. ⁵ Then put Aaron’s robe on him, and the embroidered shirt, ephod, chestpiece, and sash, ⁶ and place on his head the turban with the gold plate. ⁷ Then take the anointing oil and pour it upon his head. ⁸ Next, dress his sons in their robes, ⁹ with their woven sashes, and place caps on their heads. They will then be priests forever; thus you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ “Then bring the young bull to the Tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon its head; ¹¹ and you shall kill it before the Lord, at the entrance of the Tabernacle. ¹² Place its blood upon the horns of the altar, smearing it on with your finger, and pour the rest at the base of the altar. ¹³ Then take all the fat that covers the inner parts, also the gall bladder and two kidneys, and the fat on them, and burn them upon the altar. ¹⁴ Then take the body, including the skin and the dung, outside the camp and burn it as a sin offering.

^15-16 “Next, Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of one of the rams as it is killed. Its blood shall also be collected and sprinkled upon the altar. ¹⁷ Cut up the ram and wash off the entrails and the legs; place them with the head and the other pieces of the body, ¹⁸ and burn it all upon the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord, and very pleasant to him.

^19-20 “Now take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon its head as it is killed. Collect the blood and place some of it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, and upon their right thumbs and the big toes of their right feet; sprinkle the rest of the blood over the altar. ²¹ Then scrape off some of the blood from the altar and mix it with some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it upon Aaron and his sons and upon their clothes; and they and their clothing shall be sanctified to the Lord.

²² “Then take the fat of the ram, including the fat tail and the fat that covers the insides, also the gall bladder and the two kidneys and the fat surrounding them, and the right thigh—for this is the ram for ordination of Aaron and his sons— ²³ and one loaf of bread, one cake of shortening bread, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that was placed before the Lord: ²⁴ Place these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, to wave them in a gesture of offering to the Lord. ²⁵ Afterwards, take them from their hands and burn them on the altar as a fragrant burnt offering to him. ²⁶ Then take the breast of Aaron’s ordination ram and wave it before the Lord in a gesture of offering; afterwards, keep it for yourself.

²⁷ “Give the breast and thigh of the consecration ram ²⁸ to Aaron and his sons. The people of Israel must always contribute this portion of their sacrifices—whether peace offerings or thanksgiving offerings—as their contribution to the Lord.

²⁹ “These sacred garments of Aaron shall be preserved for the consecration of his son who succeeds him, from generation to generation, for his anointing ceremony. ³⁰ Whoever is the next High Priest after Aaron shall wear these clothes for seven days before beginning to minister in the Tabernacle and the Holy Place.

³¹ “Take the ram of consecration—the ram used in the ordination ceremony—and boil its meat in a sacred area. ³² Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat, also the bread in the basket, at the door of the Tabernacle. ³³ They alone shall eat those items used in their atonement (that is, in their consecration ceremony). The ordinary people shall not eat them, for these things are set apart and holy. ³⁴ If any of the meat or bread remains until the morning, burn it; it shall not be eaten, for it is holy.

³⁵ “This, then, is the way you shall ordain Aaron and his sons to their offices. This ordination shall go on for seven days. ³⁶ Every day you shall sacrifice a young bull as a sin offering for atonement; afterwards,^[w] purge the altar by making atonement for it; pour olive oil upon it to sanctify it. ³⁷ Make atonement for the altar and consecrate it to God every day for seven days. After this the altar shall be exceedingly holy, so that whatever touches it shall be set apart for God.^[x]

³⁸ “Each day offer two yearling lambs upon the altar, ³⁹ one in the morning and the other in the evening. ⁴⁰ With one of them offer 3 quarts of finely ground flour mixed with 2-1/2 pints of oil, pressed from olives; also 2-1/2 pints of wine, as an offering.

⁴¹ Offer the other lamb in the evening, along with the flour and the wine as in the morning, for a fragrant offering to the Lord, an offering made to the Lord by fire.

⁴² “This shall be a perpetual daily offering at the door of the Tabernacle before the Lord, where I will meet with you and speak with you. ⁴³ And I will meet with the people of Israel there, and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. ⁴⁴ Yes, I will sanctify the Tabernacle and the altar and Aaron and his sons who are my ministers, the priests. ⁴⁵ And I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, ⁴⁶ and they shall know that I am the Lord their God. I brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am Jehovah their God.

30 “Then make a small altar for burning incense. It shall be made from acacia wood. ² It is to be eighteen inches square and three feet high, with horns carved from the wood of the altar—they are not to be merely separate parts that are attached. ³ Overlay the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold molding around the entire altar. ⁴ Beneath the molding, on each of two sides, construct two gold rings to hold the carrying poles. ⁵ The poles are to be made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. ⁶ Place the altar just outside the veil, near the place of mercy that is above the Ark containing the Ten Commandments. I will meet with you there.

⁷ “Every morning when Aaron trims the lamps, he shall burn sweet spices on the altar, ⁸ and each evening when he lights the lamps he shall burn the incense before the Lord, and this shall go on from generation to generation. ⁹ Offer no unauthorized incense, burnt offerings, meal offerings, or wine offerings.

¹⁰ “Once a year Aaron must sanctify the altar,^[y] placing upon its horns the blood of the sin offering for atonement. This shall be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the Lord’s supremely holy altar.”

^11-12 And Jehovah said to Moses, “Whenever you take a census of the people of Israel, each man who is numbered shall give a ransom to the Lord for his soul, so that there will be no plague among the people when you number them. ¹³ His payment shall be half a dollar.^{[z] 14} All who have reached their twentieth birthday shall give this offering. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less, for it is an offering to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. ¹⁶ Use this money for the care of the Tabernacle; it is to bring you, the people of Israel, to the Lord’s attention, and to make atonement for you.”

^17-18 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a bronze basin with a bronze pedestal. Put it between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet there, ²⁰ when they go into the Tabernacle to appear before the Lord, or when they approach the altar to burn offerings to the Lord. They must always wash before doing so, or they will die. ²¹ These are instructions to Aaron and his sons from generation to generation.”

^22-23 Then the Lord told Moses to collect the choicest of spices—eighteen pounds of pure myrrh; half as much of cinnamon and of sweet cane; ²⁴ the same amount of cassia as of myrrh; and 1-1/2 gallons of olive oil. ²⁵ The Lord instructed skilled perfume makers to compound all this into a holy anointing oil.

^26-27 “Use this,” he said, “to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark, the table and all its instruments, the lampstand and all its utensils, the incense altar, ²⁸ the burnt offering altar with all its instruments, and the washbasin and its pedestal. ²⁹ Sanctify them, to make them holy; whatever touches them shall become holy.^{[aa] 30} Use it to anoint Aaron and his sons, sanctifying them so that they can minister to me as priests. ³¹ And say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall always be my holy anointing oil. ³² It must never be poured upon an ordinary person, and you shall never make any of it yourselves, for it is holy, and it shall be treated by you as holy. ³³ Anyone who compounds any incense like it or puts any of it upon someone who is not a priest shall be excommunicated.’”

³⁴ These were the Lord’s directions to Moses concerning the incense: “Use sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, weighing out the same amounts of each, ³⁵ using the usual techniques of the incense maker, and seasoning it with salt; it shall be a pure and holy incense. ³⁶ Beat some of it very fine and put some of it in front of the Ark where I meet with you in the Tabernacle; this incense is most holy. ³⁷ Never make it for yourselves, for it is reserved for the Lord and you must treat it as holy. ³⁸ Anyone making it for himself shall be excommunicated.”

31 ^1-2 The Lord also said to Moses, “See, I have appointed Bezalel (son of Uri, and grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah), ³ and have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and skill in constructing the Tabernacle and everything it contains. ⁴ He is highly capable as an artistic designer of objects made of gold, silver, and bronze. ⁵ He is skilled, too, as a jeweler and in carving wood.

⁶ “And I have appointed Oholiab (son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan) to be his assistant; moreover, I have given special skill to all who are known as experts, so that they can make all the things I have instructed you to make: ⁷ the Tabernacle; the Ark with the place of mercy upon it; all the furnishings of the Tabernacle; ⁸ the table and its instruments; the pure gold lampstand with its instruments; the altar of incense; ⁹ the burnt offering altar with its instruments; the laver and its pedestal; ¹⁰ the beautifully made, holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons, so that they can minister as priests; ¹¹ the anointing oil; and the sweet-spice incense for the Holy Place. They are to follow exactly the directions I gave you.”

^12-13 The Lord then gave these further instructions to Moses: “Tell the people of Israel to rest on my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a reminder of the covenant between me and you forever; it helps you to remember that I am Jehovah who makes you holy. ^14-15 Yes, rest on the Sabbath, for it is holy. Anyone who does not obey this command must die; anyone who does any work on that day shall be killed. ^16-17 Work six days only, for the seventh day is a special day to remind you of my covenant—a weekly reminder forever of my promises to the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and rested on the seventh day, and was refreshed.”

¹⁸ Then, as God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God.

32 When Moses didn’t come back down the mountain right away, the people went to Aaron. “Look,” they said, “make us a god to lead us, for this fellow Moses who brought us here from Egypt has disappeared; something must have happened to him.”

^2-3 “Give me your gold earrings,” Aaron replied.

So they all did—men and women, boys and girls. ⁴ Aaron melted the gold, then molded and tooled it into the form of a calf. The people exclaimed, “O Israel, this is the god that brought you out of Egypt!”

⁵ When Aaron saw how happy the people were about it, he built an altar before the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah!”

⁶ So they were up early the next morning and began offering burnt offerings and peace offerings to the calf idol; afterwards they sat down to feast and drink at a wild party, followed by sexual immorality.

⁷ Then the Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go on down, for your people that you brought from Egypt have defiled themselves, ⁸ and have quickly abandoned all my laws. They have molded themselves a calf, and worshiped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of Egypt.’”

⁹ Then the Lord said, “I have seen what a stubborn, rebellious lot these people are. ¹⁰ Now leave me alone and my anger shall blaze out against them and destroy them all; and I will make you, Moses, into a great nation instead of them.”

¹¹ But Moses begged God not to do it. “Lord,” he pleaded, “why is your anger so hot against your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and mighty miracles? ¹² Do you want the Egyptians to say, ‘God tricked them into coming to the mountains so that he could slay them, destroying them from off the face of the earth’? Turn back from your fierce wrath. Turn away from this terrible evil you are planning against your people! ¹³ Remember your promise to your servants—to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. For you swore by your own self, ‘I will multiply your posterity as the stars of heaven, and I will give them all of this land I have promised to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

¹⁴ So the Lord changed his mind and spared them.

¹⁵ Then Moses went down the mountain, holding in his hands the Ten Commandments written on both sides of two stone tablets. ¹⁶ (God himself had written the commandments on the tablets.)

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the noise below them, of all the people shouting, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds as if they are preparing for war!”

¹⁸ But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a cry of victory or defeat, but singing.”

¹⁹ When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and in terrible anger he threw the tablets to the ground, and they lay broken at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf and melted it in the fire, and when the metal cooled, he ground it into powder and spread it upon the water and made the people drink it.

²¹ Then he turned to Aaron. “What in the world did the people do to you,” he demanded, “to make you bring such a terrible sin upon them?”

²² “Don’t get so upset,” Aaron replied. “You know these people and what a wicked bunch they are. ²³ They said to me, ‘Make us a god to lead us, for something has happened to this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt.’ ²⁴ Well, I told them, ‘Bring me your gold earrings.’ So they brought them to me and I threw them into the fire, and . . . well . . . this calf came out!”

²⁵ When Moses saw that the people had been committing adultery—at Aaron’s encouragement, and much to the amusement of their enemies— ²⁶ he stood at the camp entrance and shouted, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come over here and join me.” And all the Levites came.

²⁷ He told them, “Jehovah the God of Israel says, ‘Get your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other and kill even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.’” ²⁸ So they did, and about three thousand men died that day.

²⁹ Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers; now he will give you a great blessing.”

³⁰ The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin, but I will return to the Lord on the mountain—perhaps I will be able to obtain his forgiveness for you.”

³¹ So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have sinned a great sin and have made themselves gods of gold. ³² Yet now if you will only forgive their sin—and if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”^[ab]

³³ And the Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me will be blotted out of my book. ³⁴ And now go, lead the people to the place I told you about, and I assure you that my Angel shall travel on ahead of you; however, when I come to visit these people, I will punish them for their sins.”

³⁵ And the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped Aaron’s calf.

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Lead these people you brought from Egypt to the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I said, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ ² I will send an Angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ³ It is a land ‘flowing with milk and honey’; but I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn, unruly people, and I would be tempted to destroy you along the way.”

⁴ When the people heard these stern words, they went into mourning and stripped themselves of their jewelry and ornaments.

⁵ For the Lord had told Moses to tell them, “You are an unruly, stubborn people. If I were there among you for even a moment, I would exterminate you. Remove your jewelry and ornaments until I decide what to do with you.” ⁶ So, after that, they wore no jewelry.

⁷ Moses always erected the sacred tent (the “Tent for Meeting with God,” he called it) far outside the camp, and everyone who wanted to consult with Jehovah went out there.

⁸ Whenever Moses went to the Tabernacle, all the people, when they saw it, stood and would rise and stand in their tent doors. ⁹ As he entered, the pillar of cloud would come down and stand at the door while the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ Then all the people worshiped from their tent doors, bowing low to the pillar of cloud. ¹¹ Inside the tent the Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face, as a man speaks to his friend. Afterwards Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua (son of Nun), stayed behind in the Tabernacle.

¹² Moses talked there with the Lord and said to him, “You have been telling me, ‘Take these people to the Promised Land,’ but you haven’t told me whom you will send with me. You say you are my friend,^[ac] and that I have found favor before you; ¹³ please, if this is really so, guide me clearly along the way you want me to travel^[ad] so that I will understand you and walk acceptably before you. For don’t forget that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ And the Lord replied, “I myself will go with you and give you success.”

¹⁵ For Moses had said, “If you aren’t going with us, don’t let us move a step from this place. ¹⁶ If you don’t go with us, who will ever know that I and my people have found favor with you, and that we are different from any other people upon the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord had replied to Moses, “Yes, I will do what you have asked, for you have certainly found favor with me, and you are my friend.”^[ae]

¹⁸ Then Moses asked to see God’s glory.

¹⁹ The Lord replied, “I will make my goodness pass before you, and I will announce to you the meaning of my name^[af] Jehovah, the Lord. I show kindness and mercy to anyone I want to. ²⁰ But you may not see the glory of my face, for man may not see me and live. ²¹ However, stand here on this rock beside me. ²² And when my glory goes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed. ²³ Then I will remove my hand, and you shall see my back but not my face.”

34 The Lord told Moses, “Prepare two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write upon them the same commands that were on the tablets you broke. ² Be ready in the morning to come up into Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. ³ No one shall come with you and no one must be anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds feed close to the mountain.”

⁴ So Moses took two tablets of stone like the first ones, and was up early and climbed Mount Sinai, as the Lord had told him to, taking the two stone tablets in his hands.

^5-6 Then the Lord descended in the form of a pillar of cloud and stood there with him, and passed in front of him and announced the meaning of his name.^[ag] “I am Jehovah, the merciful and gracious God,” he said, “slow to anger and rich in steadfast love and truth. ⁷ I, Jehovah, show this steadfast love to many thousands by forgiving their sins;^[ah] or else I refuse to clear the guilty, and require that a father’s sins be punished in the sons and grandsons, and even later generations.”

⁸ Moses fell down before the Lord and worshiped. ⁹ And he said, “If it is true that I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, then please go with us to the Promised Land; yes, it is an unruly, stubborn people, but pardon our iniquity and our sins, and accept us as your own.”

¹⁰ The Lord replied, “All right, this is the contract I am going to make with you. I will do miracles such as have never been done before anywhere in all the earth, and all the people of Israel shall see the power of the Lord—the terrible power I will display through you. ¹¹ Your part of the agreement is to obey all of my commandments; then I will drive out from before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

¹² “Be very, very careful never to compromise with the people there in the land where you are going, for if you do, you will soon be following their evil ways. ¹³ Instead, you must break down their heathen altars, smash the obelisks they worship, and cut down their shameful idols.^{[ai] 14} For you must worship no other gods, but only Jehovah, for he is a God who claims absolute loyalty and exclusive devotion.

¹⁵ “No, do not make a peace treaty of any kind with the people living in the land, for they are spiritual prostitutes, committing adultery against me by sacrificing to their gods.^[aj] If you become friendly with them and one of them invites you to go with him and worship his idol, you are apt to do it. ¹⁶ And you would accept their daughters, who worship other gods, as wives for your sons—and then your sons would commit adultery against me by worshiping their wives’ gods. ¹⁷ You must have nothing to do with idols.

¹⁸ “Be sure to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, just as I instructed you, at the dates appointed each year in March; that was the month you left Egypt.

¹⁹ “Every firstborn male^[ak] is mine—cattle, sheep, and goats. ²⁰ The firstborn colt of a donkey may be redeemed by giving a lamb in its place. If you decide not to redeem it, then its neck must be broken. But your sons must all be redeemed. And no one shall appear before me without a gift.

²¹ “Even during plowing and harvest times, work only six days, and rest on the seventh.

²² “And you must remember to celebrate these three annual religious festivals: the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of the First Wheat, and the Harvest Festival. ²³ On each of these three occasions all the men and boys of Israel shall appear before the Lord. ²⁴ No one will attack and conquer your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God those three times each year. For I will drive out the nations from before you and enlarge your boundaries.

²⁵ “You must not use leavened bread with your sacrifices to me, and none of the meat of the Passover lamb may be kept over until the following morning. ²⁶ And you must bring the best of the first of each year’s crop to the Tabernacle of the Lord your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these laws^[al] that I have given you, for they represent the terms of my covenant with you and with Israel.”

²⁸ Moses was up on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, and in all that time he neither ate nor drank. At that time God^[am] wrote out the Covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.

²⁹ Moses didn’t realize as he came back down the mountain with the tablets that his face glowed from being in the presence of God. ³⁰ Because of this radiance upon his face, Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to come near him.

³¹ But Moses called them over to him, and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation came and talked with him. ³² Afterwards, all the people came to him, and he gave them the commandments the Lord had given him upon the mountain. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face;^{[an] 34} but whenever he went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he removed the veil until he came out again; then he would pass on to the people whatever instructions God had given him, ³⁵ and the people would see his face aglow. Afterwards he would put the veil on again until he returned to speak with God.

35 Now Moses called a meeting of all the people and told them, “These are the laws of Jehovah you must obey.

² “Work six days only; the seventh day is a day of solemn rest, a holy day to be used to worship Jehovah; anyone working on that day must die. ³ Don’t even light the fires in your homes that day.”

⁴ Then Moses said to all the people, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ^5-9 All of you who wish to, all those with generous hearts, may bring these offerings to Jehovah:

^10-19 “Come, all of you who are skilled craftsmen having special talents, and construct what God has commanded us:

²⁰ So all the people went to their tents to prepare their gifts. ²¹ Those whose hearts were stirred by God’s Spirit returned with their offerings of materials for the Tabernacle, its equipment, and for the holy garments. ²² Both men and women came, all who had willing hearts. They brought to the Lord their offerings of gold, jewelry—earrings, rings from their fingers, necklaces—and gold objects of every kind. ²³ Others brought blue, purple, and scarlet cloth made from the fine-twined linen or goats’ hair; and rams’ skins dyed red, and specially treated goatskins. ²⁴ Others brought silver and bronze as their offering to the Lord; and some brought the acacia wood needed in the construction.

²⁵ The women skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread and cloth, and fine-twined linen, and brought them in. ²⁶ Some other women gladly used their special skill to spin the goats’ hair into cloth. ²⁷ The leaders brought onyx stones to be used for the ephod and the chestpiece; ²⁸ and spices, and oil—for the light, and for compounding the anointing oil and the sweet incense. ²⁹ So the people of Israel—every man and woman who wanted to assist in the work given to them by the Lord’s command to Moses—brought their freewill offerings to him.

^30-31 And Moses told them, “Jehovah has specifically appointed Bezalel (the son of Uri and grandson of Hur of the tribe of Judah) as general superintendent of the project. ³² He will be able to create beautiful workmanship from gold, silver, and bronze; ³³ he can cut and set stones like a jeweler and can do beautiful carving; in fact, he has every needed skill. ³⁴ And God has made him and Oholiab gifted teachers of their skills to others. (Oholiab is the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.) ³⁵ God has filled them both with unusual skills as jewelers, carpenters, embroidery designers in blue, purple, and scarlet on linen backgrounds, and as weavers—they excel in all the crafts we will be needing in the work.

36 ^1-2 “All the other craftsmen with God-given abilities are to assist Bezalel and Oholiab in constructing and furnishing the Tabernacle.” So Moses told Bezalel and Oholiab and all others who felt called to the work to begin. ³ Moses gave them the materials donated by the people and additional gifts were received each morning.

^4-7 But finally the workmen all left their task to meet with Moses and told him, “We have more than enough materials on hand now to complete the job!” So Moses sent a message throughout the camp announcing that no more donations were needed. Then at last the people were restrained from bringing more!

^8-9 The skilled weavers first made ten sheets from fine linen, then embroidered into them blue, purple, and scarlet Guardian Angels. Each sheet was 42 feet long and 6 feet wide. ¹⁰ Five of these sheets were attached end to end, then five others similarly attached, forming two long roofsheets. ^11-12 Fifty blue ribbons were looped along the edges of these two long sheets, each loop being opposite its mate on the other long sheet. ¹³ Then fifty clasps of gold were made to connect the loops, thus tying the two long sheets together to form the ceiling of the Tabernacle.

^14-15 Above the ceiling was a second layer formed by eleven draperies made of goats’ hair (uniformly 45 feet long and 6 feet wide). ¹⁶ Bezalel coupled five of these draperies together to make one long piece, and six others to make another long piece. ¹⁷ Then he made fifty loops along the end of each ¹⁸ and fifty small bronze clasps to couple the loops so that the draperies were firmly attached to each other.

¹⁹ The top layer of the roof was made of rams’ skins, dyed red, and tanned goatskins.

²⁰ For the sides of the Tabernacle he used frames of acacia wood standing on end. ²¹ The height of each frame was 15 feet and the width 2-1/4 feet. ²² Each frame had two clasps joining it to the next.