The Tabernacle Erected

40 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “^(A)On the first day of the first month you shall set up the ^[a]tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ^3 (B)You shall place the ark of the testimony there, and you shall screen off the ark with the veil. ⁴ Then you shall ^(C)bring in the table and ^(D)arrange ^[b]what belongs on it; and you shall ^(E)bring in the lampstand and ^[c]mount its lamps. ⁵ You shall also ^(F)set the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the testimony, and set up the curtain for the doorway to the tabernacle. ⁶ And you shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ⁷ Then you shall ^(G)set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water ^[d]in it. ⁸ You shall also set up the courtyard all around and ^[e]hang up the curtain for the gate of the courtyard. ⁹ Then you shall take the anointing oil and ^(H)anoint the tabernacle and everything that is in it, and consecrate it and all its ^[f]furnishings; and it shall be holy. ¹⁰ You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and ^(I)the altar shall be most holy. ¹¹ And you shall anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. ¹² Then you shall ^(J)bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. ¹³ And ^(K)you shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may serve as a priest to Me. ¹⁴ You shall also bring his sons and put tunics on them; ¹⁵ and you shall anoint them just as you have anointed their father, so that they may serve as priests to Me; and their anointing will ^[g]qualify them for a ^(L)permanent priesthood throughout their generations.” ¹⁶ So Moses did these things; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹⁷ Now ^(M)in the first month ^[h]of the second year, on the first day of the month, the ^[i]tabernacle was erected. ¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle and ^[j]laid its bases, and set up its boards, and ^[k]inserted its bars, and erected its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent ^[l]on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ Then he took ^(N)the testimony and put it into the ark, and ^[m]attached the poles to the ark, and put the ^[n]atoning cover ^[o]on top of the ark. ²¹ He then brought the ark into the tabernacle, and ^(O)set up a veil for the covering, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²² He also ^(P)put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. ²³ And he set the arrangement of ^(Q)bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁴ Then he placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. ²⁵ And he ^(R)lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁶ Then he ^(S)placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil; ²⁷ and he ^(T)burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸ Then he set up the curtain for the doorway of the tabernacle. ²⁹ And he ^(U)set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and ^(V)offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰ He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing. ^31 (W)From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. ³² When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ And he ^(X)erected the courtyard all around the ^[p]tabernacle and the altar, and ^[q]hung up the curtain for the gate of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

^34 (Y)Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the ^(Z)glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses ^(AA)was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Throughout their journeys, ^(AB)whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; ³⁷ but ^(AC)if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. ³⁸ For throughout their journeys, ^(AD)the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.