Exodus 25-28
English Standard Version
Contributions for the Sanctuary
25 The Lord said to Moses, 2 (A)“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From (B)every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. 3 And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4 (C)blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair, 5 tanned (D)rams' skins, goatskins,[a] acacia wood, 6 (E)oil for the lamps, (F)spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the (G)ephod and for the breastpiece. 8 And let them make me a (H)sanctuary, that (I)I may dwell in their midst. 9 (J)Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the (K)tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.
The Ark of the Covenant
10 (L)“They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits[b] and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 You shall overlay it with (M)pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. 12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its (N)four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. 13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. 15 The (O)poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 (P)And you shall put into the ark the (Q)testimony that I shall give you.
17 (R)“You shall make a mercy seat[c] of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of (S)hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. (T)Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. 20 (U)The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. 21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22 (V)There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from (W)between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.
The Table for Bread
23 (X)“You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 24 You shall overlay it with (Y)pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. 25 And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth[d] wide, and a molding of gold around the rim. 26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 27 Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as (Z)holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these. 29 And you shall make its plates and (AA)dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. 30 And you shall set the (AB)bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.
The Golden Lampstand
31 (AC)“You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. 32 And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 33 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. 34 And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, 35 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. 36 Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. 37 You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps (AD)shall be set up so as (AE)to give light on the space in front of it. 38 Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent[e] of pure gold. 40 And (AF)see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.
The Tabernacle
26 “Moreover, (AG)you shall make the (AH)tabernacle with ten curtains of (AI)fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim (AJ)skillfully worked into them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits,[f] and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 5 Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one another. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.
7 “You shall also make (AK)curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make. 8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains shall be the same size. 9 You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent. 10 You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
11 “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole. 12 And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and that side, to cover it. 14 (AL)And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned (AM)rams' skins[g] and a covering of goatskins on top.
15 “You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 17 There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. 18 You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side; 19 and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons; 20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames, 21 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame. 22 And for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames. 23 And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear; 24 they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners. 25 And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame.
26 “You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for (AN)holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle (AO)according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.
31 (AP)“And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and (AQ)fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim (AR)skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang (AS)the veil from the clasps, and bring (AT)the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 (AU)You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And (AV)you shall set the table outside the veil, and the (AW)lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.
36 “You shall make a (AX)screen for the entrance of the tent, of (AY)blue and purple and scarlet yarns and (AZ)fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.
The Bronze Altar
27 “You shall make the (BA)altar of acacia wood, five cubits[h] long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. 2 And you shall make (BB)horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and (BC)you shall overlay it with bronze. 3 You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and (BD)forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. 6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 And the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 You shall make it hollow, with boards. (BE)As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.
The Court of the Tabernacle
9 (BF)“You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. 10 Its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, its pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. 13 The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 On the other side the hangings shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 16 For the gate of the court there shall be (BG)a screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases. 17 All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. 18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.
Oil for the Lamp
20 (BH)“You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 (BI)In the tent of meeting, (BJ)outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.
The Priests' Garments
28 “Then bring near to you (BK)Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, (BL)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 (BM)And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the (BN)skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4 These are the garments that they shall make: a (BO)breastpiece, an (BP)ephod, (BQ)a robe, (BR)a coat of checker work, (BS)a turban, and (BT)a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. 5 They shall receive (BU)gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.
6 (BV)“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. 8 And the (BW)skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. 12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And (BX)Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders (BY)for remembrance. 13 You shall make settings of gold filigree, 14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.
15 (BZ)“You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. 16 It shall be square and doubled, a span[i] its length and a span its breadth. 17 (CA)You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius,[j] topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; 18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. 21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 23 And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 25 The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the (CB)skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29 (CC)So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular (CD)remembrance before the Lord. 30 And in the breastpiece of judgment (CE)you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.
31 (CF)“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment,[k] so that it may not tear. 33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. 35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.
36 “You shall make (CG)a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, (CH)‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall (CI)bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
39 “You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.
40 (CJ)“For Aaron's sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them (CK)for glory and beauty. 41 And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall (CL)anoint them and ordain them and (CM)consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 42 You shall make for them (CN)linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; 43 and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they (CO)bear guilt and die. (CP)This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.
Footnotes
- Exodus 25:5 Uncertain; possibly dolphin skins, or dugong skins; compare 26:14
- Exodus 25:10 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Exodus 25:17 Or cover
- Exodus 25:25 A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters
- Exodus 25:39 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
- Exodus 26:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Exodus 26:14 Or of rams' skins dyed red
- Exodus 27:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Exodus 28:16 A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters
- Exodus 28:17 The identity of some of these stones is uncertain
- Exodus 28:32 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; possibly coat of mail
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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