The Tabernacle

26 “Moreover, (A)you shall make the (B)tabernacle with ten curtains of (C)fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim (D)skillfully worked into them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits,[a] and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 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. 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. 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.

“You shall also make (E)curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make. 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. 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 (F)And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned (G)rams' skins[b] 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 (H)holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle (I)according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

31 (J)“And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and (K)fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim (L)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 (M)the veil from the clasps, and bring (N)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 (O)You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And (P)you shall set the table outside the veil, and the (Q)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 (R)screen for the entrance of the tent, of (S)blue and purple and scarlet yarns and (T)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 (U)altar of acacia wood, five cubits[c] long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make (V)horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and (W)you shall overlay it with bronze. You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and (X)forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. 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. And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 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. You shall make it hollow, with boards. (Y)As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.

The Court of the Tabernacle

(Z)“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 (AA)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 (AB)“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 (AC)In the tent of meeting, (AD)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.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 26:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  2. Exodus 26:14 Or of rams' skins dyed red
  3. Exodus 27:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters

The Tabernacle(A)

26 “Make the tabernacle(B) with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim(C) woven into them by a skilled worker. All the curtains are to be the same size(D)—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.[a] Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.(E)

“Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. All eleven curtains are to be the same size(F)—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.[b] Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. 10 Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 11 Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit.(G) 12 As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle. 13 The tent curtains will be a cubit[c] longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it. 14 Make for the tent a covering(H) of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.[d](I)

15 “Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 16 Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,[e] 17 with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 18 Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 19 and make forty silver bases(J) to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 20 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames 21 and forty silver bases(K)—two under each frame. 22 Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 23 and make two frames for the corners at the far end. 24 At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that. 25 So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.

26 “Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 27 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 28 The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames. 29 Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.

30 “Set up the tabernacle(L) according to the plan(M) shown you on the mountain.

31 “Make a curtain(N) of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim(O) woven into it by a skilled worker. 32 Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.(P) 33 Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain.(Q) The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.(R) 34 Put the atonement cover(S) on the ark of the covenant law in the Most Holy Place. 35 Place the table(T) outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand(U) opposite it on the south side.

36 “For the entrance to the tent make a curtain(V) of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer.(W) 37 Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them.

The Altar of Burnt Offering(X)

27 “Build an altar(Y) of acacia wood, three cubits[f] high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.[g] Make a horn(Z) at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls,(AA) meat forks and firepans.(AB) Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze.(AC) The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried.(AD) Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown(AE) on the mountain.

The Courtyard(AF)

“Make a courtyard(AG) for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits[h] long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

12 “The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits[i] wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. 13 On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits[j] long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.

16 “For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain(AH) twenty cubits[k] long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer(AI)—with four posts and four bases. 17 All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases. 18 The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide,[l] with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits[m] high, and with bronze bases. 19 All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.

Oil for the Lampstand(AJ)

20 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil(AK) of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. 21 In the tent of meeting,(AL) outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law,(AM) Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps(AN) burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance(AO) among the Israelites for the generations to come.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 26:2 That is, about 42 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 13 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  2. Exodus 26:8 That is, about 45 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 13.5 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  3. Exodus 26:13 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  4. Exodus 26:14 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals (see 25:5)
  5. Exodus 26:16 That is, about 15 feet long and 2 1/4 feet wide or about 4.5 meters long and 68 centimeters wide
  6. Exodus 27:1 That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters
  7. Exodus 27:1 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters long and wide
  8. Exodus 27:9 That is, about 150 feet or about 45 meters; also in verse 11
  9. Exodus 27:12 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters; also in verse 13
  10. Exodus 27:14 That is, about 23 feet or about 6.8 meters; also in verse 15
  11. Exodus 27:16 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters
  12. Exodus 27:18 That is, about 150 feet long and 75 feet wide or about 45 meters long and 23 meters wide
  13. Exodus 27:18 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters