Oholiab and Bezalel

31 The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name (A)Bezalel the son of Uri, son of (B)Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have (C)filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him (D)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men (E)ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: (F)the tent of meeting, and (G)the ark of the testimony, and (H)the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, (I)the table and its utensils, and (J)the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and (K)the altar of incense, and (L)the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and (M)the basin and its stand, 10 and (N)the finely worked garments,[a] the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and (O)the anointing oil and the fragrant (P)incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

The Sabbath

12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. (Q)Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 (R)Six days shall work be done, but (S)the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. (T)Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 (U)It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that (V)in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and (W)on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the (X)two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with (Y)the finger of God.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 31:10 Or garments for worship

31 The Eternal One instructed Moses.

Eternal One: Look, I have a special calling upon one of the sons of Judah. His name is Bezalel (the son of Uri, son of Hur). I have filled him with God’s Spirit, gifted him with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skills with a variety of crafts. He is an expert designer and works well with gold, silver, and bronze. He is able to cut and set gems, work with wood, and skillfully perform any craft needed to help construct the congregation tent and its furnishings. I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan to assist Bezalel. I have gifted all of Israel’s artisans with the skills needed to build everything I have instructed you: the congregation tent, the covenant chest, the seat of mercy that covers it, all the furnishings for the tent, the table and its accessories, the pure gold lampstand with all its tools, the altar of incense, the altar for burnt offering with all its utensils, the washing basin and its stand, 10 the woven garments, Aaron’s sacred priestly garments, the clothes worn by Aaron’s sons when they serve as My priests, 11 the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense to be used in the holy place. The craftsmen are to design and build all of these exactly as I have instructed you.

12 The Eternal One instructed Moses regarding the Sabbath.

Eternal One: 13 Speak to the Israelites and tell them, “You must be careful to observe My Sabbaths. For the Sabbath Day serves as a sign between Me and you for all generations, so that you will know I am the Eternal One who has set you apart from all the other nations. 14 Keep the Sabbath because it is a sacred day for you, different from all other days. Anyone who violates the Sabbath or defiles it must be executed; anyone who works on the Sabbath will be cut off from the community. 15 You have six days out of every week to do whatever work is needed, but the seventh day is the Sabbath, a day set aside for rest and only rest. It is sacred to Me. Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be executed. 16 Therefore, the Israelites are to keep the Sabbath and celebrate it throughout all their generations as an everlasting covenant. 17 The Sabbath exists as a sign forever of the covenant between Me and the people of Israel for I made heaven and earth in six days, but then on the seventh day I stopped My work and was refreshed.”

18 When God had finished giving these instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two stone tablets as a witness to their agreement inscribed by the very finger of God.