Exodus 31
Lexham English Bible
Provision of Skilled People
31 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “See, I have called by name[a] Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and with skill[b] and with knowledge and with every kind of craftsmanship, 4 to devise designs, to work with gold and with silver and with bronze, 5 and in stonecutting for setting and in cutting wood, for doing every kind of craftsmanship. 6 And, look, I have given with him Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, and I have put skill in the heart of all the skilled of heart, and they will make all that I have commanded you— 7 the tent of assembly and the ark of the testimony and the atonement cover that is on it and all the equipment of the tent, 8 and the table and all its equipment, and the pure gold lampstand and all its equipment, and the incense altar, 9 and the altar of burnt offering and all its equipment, and the basin and its stand, 10 and the garments of woven material, and the garments of the sanctuary[c] for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons to serve as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the sanctuary. According to all that I have commanded you, they will make it.
Provision of Rest from Work
12 And Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 13 “And you, speak to the Israelites,[d] saying, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, because it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, in order to know that I am Yahweh, who consecrates you. 14 And you must keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you; defilers[e] of it will surely be put to death, because anyone who does work on it—that person will be cut off from among his people. 15 On six days work can be done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of complete rest,[f] a holy day[g] for Yahweh; anyone doing work on the Sabbath day will surely be put to death. 16 The Israelites[h] will pay attention to the Sabbath in order to fulfill the Sabbath[i] throughout their generations as a lasting covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the Israelites[j] forever, because in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh he ceased[k] and recovered.”[l]
18 And when he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave to Moses the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets, written with the finger of God.
Footnotes
- Exodus 31:2 In other words, “specifically chosen”
- Exodus 31:3 Or “understanding,” “discernment,” “cleverness”
- Exodus 31:10 Literally “the garments of the holiness” or “the holy garments”
- Exodus 31:13 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 31:14 Or “profaners,” those who treat it as common
- Exodus 31:15 Literally “a Sabbath of ‘Sabbathation.’” “Sabbathation” is not a real word, but devised as an attempt to convey the sounds of the related nouns in the Hebrew phrase
- Exodus 31:15 Literally “holiness”
- Exodus 31:16 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 31:16 Or “keep the Sabbath to do/observe the Sabbath”
- Exodus 31:17 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 31:17 Or “rested”
- Exodus 31:17 Or “breathed freely,” “got his breath”
Exodus 31
New King James Version
Artisans for Building the Tabernacle(A)
31 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 (B)“See, I have called by name Bezalel the (C)son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have (D)filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him (E)Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the (F)gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 (G)the tabernacle of meeting, (H)the ark of the Testimony and (I)the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle— 8 (J)the table and its utensils, (K)the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, 9 (L)the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and (M)the laver and its base— 10 (N)the [a]garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, 11 (O)and the anointing oil and (P)sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”
The Sabbath Law
12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: (Q)‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who (R)sanctifies[b] you. 14 (S)You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who [c]profanes it shall surely be put to death; for (T)whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Work shall be done for (U)six days, but the (V)seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is (W)a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for (X)in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”
18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses (Y)two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
Footnotes
- Exodus 31:10 Or woven garments
- Exodus 31:13 consecrates
- Exodus 31:14 defiles
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
