The Skilled Craftsmen

31 (A)Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the (B)son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have (C)filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of [a]craftsmanship, to create [b]artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in [c]bronze, and in the cutting of stones [d]for settings, and in the carving of wood, so that he may work in all kinds of [e]craftsmanship. And behold, I Myself have [f]appointed with him (D)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are [g]skillful I have put [h]skill, so that they may make everything that I have commanded you: (E)the tent of meeting, (F)the ark of testimony, (G)the [i]atoning cover that is on it, and all the furniture of the tent, (H)the table and its [j]utensils, the (I)pure gold lampstand with all its [k]utensils, and (J)the altar of incense, (K)the altar of burnt offering with all its [l]utensils, and (L)the basin and its stand, 10 the [m](M)woven garments as well: the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, with which to [n]carry out their priesthood; 11 (N)the anointing oil also, and the (O)fragrant incense for the Holy Place, they are to make them according to everything that I have commanded you.”

The Sign of the Sabbath

12 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “Now as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘(P)You must keep My Sabbaths; for this is (Q)a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 Therefore you are to keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. (R)Everyone who profanes it must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 (S)For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a (T)Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; (U)whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 So the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to [o]celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a permanent covenant.’ 17 (V)It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; (W)for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

18 When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses (X)the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, (Y)written by the finger of God.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 31:3 Or workmanship
  2. Exodus 31:4 Lit devices
  3. Exodus 31:4 Or copper
  4. Exodus 31:5 Lit to fill in (for a setting)
  5. Exodus 31:5 Or workmanship
  6. Exodus 31:6 Lit given
  7. Exodus 31:6 Lit wise of heart
  8. Exodus 31:6 Lit wisdom
  9. Exodus 31:7 Also called mercy seat; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
  10. Exodus 31:8 Or vessels
  11. Exodus 31:8 Or vessels
  12. Exodus 31:9 Or vessels
  13. Exodus 31:10 Or service garments
  14. Exodus 31:10 Lit minister as priests
  15. Exodus 31:16 Lit perform

Provision of Skilled People

31 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name[a] Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. 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, to devise designs, to work with gold and with silver and with bronze, and in stonecutting for setting and in cutting wood, for doing every kind of craftsmanship. 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— 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, and the table and all its equipment, and the pure gold lampstand and all its equipment, and the incense altar, 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

  1. Exodus 31:2 In other words, “specifically chosen”
  2. Exodus 31:3 Or “understanding,” “discernment,” “cleverness”
  3. Exodus 31:10 Literally “the garments of the holiness” or “the holy garments”
  4. Exodus 31:13 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  5. Exodus 31:14 Or “profaners,” those who treat it as common
  6. 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
  7. Exodus 31:15 Literally “holiness”
  8. Exodus 31:16 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  9. Exodus 31:16 Or “keep the Sabbath to do/observe the Sabbath”
  10. Exodus 31:17 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  11. Exodus 31:17 Or “rested”
  12. Exodus 31:17 Or “breathed freely,” “got his breath”