¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle; he laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars; ¹⁹ and he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ And he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy seat above on the ark; ²¹ and he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony; as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²² And he put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, ²³ and set the bread in order on it before the Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁴ And he put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, ²⁵ and set up the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁶ And he put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, ²⁷ and burnt fragrant incense upon it; as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸ And he put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ²⁹ And he set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the cereal offering; as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰ And he set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, ³¹ with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet; ³² when they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed; as the Lord commanded Moses. ³³ And he erected the court round the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

The Cloud and the Glory

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would go onward; ³⁷ but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not go onward till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.