Israel at Sinai

19 In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai. ² After they departed from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.^(A)

³ Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called^(B) to him from the mountain: “This is what you must say to the house of Jacob, and explain to the Israelites: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me.^{(C) 5} Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant,^(D) you will be My own possession^(E) out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, ⁶ and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.’^(F) These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

⁷ After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸ Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.”^(G) So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud,^(H) so that the people will hear when I speak^(I) with you and will always believe you.” Then Moses reported the people’s words to the Lord. ¹⁰ And the Lord told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes^{(J) 11} and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.^{(K) 12} Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain will be put to death.^{(L) 13} No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows. No animal or man will live. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.”

¹⁴ Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵ He said to the people, “Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women.”

¹⁶ On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a loud trumpet sound, so that all the people in the camp shuddered. ¹⁷ Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire.^(M) Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace,^(N) and the whole mountain shook violently.^{(O) 19} As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.^(P)

²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai at the top of the mountain. Then the Lord summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and he went up. ²¹ The Lord directed Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will die.^{(Q) 22} Even the priests who come near the Lord must purify themselves or the Lord will break out in anger against them.”^(R)

²³ But Moses responded to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since You warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy.” ²⁴ And the Lord replied to him, “Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or He will break out in anger against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Ten Commandments

20 Then God spoke all these words:

The People’s Reaction

¹⁸ All the people witnessed^[a] the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it^[b] they trembled and stood at a distance.^{(AI) 19} “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”^(AJ)

²⁰ Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear Him and will not^[c] sin.”^{(AK) 21} And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.^(AL)

Moses Receives Additional Laws

²² Then the Lord told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.^{(AM) 23} You must not make gods of silver to rival Me; you must not make gods of gold for yourselves.^[d](AN)

²⁴ “You must make an earthen altar for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats, as well as your cattle. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause My name to be remembered.^{(AO) 25} If you make a stone altar for Me, you must not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.^{(AP) 26} You must not go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.

The Covenant Ceremony

24 Then He said to Moses, “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders,^(A) and bow in worship at a distance. ² Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”

³ Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.”^{(B) 4} And Moses wrote^(C) down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. ⁵ Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey everything that the Lord has commanded.”

⁸ Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”^(D)

⁹ Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, ¹⁰ and they saw^(E) the God of Israel. Beneath His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire^[a] stone, as clear as the sky itself.^{(F) 11} God did not harm^[b] the Israelite nobles; they saw^(G) Him, and they ate and drank.

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets^(H) with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

¹³ So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God.^{(I) 14} He told the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them.” ¹⁵ When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud^(J) covered it. ¹⁶ The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud.^{(K) 17} The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire^(L) on the mountaintop. ¹⁸ Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.^(M)

Offerings to Build the Tabernacle

25 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for Me. You are to take My offering from everyone who is willing to give.^{(N) 3} This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; ⁵ ram skins dyed red^(O) and manatee skins;^[c] acacia wood; ⁶ oil^(P) for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; ⁷ and onyx^[d] along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.^[e](Q)

⁸ “They are to make a sanctuary^(R) for Me so that I may dwell^(S) among them. ⁹ You must make it according to all that I show you—the pattern^(T) of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.

The Ark

¹⁰ “They are to make an ark^(U) of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.^{[f] 11} Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it. ¹² Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. ¹³ Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. ¹⁵ The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. ¹⁶ Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark.^{(V) 17} Make a mercy seat^(W) of pure gold, 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.^{[g] 18} Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. ¹⁹ Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. ²⁰ The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering^(X) the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. ²¹ Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the testimony that I will give you into the ark.^{(Y) 22} I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim^(Z) that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.

The Table

²³ “You are to construct a table^(AA) of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high.^{[h] 24} Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it. ²⁵ Make a three-inch^[i] frame all around it and make a gold molding for it all around its frame. ²⁶ Make four gold rings for it, and attach the rings to the four corners at its four legs. ²⁷ The rings should be next to the frame as holders for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸ Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and the table can be carried by them. ²⁹ You are also to make its plates^(AB) and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold. ³⁰ Put the bread of the Presence^(AC) on the table before Me at all times.

The Lampstand

³¹ “You^(AD) are to make a lampstand^(AE) out of pure, hammered gold. It is to be made of one piece: its base and shaft, its ornamental cups, and its calyxes^[j] and petals. ³² Six branches are to extend from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side and three branches of the lampstand from the other side. ³³ There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and petals, on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and petals, on the next branch. It is to be this way for the six branches that extend from the lampstand. ³⁴ There are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms on the lampstand shaft along with its calyxes and petals. ³⁵ For the six branches that extend from the lampstand, a calyx must be under the first pair of branches from it, a calyx under the second pair of branches from it, and a calyx under the third pair of branches from it. ³⁶ Their calyxes and branches are to be of one piece.^[k] All of it is to be a single hammered piece of pure gold.

³⁷ “Make seven lamps^(AF) on it. Its lamps are to be set up so they illuminate the area in front of it. ³⁸ Its snuffers and firepans must be of pure gold. ³⁹ The lampstand^[l] with all these utensils is to be made from 75 pounds^[m] of pure gold. ⁴⁰ Be careful to make them according to the pattern^(AG) you have been shown on the mountain.

The Gold Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god^[a] who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!”^(A)

² Then Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings^(B) that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took the gold from their hands, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.

Then they said, “Israel, this is your God,^[b] who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”^(C)

⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; then he made an announcement: “There will be a festival^(D) to the Lord tomorrow.” ⁶ Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to play.^(E)

⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly.^{(F) 8} They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, this is your God,^[c] who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”^{(G) 9} The Lord also said to Moses: “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked^(H) people. ¹⁰ Now leave Me alone, so that My anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”^(I)

¹¹ But Moses interceded with the Lord his God: “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from Your great anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for Your people.^{(J) 13} Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—You swore to them by Your very self^(K) and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’”^{(L) 14} So the Lord relented^(M) concerning the disaster He said He would bring on His people.

¹⁵ Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides—inscribed front and back. ¹⁶ The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets.^(N)

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”

¹⁸ But Moses replied:

¹⁹ As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. ²⁰ Then he took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water.

²¹ Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin?”

²² “Don’t be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil.^{(O) 23} They said to me, ‘Make us a god^[d] who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ ²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off,’ and they gave it to me. When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!”

²⁵ Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, resulting in weakness before their enemies.^{[e] 26} And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. ²⁷ He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”^{(P) 28} The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about 3,000 men fell dead that day among the people. ²⁹ Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated^[f] to the Lord, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.”^(Q)

³⁰ The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.”^(R)

³¹ So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves.^{(S) 32} Now if You would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book You have written.”^(T)

³³ The Lord replied to Moses: “I will erase whoever has sinned against Me from My book.^{(U) 34} Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about; see, My angel will go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin.”^{(V) 35} And the Lord inflicted a plague on the people for what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

The Tent Outside the Camp

33 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go, leave here, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your offspring.^{(W) 2} I will send an angel ahead of you and will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites,^[g] Hivites, and Jebusites.^{(X) 3} Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.”^{(Y) 4} When the people heard this bad news, they mourned and didn’t put on their jewelry.^(Z)

⁵ For the Lord said to Moses: “Tell the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. If I went with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.” ⁶ So the Israelites remained stripped of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.

⁷ Now Moses took a tent and set it up outside the camp, far away from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who wanted to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.^{(AA) 8} Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand up, each one at the door of his tent, and they would watch Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹ When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance to the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.^{(AB) 10} As all the people saw the pillar of cloud remaining at the entrance to the tent, they would stand up, then bow in worship, each one at the door of his tent. ¹¹ The Lord spoke with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent.^(AC)

The Lord’s Glory

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “Look, You have told me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. You said, ‘I know you by name,^(AD) and you have also found favor in My sight.’ ¹³ Now if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, please teach me Your ways,^(AE) and I will know You and find favor in Your sight. Now consider that this nation is Your people.”^(AF)

¹⁴ Then He replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”^(AG)

¹⁵ “If Your presence does not go,” Moses responded to Him, “don’t make us go up from here. ¹⁶ How will it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your sight unless You go with us? I and Your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth.”^(AH)

¹⁷ The Lord answered Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Please, let me see Your glory.”^(AI)

¹⁹ He said, “I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”^{(AJ) 20} But He answered, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see^(AK) Me and live.” ²¹ The Lord said, “Here is a place near Me. You are to stand on the rock, ²² and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.^{(AL) 23} Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back, but My face will not be seen.”

New Stone Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.^{(AM) 2} Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before Me on the mountaintop. ³ No one may go up with you; in fact, no one must be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.”^(AN)

⁴ Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him.

⁵ The Lord came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name Yahweh. ⁶ Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed:

⁸ Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped. ⁹ Then he said, “My Lord, if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Even though this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wrongdoing and sin, and accept us as Your own possession.”^(AR)

Covenant Obligations

¹⁰ And the Lord responded: “Look, I am making a covenant. I will perform wonders in the presence of all your people^[h] that have never been done^[i] in all the earth or in any nation. All the people you live among will see the Lord’s work, for what I am doing with you is awe-inspiring.^{(AS) 11} Observe what I command you today. I am going to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites,^[j] and Jebusites. ¹² Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you.^{(AT) 13} Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles.^{(AU) 14} You are never to bow down to another god because Yahweh, being jealous^(AV) by nature,^[k] is a jealous God.

¹⁵ “Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.^{(AW) 16} Then you will take some of their daughters as brides for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.^(AX)

¹⁷ “Do not make cast images^(AY) of gods for yourselves.

¹⁸ “Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib^[l] as I commanded you. For you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib.^(AZ)

¹⁹ “The firstborn^(BA) male from every womb belongs to Me, including all your male^[m][n] livestock, the firstborn of cattle or sheep. ²⁰ You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.^(BB) You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.

²¹ “You are to labor six days but you must rest^(BC) on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times.

²² “Observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering^[o] at the turn of the agricultural year. ²³ Three times a year^(BD) all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will drive out nations^(BE) before you and enlarge your territory.^(BF) No one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

²⁵ “Do not present^[p] the blood for My sacrifice with anything leavened. The sacrifice of the Passover Festival must not remain until morning.^(BG)

²⁶ “Bring the best firstfruits^(BH) of your land to the house of the Lord your God.

“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ The Lord also said to Moses, “Write^(BI) down these words, for I have made a covenant with you and with Israel based on these words.”

²⁸ Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments,^(BJ) the words of the covenant, on the tablets.

Moses’ Radiant Face

²⁹ As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord.^{[q](BK) 30} When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone!^(BL) They were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,^{(BM) 35} and the Israelites would see that Moses’ face^[r] was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord.

Setting up the Tabernacle

40 The Lord spoke to Moses: ² “You are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month.^{[a](A) 3} Put the ark^(B) of the testimony there and screen off the ark with the veil. ⁴ Then bring in the table and lay out its arrangement; also bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. ⁵ Place the gold altar for incense in front of the ark of the testimony. Put up the screen for the entrance to the tabernacle. ⁶ Position the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. ⁷ Place the basin^(C) between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ Assemble the surrounding courtyard and hang the screen for the gate of the courtyard.

⁹ “Take the anointing oil and anoint^(D) the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings so that it will be holy. ¹⁰ Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar so that it will be especially holy. ¹¹ Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate it.

¹² “Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.^{(E) 13} Clothe Aaron with the holy garments,^(F) anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he can serve Me as a priest. ¹⁴ Have his sons come forward and clothe them in tunics. ¹⁵ Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will serve to inaugurate a permanent priesthood for them throughout their generations.”^(G)

¹⁶ Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded him. ¹⁷ The tabernacle was set up in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month.^{[b](H) 18} Moses set up the tabernacle: he laid its bases, positioned its planks, inserted its crossbars, and set up its posts. ¹⁹ Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁰ Moses took the testimony^(I) and placed it in the ark, and attached the poles to the ark. He set the mercy seat on top of the ark. ²¹ He brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him.

²² Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. ²³ He arranged the bread on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him. ²⁴ He also 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, just as the Lord had commanded him.

²⁶ Moses also installed the gold altar in the tent of meeting, in front of the veil, ²⁷ and burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded him. ²⁸ He put up the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle. ²⁹ Then he placed the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered the burnt offering and the grain offering on it, just as the Lord had commanded him.

³⁰ He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. ³¹ Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet from it. ³² They washed whenever they came to the tent of meeting and approached the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³³ Next Moses set up the surrounding courtyard for the tabernacle and the altar and hung a screen for the gate of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.^(J)

The Lord’s Glory

³⁴ The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.^{(K) 35} Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

³⁶ The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey.^{(L) 37} If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up.^{(M) 38} For the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey.