Exodus 25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 25
Collection of Materials. 1 The Lord spoke to Moses:(A) 2 Speak to the Israelites: Let them receive contributions for me. From each you shall receive the contribution that their hearts prompt them to give me. 3 These are the contributions you shall accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze;(B) 4 violet, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; 5 rams’ skins dyed red, and tahash[a] skins; acacia wood; 6 oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 onyx stones and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. 8 They are to make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst.(C) 9 According to all that I show you regarding the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of its furnishings, so you are to make it.(D)
Plan of the Ark. 10 You shall make an ark of acacia wood,(E) two and a half cubits[b] long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. 11 Plate it inside and outside with pure gold, and put a molding of gold around the top of it. 12 Cast four gold rings and put them on the four supports of the ark, two rings on one side and two on the opposite side. 13 Then make poles of acacia wood and plate them with gold. 14 These poles you are to put through the rings on the sides of the ark, for carrying it; 15 they must remain in the rings of the ark and never be withdrawn. 16 In the ark you are to put the covenant which I will give you.
17 You shall then make a cover[c] of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide. 18 Make two cherubim[d] of beaten gold for the two ends of the cover; 19 make one cherub at one end, and the other at the other end, of one piece with the cover, at each end. 20 The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, sheltering the cover with them; they shall face each other, with their faces looking toward the cover. 21 This cover you shall then place on top of the ark. In the ark itself you are to put the covenant which I will give you. 22 There I will meet you and there, from above the cover, between the two cherubim on the ark of the covenant, I will tell you all that I command you regarding the Israelites.
The Table. 23 You shall also make a table of acacia(F) wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. 24 Plate it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. 25 Make a frame[e] for it, a handbreadth high, and make a molding of gold around the frame. 26 You shall also make four rings of gold for it and fasten them at the four corners, one at each leg. 27 The rings shall be alongside the frame as holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 These poles for carrying the table you shall make of acacia wood and plate with gold. 29 You shall make its plates[f] and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring libations; make them of pure gold. 30 On the table you shall always keep showbread set before me.(G)
The Menorah. 31 You shall make a menorah[g] of pure beaten gold(H)—its shaft and branches—with its cups and knobs and petals springing directly from it. 32 Six branches are to extend from its sides, three branches on one side, and three on the other. 33 [h]On one branch there are to be three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and petals; on the opposite branch there are to be three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and petals; and so for the six branches that extend from the menorah. 34 On the menorah there are to be four cups,[i] shaped like almond blossoms, with their knobs and petals. 35 The six branches that go out from the menorah are to have a knob under each pair. 36 Their knobs and branches shall so spring from it that the whole will form a single piece of pure beaten gold. 37 [j]You shall then make seven lamps(I) for it and so set up the lamps that they give their light on the space in front of the menorah. 38 These, as well as the trimming shears and trays,[k] must be of pure gold. 39 Use a talent[l] of pure gold for the menorah and all these utensils. 40 See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.(J)
Footnotes
- 25:5 Tahash: perhaps a kind of specially finished leather. The Greek and Latin versions took it for the color hyacinth.
- 25:10 Cubits: the distance between the elbow and tip of the middle finger of an average-size person, about eighteen inches. The dimensions of the ark of the covenant were approximately 3 3/4 feet long, 2 1/4 feet wide, and 2 1/4 feet high.
- 25:17 Cover: the Hebrew term, kapporet, has been connected with kippur, as in the feast of Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement (Lv 16; 23:26–32): hence, influenced by the Greek and Latin versions, and Luther’s German, English translations have rendered it “propitiatory,” “mercy seat,” and the like.
- 25:18–20 Cherubim: probably in the form of human-headed winged lions. The cherubim over the ark formed the throne for the invisible Lord. Cf. Ps 80:2. For a more detailed description of the somewhat different cherubim in the Temple of Solomon, see 1 Kgs 6:23–28; 2 Chr 3:10–13.
- 25:25 A frame: probably placed near the bottom of the legs to keep them steady. The golden table of Herod’s Temple is pictured thus on the Arch of Titus.
- 25:29–30 The plates held the showbread, that is, the holy bread which was placed upon the table every sabbath as an offering to God, and was later eaten by the priests. The cups held the incense which was strewn upon the bread. Cf. Lv 24:5–9. The libation wine was poured from the pitchers into the bowls. All these vessels were kept on the golden table.
- 25:31 Menorah: this traditional lampstand is still used today in Jewish liturgy.
- 25:33 In keeping with the arrangement of the ornaments on the shaft, the three sets of ornaments on each branch were probably so placed that one was at the top and the other two equally spaced along the length of the branch. Knob: the cup-shaped seed capsule at the base of a flower.
- 25:34–35 Of the four ornaments on the shaft, one was at the top and one was below each of the three sets of side branches.
- 25:37 The lamps were probably shaped like small boats, with the wick at one end; the end with the wick was turned toward the front of the menorah.
- 25:38 Trays: small receptacles for the burnt-out wicks.
- 25:39 Talent: Heb. kikkar. The largest unit of weight used in the Bible, equivalent to 3,000 shekels (see 38:24). It is difficult to be precise about biblical weights; the Israelite talent may have weighed between 75–80 pounds.
Exodus 25
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring firstfruits to me: of every man that offereth of his own accord, you shall take them.
3 And these are the things you must take: gold, and silver, and brass,
4 Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
5 And rams' skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim wood:
6 Oil to make lights: spices for ointment, and for sweetsmelling incense:
7 Onyx stones, and precious stones to adorn the ephod and the rational.
8 And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them:
9 According to all the likeness of the tabernacle which I will shew thee, and of all the vessels for the service thereof: and thus you shall make it:
10 Frame an ark of setim wood, the length whereof shall be of two cubits and a half: the breadth, a cubit and a half: the height, likewise, a cubit and a half.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold within and without: and over it thou shalt make a golden crown round about:
12 And four golden rings, which thou shall put at the four corners of the ark: let two rings be on the one side, and two on the other.
13 Thou shalt make bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold.
14 And thou shalt put them in through the rings that are in the sides of the ark, that it may be carried on them.
15 And they shall be always in the rings, neither shall they at any time be drawn out of them.
16 And thou shalt put in the ark the testimony which I will give thee.
17 Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold: the length thereof shall be two cubits and a half, and the breadth a cubit and a half.
18 Thou shalt make also two cherubims of beaten gold, on the two sides of the oracle.
19 Let one cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other.
20 Let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading their wings, and covering the oracle, and let them look one towards the other, their faces being turned towards the propitiatory wherewith the ark is to be covered.
21 In which thou shalt put the testimony that I will give thee.
22 Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee over the propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubims, which shall be upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will command the children of Israel by thee.
23 Thou shalt make a table also of setim wood, of two cubits in length, and a cubit in breadth, and a cubit and half in height.
24 And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold: and thou shalt make to it a golden ledge round about.
25 And to the ledge itself a polished crown, four inches high: and over the same another little golden crown.
26 Thou shalt prepare also four golden rings, and shalt put them in the four corners of the same table over each foot.
27 Under the crown shall the golden rings be, that the bars may be put through them, and the table may be carried.
28 The bars also themselves thou shalt make of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold to bear up the table.
29 Thou shalt prepare also dishes, and bowls, censers, and cups, wherein the libations are to be offered of the purest gold.
30 And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of proposition in my sight always.
31 Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work of the finest gold, the shaft thereof, and the branches, the cups, and the bowls, and the lilies going forth from it.
32 Six branches shall come out of the sides, three out of the one side, and three out of the other.
33 Three cups as it were nuts to every branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily; and three cups, likewise of the fashion of nuts in the other branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily. Such shall be the work of the six branches, that are to come out from the shaft:
34 And in the candlestick itself shall be four cups in the manner of a nut, and at every one, bowls and lilies.
35 Bowls under two branches in three places, which together make six coming forth out of one shaft.
36 And both the bowls and the branches shall be of the same beaten work of the purest gold.
37 Thou shalt make also seven lamps, and shalt set them upon the candlestick, to give light over against.
38 The snuffers also and where the snuffings shall be put out, shall be made of the purest gold.
39 The whole weight of the candlestick with all the furniture thereof shall be a talent of the purest gold.
40 Look and make it according to the pattern, that was shewn thee in the mount.
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