Exodus 31
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 31
The Choice of Craftsmen for the Tabernacle. 1 The Lord spoke to Moses and said to him, 2 “Behold, I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God[a] so that he possesses wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and is expert in every kind of craft 4 to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 to know how to cut stones for settings and how to carve wood. He is expert in every craft. 6 And behold, I have sent Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan to him. I have also given all skillful men their ability, so that they may make all that I have commanded you to make: 7 the meeting tent, the Ark of Testimony, the seat of atonement over it, and all the accessories of the tent, 8 the table with its accessories, the pure lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offerings with all of its accessories, the basin and its base, 10 the finely crafted vestments, the sacred vestments for Aaron and the vestments for his sons, for their priestly ministry, 11 the oil of anointing, and the fragrant incense for the sanctuary. They shall produce all that I have commanded you.”
12 The Sabbath.[b] The Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You shall observe my Sabbaths, for the Sabbath is a sign between me and you for all your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
14 “ ‘Therefore, you shall observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever works on that day shall be cut off from his people. 15 Six days you shall work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of sacred rest for you, holy to the Lord. Whoever works on the Sabbath shall be put to death. 16 The children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, celebrating the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 This is a perpetual sign between me and the children of Israel, for the Lord made the heavens and the earth in six days, but on the seventh he ceased and rested.’ ”
18 Moses Receives the Tablets of the Law. When the Lord had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of Testimony, the stone tablets, written with the finger of God.
Footnotes
- Exodus 31:3 Filled him with the Spirit of God: the Master Craftsman himself provides his ministers with gifts that enable them to design and construct places of worship. Here the Spirit of God filled Bezalel and others with the ability to build the meeting tent as his dwelling among the children of Israel.
- Exodus 31:12 This section is a departure from the preceding text concerning official worship, but inserted here lest the people forget the importance of rest from work (i.e., setting aside a day that is holy unto the Lord).
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
Exodus 31
King James Version
31 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
7 The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
8 And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
9 And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
10 And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,
11 And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
12 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exodus 31
English Standard Version
Oholiab and Bezalel
31 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have called by name (A)Bezalel the son of Uri, son of (B)Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have (C)filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6 And behold, I have appointed with him (D)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men (E)ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 (F)the tent of meeting, and (G)the ark of the testimony, and (H)the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8 (I)the table and its utensils, and (J)the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and (K)the altar of incense, 9 and (L)the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and (M)the basin and its stand, 10 and (N)the finely worked garments,[a] the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and (O)the anointing oil and the fragrant (P)incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”
The Sabbath
12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. (Q)Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 (R)Six days shall work be done, but (S)the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. (T)Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 (U)It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that (V)in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and (W)on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the (X)two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with (Y)the finger of God.
Footnotes
- Exodus 31:10 Or garments for worship
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
