Exodus 31
Lexham English Bible
Provision of Skilled People
31 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “See, I have called by name[a] Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. 3 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, 4 to devise designs, to work with gold and with silver and with bronze, 5 and in stonecutting for setting and in cutting wood, for doing every kind of craftsmanship. 6 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— 7 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, 8 and the table and all its equipment, and the pure gold lampstand and all its equipment, and the incense altar, 9 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
- Exodus 31:2 In other words, “specifically chosen”
- Exodus 31:3 Or “understanding,” “discernment,” “cleverness”
- Exodus 31:10 Literally “the garments of the holiness” or “the holy garments”
- Exodus 31:13 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 31:14 Or “profaners,” those who treat it as common
- 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
- Exodus 31:15 Literally “holiness”
- Exodus 31:16 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 31:16 Or “keep the Sabbath to do/observe the Sabbath”
- Exodus 31:17 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Exodus 31:17 Or “rested”
- Exodus 31:17 Or “breathed freely,” “got his breath”
Exodus 31
Common English Bible
Construction leaders: Bezalel and Oholiab
31 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 Look, I have chosen Bezalel, Uri’s son and Hur’s grandson from the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the divine spirit, with skill, ability, and knowledge for every kind of work. 4 He will be able to create designs; do metalwork in gold, silver, and copper; 5 cut stones for setting; carve wood; and do every kind of work. 6 I have also appointed with him Oholiab, Ahisamach’s son from the tribe of Dan. To all who are skillful, I have given the skill to make everything that I have commanded you: 7 the meeting tent, the chest containing the covenant, the cover that is on top of it, all the tent’s furnishings, 8 the table and its equipment, the pure lampstand with all its equipment, the incense altar, 9 the altar for entirely burned offerings with all its equipment, the washbasin with its stand, 10 the woven clothing, the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and for his sons for their service as priests, 11 the anointing oil, and the sweet-smelling incense for the sanctuary. They will do just as I have commanded you.
Instructions for keeping the Sabbath
12 The Lord said to Moses: 13 Tell the Israelites: “Be sure to keep my sabbaths, because the Sabbath is a sign between me and you in every generation so you will know that I am the Lord who makes you holy. 14 Keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who violates the Sabbath will be put to death. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath, that person will be cut off from the people. 15 Do your work for six days. But the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest that is holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day will be put to death. 16 The Israelites should keep the Sabbath. They should observe the Sabbath in every generation as a covenant for all time. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the Israelites that in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day the Lord rested and was refreshed.”
18 When God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, God gave him the two covenant tablets, the stone tablets written by God’s finger.
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