Exodus 37:1-9
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Ark of the Covenant
37 Bezalel[a] made the ark[b] of acacia wood. It was forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold on the inside and the outside, and he made a gold border around it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it and placed them next to its four feet—two rings on one side of it and two rings on the other side. 4 He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.
6 He made an atonement seat[c] of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. 7 He made two cherubim of hammered gold for the two ends of the atonement seat, 8 one cherub for one end and one cherub for the other. The cherubim on its two ends formed one piece with the atonement seat.[d] 9 The cherubim spread their wings upward so that they covered the atonement seat with their wings, and they faced each other. The faces of the cherubim were looking inward toward the atonement seat.
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- Exodus 37:1 Pronouns and verbs in this section are mostly singular referring to Bezalel. This does not mean he did all the work single-handedly.
- Exodus 37:1 An aron is a box or chest or even a coffin. The translation retains the traditional rendering ark.
- Exodus 37:6 The Hebrew word kapporet refers to an object that pertains to atonement. It can be translated atonement cover or place of atonement. The traditional translation mercy seat is based on the translation of Luther, Gnadenstuhl, throne of grace. This translation emphasizes that kapporet was not so much a cover for the ark as a footstool for God’s throne.
- Exodus 37:8 That is, the angels were to be permanently fastened to the lid.
Exodus 37:1-9
Lexham English Bible
Making the Ark of the Covenant
37 And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits its length and a cubit and a half its width and a cubit and a half its height. 2 And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and he made for it a gold molding all around. 3 And he cast for it four gold rings on its four feet; and two rings were on its one side, and two rings were on its second side. 4 And he made poles of acacia wood, and he overlaid them with gold. 5 And he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.
6 And he made an atonement cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits its length and a cubit and a half its width. 7 And he made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work at the two ends of the atonement cover. 8 One cherub was at one end,[a] and one cherub was at the other end[b] of the atonement cover; he made the cherubim at its two ends. 9 And the cherubim were with outspread wings above, covering with their wings over the atonement cover and facing each other;[c] the faces of the cherubim were toward the atonement cover.
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- Exodus 37:8 Literally “from end from this”
- Exodus 37:8 Literally “from end from this”
- Exodus 37:9 Literally “and their faces a man to his brother”
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