Exodus 38
Living Bible
38 The burnt-offering altar was also constructed of acacia wood; it was 7-1/2 feet square at the top, and 4-1/2 feet high. 2 There were four horns at the four corners, all of one piece with the rest. This altar was overlaid with bronze. 3 Then he made bronze utensils to be used with the altar—the pots, shovels, basins, meat hooks, and fire pans. 4 Next he made a bronze grating that rested upon a ledge about halfway up in the firebox.[a] 5 Four rings were cast for each side of the grating, to insert the carrying poles. 6 The carrying poles themselves were made of acacia wood, overlaid with bronze. 7 The carrying poles were inserted into the rings at the side of the altar. The altar was hollow, with plank siding.
8 The bronze washbasin and its bronze pedestal were cast from the solid bronze mirrors donated by the women who assembled at the entrance to the Tabernacle.
9 Then he constructed the courtyard. The south wall was 150 feet long; it consisted of drapes woven from fine-twined linen thread. 10 There were twenty posts to hold drapes, with bases of bronze and with silver hooks and rods. 11 The north wall was also 150 feet long, with twenty bronze posts and bases and with silver hooks and rods. 12 The west side was 75 feet wide; the walls were made from drapes supported by ten posts and bases, and with silver hooks and rods. 13 The east side was also 75 feet wide.
14-15 The drapes at either side of the entrance were 22-1/2 feet wide, each with three posts and three bases. 16 All the drapes making up the walls of the court were woven of fine-twined linen. 17 Each post had a bronze base, and all the hooks and rods were silver; the tops of the posts were overlaid with silver, and the rods to hold up the drapes were solid silver.
18 The drapery covering the entrance to the court was made of fine-twined linen, beautifully embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
It was 30 feet long and 7-1/2 feet wide, just the same as the drapes composing the walls of the court. 19 It was supported by four posts, with four bronze bases and with silver hooks and rods; the tops of the posts were also silver.
20 All the nails used in constructing the Tabernacle and court were bronze.
21 This summarizes the various steps in building the Tabernacle to house the Ark, so that the Levites could carry on their ministry. All was done in the order designated by Moses and was supervised by Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. 22 Bezalel (son of Uri and grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah) was the master craftsman, 23 assisted by Oholiab (son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan); he too was a skilled craftsman and also an expert at engraving, weaving, and at embroidering blue, purple, and scarlet threads into fine linen cloth.
24 The people brought gifts of 3,140 pounds of gold, all of which was used throughout the Tabernacle.
25-26 The amount of silver used was 9,575 pounds, which came from the fifty-cent head tax collected from all those registered in the census who were twenty years old or older, a total of 603,550 men. 27 The bases for the frames of the sanctuary walls and for the posts supporting the veil required 9,500 pounds of silver, 95 pounds[b] for each socket. 28 The silver left over was used for the posts and to overlay their tops, and for the rods and hooks.
29-31 The people brought 7,540 pounds of bronze, which was used for casting the bases for the posts at the entrance to the Tabernacle, and for the bronze altar, the bronze grating, the altar utensils, the bases for the posts supporting the drapes enclosing the court, and for all the nails used in the construction of the Tabernacle and the court.
Footnotes
- Exodus 38:4 in the firebox, implied.
- Exodus 38:27 95 pounds, literally, “a talent.” The exact weight cannot be ascertained.
Exodus 38
New King James Version
Making the Altar of Burnt Offering(A)
38 He made (B)the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; five cubits was its length and five cubits its width—it was square—and its height was three cubits. 2 He made its horns on its four corners; the horns were of one piece with it. And he overlaid it with bronze. 3 He made all the utensils for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans; all its utensils he made of bronze. 4 And he made a grate of bronze network for the altar, under its rim, midway from the bottom. 5 He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, as holders for the poles. 6 And he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with bronze. 7 Then he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to bear it. He made the altar hollow with boards.
Making the Bronze Laver
8 He made (C)the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
Making the Court of the Tabernacle(D)
9 Then he made (E)the court on the south side; the hangings of the court were of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long. 10 There were twenty pillars for them, with twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. 11 On the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits long, with twenty pillars and their twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. 12 And on the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits, with ten pillars and their ten sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. 13 For the east side the hangings were fifty cubits. 14 The hangings of one side of the gate were fifteen cubits long, with their three pillars and their three sockets, 15 and the same for the other side of the court gate; on this side and that were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. 16 All the hangings of the court all around were of fine woven linen. 17 The sockets for the pillars were bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, and the overlay of their capitals was silver; and all the pillars of the court had bands of silver. 18 The screen for the gate of the court was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. The length was twenty cubits, and the height along its width was five cubits, corresponding to the hangings of the court. 19 And there were four pillars with their four sockets of bronze; their hooks were silver, and the overlay of their capitals and their bands was silver. 20 All the (F)pegs of the tabernacle, and of the court all around, were bronze.
Materials of the Tabernacle
21 [a]This is the inventory of the tabernacle, (G)the tabernacle of the Testimony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, (H)by the hand of (I)Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.
22 (J)Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses. 23 And with him was (K)Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and [b]designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen.
24 All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the (L)offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to (M)the shekel of the sanctuary. 25 And the silver from those who were (N)numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 (O)a bekah for [c]each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for (P)six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. 27 And from the hundred talents of silver were cast (Q)the sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket. 28 Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and (R)made bands for them.
29 The offering of bronze was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels. 30 And with it he made the sockets for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils for the altar, 31 the sockets for the court all around, the bases for the court gate, all the pegs for the tabernacle, and all the pegs for the court all around.
Footnotes
- Exodus 38:21 Lit. These are the things appointed for
- Exodus 38:23 skillful workman
- Exodus 38:26 Lit. a head
Exodus 38
King James Version
38 And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.
2 And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.
3 And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
4 And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.
5 And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.
6 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.
7 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.
8 And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
9 And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:
10 Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.
11 And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
13 And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.
14 The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15 And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16 All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen.
17 And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.
18 And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.
19 And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver.
20 And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.
21 This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.
22 And Bezaleel the son Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses.
23 And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
24 All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
25 And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
26 A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.
27 And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
28 And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.
29 And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.
30 And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,
31 And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.
Exodus 38
English Standard Version
Making the Altar of Burnt Offering
38 (A)He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. Five cubits[a] was its length, and five cubits its breadth. It was square, and three cubits was its height. 2 He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. 3 And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its utensils of bronze. 4 And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down. 5 He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles. 6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it with them. He made it hollow, with boards.
Making the Bronze Basin
8 (B)He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the (C)ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
Making the Court
9 (D)And he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits; 10 their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side there were hangings of a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their ten pillars, and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 13 And for the front to the east, fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 And so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. 16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen. 17 And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. 18 And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. 20 And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.
Materials for the Tabernacle
21 These are the records of the tabernacle, (E)the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites (F)under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22 (G)Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses; 23 and with him was (H)Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.
24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels,[b] by (I)the shekel of the sanctuary. 25 The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a (J)beka[c] a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for (K)603,550 men. 27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the (L)bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent a base. 28 And of the 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them. 29 The bronze that was offered was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels; 30 with it he made the (M)bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, (N)the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, 31 the (O)bases around the court, and the (P)bases of the gate of the court, all the (Q)pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.
Footnotes
- Exodus 38:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Exodus 38:24 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- Exodus 38:26 A beka was about 1/5 ounce or 5.5 grams
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.
