Exodus 39-40

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Priestly Garments

39 Moreover, from the ^[a](A)blue and purple and scarlet material, they made finely ^(B)woven garments for ministering in the holy place ^[b]as well as the holy garments which were for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

^2 (C)He made the ephod of gold, and of ^[c]blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. ³ Then they hammered out gold sheets and cut them into threads ^[d]to be woven in with the ^[e]blue and the purple and the scarlet material, and the fine linen, the work of a skillful workman. ⁴ They made attaching shoulder pieces for ^[f]the ephod; it was attached at its two upper ends. ⁵ The skillfully woven band which was on it was like its workmanship, ^[g]of the same material: of gold and of ^[h]blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

^6 (D)They made the onyx stones, set in gold filigree settings; they were engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷ And ^(E)he placed them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

^8 (F)He made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful workman, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold and of ^[i]blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. ⁹ It was square; they made the breastpiece folded double, a span ^[j]long and a span ^[k]wide when folded double. ¹⁰ And they ^[l]mounted four rows of stones on it. The first row was a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; ¹¹ and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; ¹² and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set in gold filigree settings when they were ^[m]mounted. ¹⁴ The stones were corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were twelve, corresponding to their names, engraved with the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes. ¹⁵ They made on the breastpiece chains like cords, of twisted cordage work in pure gold. ¹⁶ They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. ¹⁷ Then they put the two gold cords in the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. ¹⁸ They put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. ¹⁹ They made two gold rings and placed them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inner edge which was next to the ephod. ²⁰ Furthermore, they made two gold rings and placed them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it, close to the place where it joined, above the woven band of the ephod. ²¹ They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a ^[n]blue cord, so that it would be on the woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

^22 (G)Then he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of ^[o]blue; ^23 (H)and the opening of the robe was at the top in the center, as the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding all around its opening, so that it would not be torn. ²⁴ They made pomegranates of ^[p]blue and purple and scarlet material and twisted linen on the hem of the robe. ²⁵ They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around on the hem of the ^[q]robe, ^26 [r]alternating a bell and a pomegranate all around on the hem of the robe for the service, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

^27 (I)They made the tunics of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸ and the turban of fine linen, and the decorated ^[s]caps of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twisted linen, ²⁹ and the sash of fine twisted linen, and ^[t]blue and purple and scarlet material, the work of the ^[u]weaver, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

^30 (J)They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and ^[v]inscribed it like the engravings of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” ³¹ They ^[w]fastened a ^[x]blue cord to it, to ^[y]fasten it on the turban above, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³² Thus all the work of the ^[z]tabernacle of the tent of meeting was completed; and the sons of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. ³³ They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its ^[aa]furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars and its ^[ab]sockets; ³⁴ and the covering of rams’ skins ^[ac]dyed red, and the covering of porpoise skins, and the screening veil; ³⁵ the ark of the testimony and its poles and the ^[ad]mercy seat; ³⁶ the table, all its utensils, and the bread of the ^[ae]Presence; ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand, ^[af]with its arrangement of lamps and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; ³⁸ and the gold altar, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the veil for the doorway of the tent; ³⁹ the ^[ag]bronze altar and its ^[ah]bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils, the laver and its stand; ⁴⁰ the hangings for the court, its pillars and its ^[ai]sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords and its pegs and all the ^[aj]equipment for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; ⁴¹ the woven garments for ministering in the holy place and the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests. ⁴² So the sons of Israel did all the work according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴³ And Moses ^[ak]examined all the work and behold, they had done it; just as the Lord had commanded, this they had done. So Moses ^(K)blessed them.

The Tabernacle Erected

40 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “^(L)On the first day of the first month you shall set up the ^[al]tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ^3 (M)You shall place the ark of the testimony there, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ You shall ^(N)bring in the table and ^[am](O)arrange what belongs on it; and you shall ^(P)bring in the lampstand and ^[an]mount its lamps. ⁵ Moreover, you shall ^(Q)set the gold altar of incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the veil for the doorway to the tabernacle. ⁶ You shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ⁷ You shall ^(R)set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water ^[ao]in it. ⁸ You shall set up the court all around and ^[ap]hang up the veil for the gateway of the court. ⁹ Then you shall take the anointing oil and ^(S)anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall consecrate it and all its ^[aq]furnishings; and it shall be holy. ¹⁰ You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and ^(T)the altar shall be most holy. ¹¹ You shall anoint the laver and its stand, and consecrate it. ¹² Then you shall ^(U)bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. ^13 (V)You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me. ¹⁴ You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them; ¹⁵ and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will ^[ar]qualify them for a ^(W)perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.” ¹⁶ Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹⁷ Now ^(X)in the first month ^[as]of the second year, on the first day of the month, the ^[at]tabernacle was erected. ¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle and ^[au]laid its ^[av]sockets, and set up its boards, and ^[aw]inserted its bars and erected its pillars. ¹⁹ He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent ^[ax]on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ Then he took ^(Y)the testimony and put it into the ark, and ^[ay]attached the poles to the ark, and put the ^[az]mercy seat ^[ba]on top of the ark. ²¹ He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and ^(Z)set up a veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²² Then he ^(AA)put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. ²³ He set the arrangement of ^(AB)bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁴ Then he placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. ²⁵ He ^(AC)lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁶ Then he ^(AD)placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil; ²⁷ and he ^(AE)burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸ Then he set up the ^[bb]veil for the doorway of the tabernacle. ²⁹ He ^(AF)set the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and ^(AG)offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰ He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. ^31 (AH)From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. ³² When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ He ^(AI)erected the court all around the ^[bc]tabernacle and the altar, and ^[bd]hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

^34 (AJ)Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the ^(AK)glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ Moses ^(AL)was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Throughout all their journeys ^(AM)whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; ³⁷ but ^(AN)if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. ³⁸ For throughout all their journeys, ^(AO)the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.