Exodus 40
International Children’s Bible
Setting Up the Holy Tent
40 Then the Lord said this to Moses: 2 “On the first day of the first month, set up the Holy Tent, which is the Meeting Tent. 3 Put the Ark of the Covenant in the Meeting Tent. Hang the curtain in front of the Ark of the Covenant. 4 Then bring in the table. Arrange everything on the table that should be there. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 Put the gold altar for burning incense in front of the Ark of the Covenant. Then put the curtain at the entrance to the Holy Tent.
6 “Put the altar of burnt offerings in front of the entrance of the Holy Tent, the Meeting Tent. 7 Put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar. Put water in the bowl. 8 Set up the courtyard around the Holy Tent. Then put the curtain at the entry to the courtyard.
9 “Use the special olive oil and pour it on the Holy Tent and everything in it. Give the Tent and all that is in it for service to the Lord. They will be holy. 10 Pour the special oil on the altar for burning offerings. Pour it on all its tools. Give the altar for service to God. It will be very holy. 11 Then pour the special olive oil on the bowl and the base under it. When you do this, they will be given for service to God.
12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Wash them with water. 13 Then put the holy clothes on Aaron. Pour the special oil on him, and give him for service to God. Then he may serve me as a priest. 14 Bring Aaron’s sons and put the inner robes on them. 15 Pour the special oil on them to make them priests. Do this the same way that you appointed their father as priest. Then they may also serve me as priests. Pouring oil on them will make them a family of priests. They and their descendants will be priests from now on.” 16 Moses did everything that the Lord commanded him.
17 So the Holy Tent was set up. It was the first day of the first month during the second year after they left Egypt. 18 When Moses set up the Holy Tent, he put the bases in place. Then he put the frames on the bases. Next he put the crossbars through the rings of the frames and set up the posts. 19 After that, Moses spread the cloth over the Holy Tent. Then he put the covering over the Tent. He did these things just as the Lord commanded.
20 Moses put the flat stones into the Ark of the Covenant. These had God’s law written on them. Moses put the poles through the rings of the Ark of the Covenant. Then he put the lid on it. 21 Next Moses brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Tent. He hung the curtain to cover the Ark of the Covenant. Moses did these things just as the Lord commanded him.
22 Moses put the table in the Meeting Tent. He put it on the north side of the Holy Tent in front of the curtain. 23 Then he put the bread on the table before the Lord. He did this just as the Lord commanded him. 24 Moses put the lampstand in the Meeting Tent. He put it on the south side of the Holy Tent across from the table. 25 Then he put the lamps on the lampstand before the Lord. He did this just as the Lord commanded him.
26 Moses put the gold altar for burning incense in the Meeting Tent. He put it in front of the curtain. 27 Then he burned sweet-smelling incense on it, just as the Lord commanded him. 28 Then he hung the curtain at the entrance to the Holy Tent.
29 He put the altar for burning sacrifices at the entrance to the Holy Tent, the Meeting Tent. Then Moses offered a whole burnt offering and grain offerings on that altar. He did these things just as the Lord commanded him. 30 Moses put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar for burning sacrifices. Moses put water in the bowl for washing. 31 Moses, Aaron and Aaron’s sons used this water to wash their hands and feet. 32 They washed themselves every time they entered the Meeting Tent. They also washed themselves every time they went near the altar for burning sacrifices. They did these things just as the Lord commanded Moses.
33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the Holy Tent. He put the altar for burning sacrifices in the courtyard. Then he put up the curtain at the entry to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.
The Cloud over the Holy Tent
34 Then the cloud covered the Meeting Tent. The greatness of the Lord filled the Holy Tent. 35 Moses could not enter the Meeting Tent. This was because the cloud had settled on it. And this was because the greatness of the Lord filled the Holy Tent.
36 When the cloud rose from the Holy Tent, the Israelites would begin to travel. 37 But as long as the cloud stayed on the Holy Tent, the people did not travel. They stayed in that place until the cloud rose. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the Holy Tent during the day. And there was a fire in the cloud at night. So all the Israelites could see the cloud while they traveled.
Exodus 40
New King James Version
The Tabernacle Erected and Arranged
40 Then the Lord (A)spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “On the first day of the (B)first month you shall set up (C)the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 (D)You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and [a]partition off the ark with the veil. 4 (E)You shall bring in the table and (F)arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; (G)and you shall bring in the lampstand and [b]light its lamps. 5 (H)You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 Then you shall set the (I)altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 7 And (J)you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.
9 “And you shall take the anointing oil, and (K)anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. 10 You shall (L)anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. (M)The altar shall be most holy. 11 And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it.
12 (N)“Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. 13 You shall put the holy (O)garments on Aaron, (P)and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 14 And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be (Q)an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”
16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.
17 And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the (R)tabernacle was [c]raised up. 18 So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He took (S)the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, (T)hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 (U)He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; 23 (V)and he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 (W)He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; 25 and (X)he lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 (Y)He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; 27 (Z)and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 (AA)He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. 29 (AB)And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and (AC)offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 (AD)He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; 31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would (AE)wash their hands and their feet with water from it. 32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, (AF)as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 (AG)And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses (AH)finished the work.
The Cloud and the Glory(AI)
34 (AJ)Then the (AK)cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the (AL)glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses (AM)was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 (AN)Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would [d]go onward in all their journeys. 37 But (AO)if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For (AP)the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Footnotes
- Exodus 40:3 screen
- Exodus 40:4 set up
- Exodus 40:17 erected
- Exodus 40:36 journey
Exodus 40
English Standard Version
The Tabernacle Erected
40 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the (A)first day of the first month you shall (B)erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall (C)screen the ark with the veil. 4 And (D)you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and (E)you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 (F)And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 (G)You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7 (H)and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.
9 “Then you shall take the (I)anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint (J)the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, (K)so that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 (L)Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 (M)and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a (N)perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”
16 This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. 17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, (O)the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He (P)took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and (Q)set up the veil of the screen, and screened (R)the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 (S)He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 (T)He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 (U)and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 (V)He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 (W)He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 (X)And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the (Y)grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 (Z)He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and (AA)Aaron and his sons (AB)washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 (AC)And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So (AD)Moses finished the work.
The Glory of the Lord
34 Then (AE)the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and (AF)the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, (AG)whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But (AH)if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
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.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
