Exodus 40
Names of God Bible
Instructions for Setting Up the Tent
40 Then Yahweh said to Moses, 2 “Set up the tent (the tent of meeting) on the first day of the first month of the year. 3 Place the ark containing the words of my promise inside it, and hang the canopy over the ark. 4 Bring in the table, and arrange everything on it. Bring in the lamp stand, and set up the lamps. 5 Put the gold altar for incense in front of the ark. Put up the screen at the entrance to the tent.
6 “Put the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 Put the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 Set up the surrounding courtyard, and put up the screen at the entrance to the courtyard. 9 Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tent and everything in it. In this way you will dedicate it and all its furnishings. Then it will be holy. 10 Anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all the utensils. In this way you will dedicate the altar, and it will be most holy. 11 Anoint the basin and stand, and they will be dedicated.
12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them. 13 Then dress Aaron in the holy clothes, and anoint him. In this way you will dedicate him to serve me as priest. 14 Have his sons come forward, and dress them in their linen robes. 15 Anoint them to serve me as priests, as you anointed their father. Their anointing will begin a permanent priesthood for them for generations to come.”
Moses Sets Up the Tent
16 Moses did everything as Yahweh commanded him. 17 So the tent was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year after the Israelites had left Egypt. 18 When Moses set up the tent, he put the sockets in place, put up the frames, inserted the crossbars, and set up the posts. 19 He spread the outer tent over the inner tent and put the cover on top. Moses followed Yahweh’s instructions.
20 He took the words of God’s promise and put them in the ark. He put the poles on the ark and placed the throne of mercy on top of the ark. 21 Then he brought the ark into the tent and hung the canopy over it to mark off where the ark was. Moses followed Yahweh’s instructions.
22 Moses put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tent outside the canopy. 23 He arranged the bread on the table in Yahweh’s presence, following Yahweh’s instructions. 24 He placed the lamp stand in the tent of meeting opposite the table, on the south side of the tent. 25 He set up the lamps in Yahweh’s presence, following Yahweh’s instructions.
26 Moses put the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the canopy. 27 He burned sweet-smelling incense on it, following Yahweh’s instructions. 28 Then he put up the screen at the entrance to the tent.
29 He put the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent (the tent of meeting). He sacrificed burnt offerings and grain offerings on it. Moses followed Yahweh’s instructions.
30 He put the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons used this water to wash their hands and feet. 32 They would wash whenever they went into the tent of meeting or whenever they approached the altar. Moses followed Yahweh’s instructions.
33 He set up the courtyard around the tent and the altar and put up the screen at the entrance to the courtyard. Finally, Moses finished the work.
The Lord Comes to the Tent
34 Then the column of smoke covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tent. 35 Moses couldn’t go into the tent of meeting, because the smoke settled on it and the glory of Yahweh filled the tent.
36 In all their travels, whenever the column of smoke moved from the tent, the Israelites would break camp. 37 But if the column didn’t move, they wouldn’t break camp. 38 So Yahweh’s column stayed over the tent during the day, and there was fire in the smoke at night. In this way all the Israelites could see the column throughout their travels.
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.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
