Exodus 40
Expanded Bible
Setting Up the Holy Tent
40 Then the Lord said to Moses: 2 “On the first day of the first month, set up the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], which is the Meeting Tent. 3 Put the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty; L Testimony; 25:10] in it and ·hang the curtain in front of the Ark [L screen the Ark with a curtain]. 4 Bring in the table [25:23–30] and arrange ·everything on the table that should be there [L its setting]. Then bring in the ·lampstand [L Menorah; 25:31–40] and set up its lamps. 5 Put the gold altar for ·burning incense [L offering smoke; 30:1–6] in front of the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty; L Testimony], and put the ·curtain [screen] at the entrance to the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle].
6 “Put the altar of burnt offerings [27:1–8] in front of the entrance of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], the Meeting Tent. 7 Put the bowl [30:17–21] between the Meeting Tent and the altar, and put water in it. 8 Set up the courtyard ·around the Holy Tent [L all around], and put the ·curtain [screen] at the ·entry [L gate] to the courtyard.
9 “Use the ·special [anointing] olive oil and ·pour it on [L anoint] the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] and everything in it, in order to ·give the Tent and all that is in it for service to the Lord [sanctify/consecrate it and all its utensils/tools]. They will be holy. 10 ·Pour the special oil on [L Anoint] the altar for burnt offerings and on all its ·tools [utensils]. ·Give the altar for service to God [Consecrate/Sanctify the altar], and it will be ·very holy [T a holy of holies]. 11 Then ·pour the special olive oil on [L anoint] the bowl and the base under it so that they will be ·given for service to God [consecrated; sanctified].
12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and wash them with water. 13 Then put the ·holy [sacred] clothes on Aaron. ·Pour the special oil on [L Anoint] him [Ps. 133], and ·give him for service to God [L consecrate/sanctify him] so that he may serve me as a priest. 14 Bring his sons and put the inner robes [28:39–41] on them. 15 ·Pour the special oil on [L Anoint] them in the same way that you ·appointed [L anointed] their father as priest so that they may also serve me as priests. ·Pouring oil on [L Anointing] them will make them a family of priests, they and their descendants ·from now on [L throughout their generations].” 16 Moses did everything that the Lord commanded him.
17 So the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] was set up on the first day of the first month during the second ·year after they left Egypt [L year]. 18 When Moses set up the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], he put the bases in place, and he put the frames on the bases. Next he put ·the crossbars through the rings of the frames [L in the poles] and set up the ·posts [pillars]. 19 After that, Moses spread ·the cloth over the Holy Tent [L the tent over the Tabernacle] and put the covering over it, just as the Lord commanded.
20 Moses put the ·stone tablets that had the Agreement written on them [Covenant; Testimony; Treaty] into the Ark. He put the poles ·through the rings of [L on] the Ark and put the ·lid [mercy seat; atonement cover] on it. 21 Next he brought the Ark into the ·Tent [Tabernacle] and hung the curtain to ·cover [screen] the Ark [L of the Testimony], just as the Lord commanded him.
22 Moses put the table in the Meeting Tent on the north side of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] in front of the curtain. 23 Then he ·put [arranged] the bread ·on the table [L in rows] before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded him. 24 Moses put the lampstand [L Menorah] in the Meeting Tent on the south side of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] across from the table. 25 Then he put the lamps on the lampstand before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded him.
26 Moses put the gold altar for burning incense in the Meeting Tent in front of the curtain. 27 Then he ·burned [L turned into smoke] sweet-smelling incense on it, just as the Lord commanded him. 28 Then he hung the ·curtain [screen] at the entrance to the ·Holy Tent [L Tabernacle].
29 He put the altar for burnt offerings [Lev. 1] at the entrance to the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], the Meeting Tent, and offered a whole burnt offering and ·grain [L gift; tribute; Lev. 3] offerings on it, just as the Lord commanded him. 30 Moses put the bowl [30:17–21] between the Meeting Tent and the altar for burnt offerings, and he put water in it for washing. 31 Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons used this water to wash their hands and feet [C cleansing rituals]. 32 They washed themselves every time they entered the Meeting Tent and every time they went near the altar for burnt offerings, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] and the altar, and he put up the ·curtain [screen] 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 [C representing God’s presence], and the glory of the Lord filled the Holy Tent [C representing his manifest presence]. 35 Moses could not enter the Meeting Tent, because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle].
36 When the cloud rose from the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], the Israelites would begin to travel, 37 but as long as the cloud ·stayed on the Holy Tent [L did not rise], they did not travel. They stayed in that place until the cloud rose. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] during the day, and there was a fire in the cloud at night. So all the ·Israelites [L house of Israel] 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
Christian Standard Bible
Setting Up the Tabernacle
40 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “You are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month.[a](A) 3 Put the ark(B) of the testimony there and screen off the ark with the curtain. 4 Then bring in the table and lay out its arrangement; also bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 Place the gold altar for incense in front of the ark of the testimony. Put up the screen for the entrance to the tabernacle. 6 Position the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. 7 Place the basin(C) between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 Assemble the surrounding courtyard and hang the screen for the gate of the courtyard.
9 “Take the anointing oil and anoint(D) the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings so that it will be holy. 10 Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar so that it will be especially holy. 11 Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate it.
12 “Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.(E) 13 Clothe Aaron with the holy garments,(F) anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he can serve me as a priest. 14 Have his sons come forward and clothe them in tunics. 15 Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve me as priests. Their anointing will serve to inaugurate a permanent priesthood for them throughout their generations.”(G)
16 Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded him. 17 The tabernacle was set up in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month.[b](H) 18 Moses set up the tabernacle: He laid its bases, positioned its supports, inserted its crossbars, and set up its pillars. 19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
20 Moses took the testimony(I) and placed it in the ark, and attached the poles to the ark. He set the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 He brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the curtain for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him.
22 Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain. 23 He arranged the bread on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him. 24 He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle 25 and set up the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded him.
26 Moses installed the gold altar in the tent of meeting, in front of the curtain, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded him. 28 He put up the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle. 29 He placed the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered the burnt offering and the grain offering on it, just as the Lord had commanded him.
30 He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet from it. 32 They washed whenever they came to the tent of meeting and approached the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
33 Next Moses set up the surrounding courtyard for the tabernacle and the altar and hung a screen for the gate of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.(J)
The Lord’s Glory
34 The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.(K) 35 Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36 The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey.(L) 37 If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up.(M) 38 For the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.