³⁶ The responsibility assigned to the sons of Merari was the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories—all the service pertaining to these,^(A)

³⁷ You shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.^(A)

³² You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, which have hooks of gold and rest on four bases of silver.

The Framework

¹⁵ “You shall make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.^{(A) 16} Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame and a cubit and a half the width of each frame. ¹⁷ There shall be two pegs in each frame to fit the frames together; you shall make these for all the frames of the tabernacle. ¹⁸ You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side; ¹⁹ and you shall make forty bases of silver under the twenty frames: two bases under the first frame for its two pegs and two bases under the next frame for its two pegs; ²⁰ and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames,^{(B) 21} and their forty bases of silver: two bases under the first frame and two bases under the next frame; ²² and for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames. ²³ You shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear; ²⁴ they shall be separate beneath but joined at the top at the first ring; it shall be the same with both of them; they shall form the two corners. ²⁵ And so there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases: two bases under the first frame and two bases under the next frame.^(C)

²⁶ “You shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the frames of one side of the tabernacle, ²⁷ and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. ²⁸ The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall pass through from end to end. ²⁹ You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold to hold the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold.

⁸ and four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the Merarites, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.^(A)

²⁹ “As for the Merarites, you shall enroll them by their clans and their ancestral houses; ³⁰ from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, everyone who qualifies to do the work of the tent of meeting.^{(A) 31} This is their duty to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases,^{(B) 32} and the pillars of the court all around with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their related service, and you shall assign by name the objects that they are required to carry. ³³ This is the service of the clans of the Merarites, the whole of their service relating to the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”^(C)

³³ Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its clasps, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases;

¹⁷ The bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver; the overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were banded with silver. ¹⁸ The screen for the entrance to the court was embroidered with needlework in blue, purple, and crimson yarns and fine twisted linen. It was twenty cubits long and, along the width of it, five cubits high, corresponding to the hangings of the court.^{(A) 19} There were four pillars; their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their bands of silver. ²⁰ All the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.

³⁶ He made for it four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver.

²⁰ Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood.^{(A) 21} Ten cubits was the length of a frame and a cubit and a half the width of each frame. ²² Each frame had two pegs for fitting together; he did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. ²³ The frames for the tabernacle he made in this way: twenty frames for the south side, ²⁴ and he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under the first frame for its two pegs and two bases under the next frame for its two pegs.^{(B) 25} For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames ²⁶ and their forty bases of silver, two bases under the first frame and two bases under the next frame. ²⁷ For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames.^{(C) 28} He made two frames for the corners of the tabernacle in the rear. ²⁹ They were separate beneath but joined at the top at the first ring; he made two of them in this way for the two corners. ³⁰ There were eight frames with their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under every frame two bases.

³¹ He made bars of acacia wood: five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle,^{(D) 32} and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. ³³ He made the middle bar to pass through from end to end halfway up the frames. ³⁴ And he overlaid the frames with gold and made rings of gold for them to hold the bars and overlaid the bars with gold.