Beginning

36 ¹ Bezalel and Oholiab must do the work just as the Lord has commanded. So must every skilled worker to whom the Lord has given skill and ability. They know how to do all the work for every purpose connected with the sacred tent. And that includes setting it up.”

² Then Moses sent for Bezalel and Oholiab. He sent for every skilled worker to whom the Lord had given ability and who wanted to come and do the work. ³ They received from Moses all the offerings the people of Israel had brought. They had brought the offerings for all the work for every purpose connected with the holy tent. That included setting it up. The people kept bringing the offerings they chose to give. They brought them morning after morning. ⁴ So all the skilled workers working on the holy tent stopped what they were doing. ⁵ They said to Moses, “The Lord commanded us to do the work. And the people are bringing more than enough for us to do it.”

⁶ Then Moses gave an order. A message was sent through the whole camp. It said, “No man or woman should make anything else and offer it for the holy tent.” And so the people were kept from bringing more offerings. ⁷ There was already more than enough to do all the work.

The Holy Tent

⁸ All the skilled workers made the holy tent. They made ten curtains out of finely twisted linen. They made them with blue, purple and bright red yarn. A skilled worker sewed cherubim into the pattern. ⁹ All the curtains were the same size. They were 42 feet long and six feet wide. ¹⁰ The workers joined five of the curtains together. They did the same thing with the other five. ¹¹ Then they made loops out of blue strips of cloth along the edge of the end curtain in one set. They did the same thing with the end curtain in the other set. ¹² They also made 50 loops on the end curtain of the one set. They did the same thing on the end curtain of the other set. They put the loops across from each other. ¹³ Then they made 50 gold hooks. They used them to join the two sets of curtains together so that the holy tent was all one piece.

¹⁴ The workers made a total of 11 curtains out of goat hair to put over the holy tent. ¹⁵ All 11 curtains were the same size. They were 45 feet long and six feet wide. ¹⁶ The workers joined five of the curtains together into one set. They did the same thing with the other six. ¹⁷ Then they made 50 loops along the edge of the end curtain in the one set. They did the same thing with the other set. ¹⁸ They made 50 bronze hooks. They used them to join the tent together all in one piece. ¹⁹ They made a covering for the tent. They made it out of ram skins dyed red. Over that, they put a covering of another kind of strong leather.

²⁰ The workers made frames out of acacia wood for the holy tent. ²¹ Each frame was about 15 feet long and two feet three inches wide. ²² The workers added two small wooden pins to each frame. The pins stuck out so that they were even with each other. The workers made all the frames of the holy tent in the same way. ²³ The workers made 20 frames for the south side of the holy tent. ²⁴ And they made 40 silver bases to go under them. They made two bases for each frame. They put one under each pin that stuck out. ²⁵ For the north side of the holy tent they made 20 frames ²⁶ and 40 silver bases. They put two bases under each frame. ²⁷ The workers made six frames for the west end of the holy tent. ²⁸ They made two frames for the corners of the holy tent at the far end. ²⁹ At those two corners the frames were double from top to bottom. They were fitted into a single ring. The workers made both of them the same. ³⁰ So there were eight frames and 16 silver bases. There were two bases under each frame.

³¹ The workers also made crossbars out of acacia wood. They made five for the frames on one side of the holy tent. ³² They made five for the frames on the other side. And they made five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the holy tent. ³³ The center crossbar reached from end to end at the middle of the frames. ³⁴ The workers covered the frames with gold. They made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also covered the crossbars with gold.

³⁵ They made the curtain out of blue, purple and bright red yarn and finely twisted linen. A skilled worker sewed cherubim into the pattern. ³⁶ The workers made four posts out of acacia wood for the curtain. They covered the posts with gold. They made gold hooks and four silver bases for the posts. ³⁷ For the entrance to the tent the workers made a curtain. They made it out of blue, purple and bright red yarn and finely twisted linen. A person who sewed skillfully made it. ³⁸ The workers made five posts with hooks for the curtains. They covered the tops of the posts and their bands with gold. And they made five bronze bases for them.

The Ark of the Covenant Law

37 Bezalel made the ark of the covenant law out of acacia wood. It was three feet nine inches long and two feet three inches wide and high. ² He covered it inside and outside with pure gold. He put a strip of gold around it. ³ He made four gold rings for it. He joined them to its four bottom corners. He put two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ⁴ Then he made poles out of acacia wood. He covered them with gold. ⁵ He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.

⁶ He made its cover out of pure gold. It was three feet nine inches long and two feet three inches wide. The cover is the place where sin is paid for. ⁷ Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ⁸ He put one of the cherubim on each end of it. ⁹ He made them as part of the cover itself. Their wings spread up over the cover. The cherubim faced each other and looked toward the cover.

The Table for the Holy Bread

¹⁰ The workers made the table out of acacia wood. It was three feet long, one foot six inches wide and two feet three inches high. ¹¹ Then they covered it with pure gold. They put a strip of gold around it. ¹² They also made a rim around it three inches wide. They put a strip of gold around the rim. ¹³ They made four gold rings for the table. They joined them to the four corners, where the four legs were. ¹⁴ The rings were close to the rim. The rings held the poles used to carry the table. ¹⁵ The workers made the poles out of acacia wood. They covered them with gold. ¹⁶ They made plates, dishes and bowls out of pure gold for the table. They also made pure gold pitchers to pour out drink offerings.

The Gold Lampstand

¹⁷ The workers made the lampstand out of pure gold. They hammered out its base and stem. Its buds, blossoms and cups branched out from it. ¹⁸ Six branches came out from the sides of the lampstand. There were three on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹ On one branch there were three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. There were three on the next branch. In fact, there were three on each of the six branches that came out from the lampstand. ²⁰ On the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. ²¹ One bud was under the first pair of branches that came out from the lampstand. A second bud was under the second pair. And a third bud was under the third pair. There was a total of six branches. ²² The buds and branches came out from the lampstand. The whole lampstand was one piece hammered out of pure gold.

²³ The workers made its seven lamps out of pure gold. They also made its trays and wick cutters out of pure gold. ²⁴ They used 75 pounds of pure gold to make the lampstand and everything used with it.

The Altar for Burning Incense

²⁵ The workers made the altar for burning incense. They made it out of acacia wood. It was about one foot six inches square and three feet high. A horn stuck out from each of its upper four corners. ²⁶ The workers covered the top, sides and horns with pure gold. They put a strip of gold around it. ²⁷ They made two gold rings below the strip. They put the rings on the sides across from each other. The rings held the poles used to carry it. ²⁸ The workers made the poles out of acacia wood. They covered them with gold.

²⁹ They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, sweet-smelling incense. A person who makes perfume made them.

The Altar for Burnt Offerings

38 The workers built the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood. It was four feet six inches high and seven feet six inches square. ² They made a horn stick out from each of its four upper corners. They covered the altar with bronze. ³ They made all its tools out of bronze. They made its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks, and pans for carrying ashes. ⁴ They made a bronze grate for the altar. They put the grate halfway up the altar on the inside. ⁵ They made a bronze ring for each of the four corners of the grate. ⁶ They made poles out of acacia wood. They covered them with bronze. ⁷ They put the poles through the rings. The poles were on two sides of the altar for carrying it. The workers made the altar out of boards. They left it hollow.

The Large Bowl for Washing

⁸ The workers made the large bronze bowl and its bronze stand. They made them out of bronze mirrors. The mirrors belonged to the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The Courtyard

⁹ Next, the workers made the courtyard. The south side was 150 feet long. It had curtains made out of finely twisted linen. ¹⁰ The curtains had 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The posts had silver hooks and bands on them. ¹¹ The north side was also 150 feet long. Its curtains had 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The posts had silver hooks and bands on them.

¹² The west end was 75 feet wide. It had curtains with ten posts and ten bases. The posts had silver hooks and bands on them. ¹³ The east end, toward the sunrise, was also 75 feet wide. ¹⁴ Curtains 22 feet six inches long were on one side of the entrance to the courtyard. They were hung on three posts. Each post had a base. ¹⁵ Curtains 22 feet six inches long were also on the other side of the entrance. They were hung on three posts. Each post had a base. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the courtyard were made out of finely twisted linen. ¹⁷ The bases for the posts were made out of bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were made out of silver. Their tops were covered with silver. So all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.

¹⁸ The curtain for the courtyard entrance was made out of blue, purple and bright red yarn and finely twisted linen. A person who sewed skillfully made it. It was 30 feet long. Like the curtains of the courtyard, it was seven feet six inches high. ¹⁹ It had four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were made out of silver. Their tops were covered with silver. ²⁰ All the tent stakes of the holy tent were made out of bronze. So were all the stakes of the courtyard around it.

The Amounts of the Metals Used

²¹ Here are the amounts of the metals used for the holy tent, where the tablets of the covenant law were kept. Moses commanded the Levites to record the amounts. The Levites did the work under the direction of Ithamar. Ithamar was the son of Aaron the priest. ²² Bezalel, the son of Uri, made everything the Lord had commanded Moses. Uri was the son of Hur. Bezalel was from the tribe of Judah. ²³ Oholiab, the son of Ahisamak, helped Bezalel. Oholiab was from the tribe of Dan. He could carve things and make patterns. And he could sew skillfully with blue, purple and bright red yarn and on fine linen. ²⁴ The total weight of the gold from the wave offering was more than a ton. It was weighed out in keeping with the standard weights used in the sacred tent. The gold was used for all the work done in connection with the sacred tent.

²⁵ The silver received from the men in the community who were listed and counted weighed almost four tons. It was weighed out in keeping with the weights used in the sacred tent. ²⁶ It amounted to a fifth of an ounce for each person. It was weighed out in keeping with the weights used in the sacred tent. The silver was received from the men who had been listed and counted. All of them were 20 years old or more. Their total number was 603,550. ²⁷ The four tons of silver were used to make the bases for the holy tent and for the curtain. The 100 bases were made from the four tons. Each base used more than 75 pounds of silver. ²⁸ The workers used 45 pounds to make the hooks for the posts, to cover the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.

²⁹ The bronze from the wave offering weighed two and a half tons. ³⁰ The workers used some of it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting. They used some for the bronze altar for burnt offerings and its bronze grate and all its tools. ³¹ They used some for the bases for the courtyard around the holy tent. They used some for the bases for the courtyard entrance. And they used the rest to make all the tent stakes for the holy tent and the courtyard around it.