Beginning

36 Then Moses said, ‘Bezalel and Oholiab will do the work that the Lord has commanded us to do. Everyone that the Lord has helped to have special skills will work with them. They will help to build the tabernacle and all the other special things that the Lord has commanded.’

² Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab and all the other people who had special skills to come together. The Lord had given them these skills and they wanted to start the work. ³ They received from Moses all the gifts that the Israelites had chosen to bring. They had brought gifts that would help to build the tabernacle and the other special things. The Israelites continued to bring more gifts to Moses every morning. ⁴ Then all the workers who had special skills stopped doing their work. They left their work on the tabernacle and they went to speak to Moses. ⁵ They said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing many more gifts than we need to finish the tabernacle, as the Lord commanded us to do.’

⁶ So Moses sent a message to everyone in the whole camp. He said, ‘No man or woman must offer any more gifts for the work of the tabernacle.’ When the people heard Moses' message, they did not bring any more gifts. ⁷ The workers already had more things than they needed to finish all the work.

The tabernacle

⁸ All the workers who had special skills made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They used very good linen, as well as blue, purple and red material. They made beautiful pictures of cherubs on the curtains. ⁹ All the curtains were the same size: 12 metres long and 2 metres wide. ¹⁰ The workers joined five of the curtains together. They did the same thing with the other five curtains. ¹¹ They made rings of blue material along the edge of the last curtain in each set of five curtains. ¹² They put 50 rings along the edge of the first set. They put another 50 rings along the edge of the second set. The rings on one curtain were opposite to the rings on the other curtain. ¹³ They made 50 small gold hooks to join the curtains together. So a single piece of curtain made the whole tabernacle.

¹⁴ The workers used goats' hair to make 11 more curtains to cover the tabernacle, like a tent.

¹⁵ The curtains were all the same size: 13.5 metres long and 2 metres wide. ¹⁶ They joined five of the curtains together to make one set. They joined the other six curtains to make another set. ¹⁷ They used material to make 50 rings along the edge of the end curtain in each set. ¹⁸ They made 50 bronze hooks to join the two sets of curtains together. It made a single tent. ¹⁹ They used red leather from sheep's skins to cover the tent. They used another kind of good leather to cover the red leather.

²⁰ They used acacia wood to make the boards that would hold up the tabernacle. ²¹ Each board was 4 metres high and 65 centimetres wide. ²² Each board had two wooden pegs, beside each other. They made all the boards for the tabernacle like this. ²³ They made 20 boards for the south side of the tabernacle. ²⁴ They used silver to make 40 heavy bases to hold up the boards. Two bases would hold up each board. The pegs on the boards fitted into holes in the bases. ²⁵ They made 20 boards for the north side of the tabernacle. ²⁶ They made 40 silver bases, two bases under each board.

²⁷ They made six boards for the west side, at the back of the tabernacle. ²⁸ They made two boards for the corners at the back of the tabernacle. ²⁹ They fixed the two boards together, from the bottom to the top. They used a ring to fix them together at the top. They made both corners in the same way. ³⁰ So there were eight boards at the back of the tabernacle and 16 silver bases, two bases under each board.

³¹ They used acacia wood to make bars to fix across the boards. They made five bars for the south side of the tabernacle, ³² five bars for the north side, and five bars for the west side at the back of the tabernacle. ³³ The bar that would go across the centre of the boards would reach from one end of the tabernacle to the other end. ³⁴ They used gold to cover the boards and to make rings for the boards. The rings would hold the bars in place across the boards. They also covered the wooden bars with gold.

³⁵ The workers used blue, purple and red material, and good linen to make a special curtain. A worker used special skills to make pictures of cherubs on it. ³⁶ They used gold rings to hang the curtain from four poles of acacia wood. They covered the poles with gold. They made four silver bases to hold the poles. ³⁷ They made a curtain for the entrance of the tent. They used blue, purple and red material and good linen to make it. A worker used special skills to make it, so that it looked beautiful. ³⁸ They made five poles to hold up this curtain. They fixed gold hooks to the poles. They covered the tops of the poles with gold. But they used bronze to make five bases to hold up the poles.

The Covenant Box

37 Bezalel used acacia wood to make the Covenant Box.^[a] It was 1 metre long, 75 centimetres wide and 75 centimetres high. ² He covered it with gold, inside and outside. He built up the edges of the box with gold. ³ He made four gold rings for it and he fixed them to its four feet. He fixed two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. ⁴ He used acacia wood to make two poles. He also covered them with gold. ⁵ He pushed the poles through the rings on the sides of the Covenant Box, to carry it.

⁶ He used pure gold to make the special lid for the Covenant Box. It was 1 metre long and 75 centimetres wide. ⁷ He used gold to make images of two cherubs. He used a hammer to make them the right shape. He made them to stand at the two ends of the lid. ⁸ One cherub stood at one end of the lid and one cherub stood at the other end. He made the two cherubs and the lid from one piece of gold. ⁹ The cherubs looked at each other and they watched over the lid. Their wings touched each other over the top of the lid.

The special table

¹⁰ Bezalel used acacia wood to make the special table. It was 1 metre long, 50 centimetres wide and 75 centimetres high. ¹¹ He covered the wood with gold. He built up the edges of the table with gold. ¹² He fixed an extra piece of wood around its edge. It was 7 centimetres wide. He built up the edges of this piece with gold. ¹³ He made four gold rings for the table. He fixed them to the four corners, one beside each leg of the table. ¹⁴ The rings were near to the extra piece of wood. They would hold the poles to carry the table. ¹⁵ He used acacia wood to make the poles and he covered them with gold. They would use the poles to carry the table. ¹⁶ He used pure gold to make the things that would be on the table. He made plates, big spoons, jars and bowls. They would use those things to pour out drink offerings.

The lampstand

¹⁷ Bezalel used one piece of pure gold to make the lampstand. He used a hammer to make it the right shape. He used the gold to make its base, its middle pole and the cups to hold the oil. The cups were like open flowers and closed flowers. ¹⁸ There were six branches on the lampstand, three branches on each side of the middle pole. ¹⁹ Three cups in the shape of almond flowers and their leaves were on each branch. Each of the six branches of the lampstand had three cups like that.

²⁰ On the lampstand itself there were four cups in the shape of almond flowers and their leaves. ²¹ There was one closed flower under the first pair of branches. There was a second closed flower under the second pair of branches. There was a third closed flower under the third pair of branches. So there were three closed flowers for the six branches. ²² He made the flowers and the branches from the same piece of pure gold as the lampstand. He used a hammer to make the gold into the right shape.

²³ He used pure gold to make seven lamps for the lampstand, as well as the small tools and dishes to take care of the lamps. ²⁴ He used 34 kilograms of pure gold to make the lampstand and all its tools.

The altar for incense

²⁵ Bezalel used acacia wood to make the altar for incense. It was square, 45 centimetres long, 45 centimetres wide and 90 centimetres high. The altar's horns were part of it, made from one piece of wood. ²⁶ He covered all the altar with gold: its top, its sides and the horns. He built up an edge of gold around the four sides. ²⁷ He made two gold rings for the altar. He fixed them below the gold edge, on two opposite sides. They would hold the poles to carry the altar. ²⁸ He used acacia wood to make the poles and he covered them with gold.

²⁹ He also made the special oil that would make things holy. He also made the incense with a sweet smell, like perfume.

The altar for burnt offerings

38 Bezalel used acacia wood to build the altar for burnt offerings.^[b] It was square, 2.2 metres long and 2.2 metres wide. It was 1.3 metres high. ² He made four horns, one at each corner of the altar. The horns and the altar itself were one piece of work. He covered the whole altar with bronze. ³ He made all the tools for the altar with bronze. He made pots to remove the ashes, and also spades and bowls. He made forks for the meat and dishes to carry the fire.

⁴ He used bronze to make a square net for the altar. He fixed it inside the altar, in the middle between the top and the ground. ⁵ He used bronze to make four rings. He fixed them to the four corners of the net. The poles would go through these rings. ⁶ He used acacia wood to make the poles. He covered them with bronze. ⁷ He put the poles through the rings on each side of the altar, to carry it. He used boards to make the altar so that it was empty inside.

⁸ He used bronze to make a large bowl for water, and a base for it to stand on. He used the bronze from small mirrors to make these things. The mirrors had belonged to women who worked at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

The yard of the tabernacle

⁹ Bezalel made the yard around the tent. The south side of the yard was 45 metres long. It had curtains that were made from good linen. ¹⁰ He made 20 poles and 20 bronze bases to hold the poles. He used silver to make hooks and sticks to hold the curtains. ¹¹ The north side of the yard was also 45 metres long. It also had 20 poles and their bronze bases, as well as their silver hooks and sticks.

¹² The west end of the yard was 23 metres long. It had curtains with ten poles and their ten bronze bases. The poles had silver hooks and sticks. ¹³ The entrance of the yard was at its east end. That end was also 23 metres long. ^14-15 There were 7 metres of curtain on each side of the entrance. Three poles with their bases held the curtains on each side. ¹⁶ The workers used good linen to make all the curtains around the yard.

¹⁷ All the poles had bronze bases to hold them. But the workers used silver to make the hooks that were on the poles, and the sticks. They covered the tops of the poles with silver too. All the poles around the yard had silver sticks to join them together.

¹⁸ They used blue, purple and red material, as well as good linen, to make the curtain for the entrance of the yard. A worker used special skills so that it looked beautiful. It was 9 metres wide and 2.2 metres high. All the curtains around the yard were 2.2 metres high. ¹⁹ Four poles in bronze bases held the curtain at the entrance. The poles had silver hooks and silver sticks. Silver also covered the tops of the poles. ²⁰ The workers used bronze to make the pegs that fixed the tabernacle to the ground. They also made bronze pegs to fix all the curtains around the yard to the ground.

The materials for the tabernacle

²¹ This is a list of the materials that the workers used to make the tabernacle with the Covenant Box inside it. Moses commanded the Levites to write this list. Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest, was the leader of this work.

²² Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, made all the things that the Lord had commanded Moses. Bezalel belonged to the tribe of Judah. ²³ Ahisamach's son Oholiab helped him. He belonged to the tribe of Dan. He had a special skill to draw things that he wanted to make. He could make beautiful pictures on cloth, with blue, purple and red materials, as well as good linen.

²⁴ The workers used 1,000 kilograms of gold to do all the work to make the tabernacle. That was its proper weight. The Israelites had lifted up this gold as an offering to the Lord.

²⁵ The people had also brought 3,430 kilograms of silver as an offering for the work. ²⁶ Each person who was 20 years old when Moses counted them had given the right amount, about ten grams. There were 603,550 men that Moses had counted.

²⁷ The workers used 34 kilograms of silver to make each base to hold the poles. There were 100 bases to hold the tabernacle and the special curtain inside it. So they used 3,400 kilograms of silver to make the bases. ²⁸ Then they used the 30 kilograms that still remained. With this, they made the hooks and the sticks for the poles, and they covered the tops of the poles.

²⁹ The people had also lifted up 2,425 kilograms of bronze as an offering to the Lord. ³⁰ The workers used this bronze to make the bases for the entrance to the tabernacle. They also used it to make the bronze altar, with its net and all its tools. ³¹ They used this bronze to make the bases for the curtains around the yard and for the entrance to the yard. They used it to make the pegs to fix the tabernacle and the curtain around the yard to the ground.