Beginning
Instruction on the Sanctuary and Its Ministers
Chapter 25
Moses Receives the Command to Establish a Sanctuary. 1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the children of Israel to gather an offering for me. Let each one raise up as an offering what his heart tells him is right. 3 This is what you shall gather from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4 blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, fine linen, goats’ hair, 5 rams’ skins dyed red, sheep skins, acacia wood, 6 oil for the lamps, balsam for anointing oil and for fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones and stones for setting in the ephod and the breastplate.
8 “They are to build a sanctuary for me and I will live in their midst. 9 Build it just as I will show you, following the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture.
10 The Ark of the Covenant.“They are to make an Ark out of acacia wood. It is to be two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.[a] 11 You are to cover it with gold inside and out, and they are to put a gold molding on it. 12 You are to cast four golden rings for it and attach them to its four legs, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 You are to make poles out of acacia wood and cover them with gold. 14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the two sides of the Ark so that you may carry the Ark with them. 15 The poles must remain in the rings of the Ark; they are not to be taken out of them.
16 “You will place the Testimony that I will give you in the Ark.
17 “You shall make a seat[b] of atonement of pure gold. It shall be two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. 18 You will make two cherubim[c] out of gold. Make them as hammered works, placing them on the two sides of the seat of atonement.
19 “Make one cherubim at one end and the other cherubim at the other end. Make the cherubim all of one piece at the two ends of the seat of atonement. 20 The cherubim shall have two wings spread out covering the seat of atonement. They shall be facing each other, and the faces of the cherubim will be turned toward the seat of atonement.
21 “You will place the seat of atonement on top of the Ark and place the Testimony that I will give you inside the Ark.
22 “I will meet you there. I will speak with you from the seat of atonement that is between the two cherubim upon the Ark of Testimony concerning all that I will command the children of Israel.
23 The Table of the Bread Offered to God.“You are to make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. 24 Cover it with pure gold and place a molding of gold upon it. 25 Make a frame one handbreath wide and place a molding of gold around it. 26 You shall also make four golden rings for it and place them at the four corners that are on its four legs. 27 Place the rings alongside the borders to hold the poles used in carrying the table.
28 “Make the poles out of acacia wood, cover them in gold, and carry the table with them. 29 Also make dishes and plates and flagons and jars out of pure gold to pour out libations. 30 Set the bread of the Presence on the table before me always.
31 The Golden Lampstand.“You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out.
“Its base and shaft; its bowls and knobs and flowers shall be of one piece. 32 Six of the branches of the lampstand shall come out of its sides, three from one side of the lampstand and three from the other side of the lampstand. 33 On one branch there shall be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, with bud and flower. Also there shall be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, with bud and flower, on the next branch—and similarly for all six branches that rise out of the lampstand.
34 “On the shaft of the lampstand there shall be four cups shaped like almond blossoms with their bud and flower. 35 One bud shall be under the first set of two branches coming out of it, and one bud under the second set of two branches coming out of it, and one bud under the third set of two branches coming out of it, for there are six branches coming out of it. 36 The buds and their respective branches must be one piece with the lampstand, and the whole made from one piece of pure gold that has been beaten into shape.
37 “You shall then make seven lamps for the lampstand and set them on the lampstand to shed light in front of it. 38 Its snuffers and their trays are to be made of pure gold.
39 “Use a talent[d] of pure gold for making the lampstand and all of its accessories.
40 “See that you make them according to the model that I have shown you on the mountain.
Chapter 26
The Tabernacle. 1 “As for the tabernacle, you shall make it out of ten curtains of fine twisted linen, blue and purple and scarlet, with cherubim sewn on them by skillful craftsmen.[e] 2 The curtains shall be twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide, each curtain being the same size. 3 Five curtains shall be joined together, and the other five curtains shall be joined together. 4 Make loops of blue cloth on the outside edge of the first set, and likewise loops on the outside edge of the second set. 5 Make fifty loops in the first set and make fifty loops in the edge of the second set. The loops should be symmetrical. 6 Then make fifty golden clasps and attach the sets of curtains to each other to form the tabernacle.
7 “You shall then make curtains of goats hair to build a tent over the tabernacle, eleven curtains in all. 8 The curtains shall be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. Each curtain shall be the same size. 9 You shall join five of the curtains on one side and six curtains on the other side. Fold back the sixth curtain to double it over on the front of the tent. 10 You shall make fifty loops in the outside edge of the first set, and fifty loops in the edge of the second set. 11 You shall make fifty bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops to join the tent together and make it a single structure.
12 “The overlapping part of the curtain, the half curtain that is left over, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 The cubit that is left over on the one side, like the cubit that is left over on the other side, of what is remaining in the length of the curtain of the tent, shall hang over the two sides of the tabernacle to cover one side and the other.
14 “You shall make a covering for the tent out of rams’ skins dyed red, and over it shall be a covering of sheep skin.
15 The Linear Structure of the Tabernacle.“You shall make upright frames for the tent of acacia wood. 16 Each board shall be ten cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. 17 Each board shall have two joints in it to fit them together. All the boards of the tabernacle are to be made this way. 18 This is how you shall make all the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards being on the southern side. 19 You shall also make forty silver bases for the twenty boards, two bases for each of the joints on one board, and two bases for each of the joints on the next board. 20 On the second side of the tabernacle, toward the north, there shall be twenty boards 21 as well as their forty silver bases, two bases under one board, and two bases under the next board. 22 For the rear of the tabernacle facing the west you shall make six boards, 23 and two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the rear. 24 They shall be doubled together below and likewise joined together above into one ring. The two of them will form two corners. 25 Thus, there shall be eight boards with their silver bases, sixteen bases in all, with two bases under one board and two bases under the next board.
26 “You shall also make bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle 27 and five bars for the boards for the other side of the tabernacle and five bars for the boards of the rear, toward the west. 28 The middle bar shall pass half way up the boards, reaching from end to end. 29 Cover the boards with gold, and make their rings gold in which the bars are inserted, and also cover the bars in gold.
30 “You shall build the tabernacle according to the plan that you were shown on the mountain.
31 The Inner Veil.“You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen, with cherubim sewn upon it by skillful craftsmen. 32 You shall hang it on four columns of acacia wood covered in gold, with hooks of gold and standing upon four bases of silver. 33 Hang the veil from the clasps, and place the Ark of Testimony inside the veil. The veil shall serve you as the separation between the Holy and the Holy of Holies. 34 Place the seat of atonement on the Ark of Testimony in the Holy of Holies. 35 Set the table outside of the veil and the lampstand opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle. You are to put the table on the north side.
36 The Entry Curtain.“You shall make a curtain for the door to the tent of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen that is covered with embroidery. 37 You shall make five columns of acacia wood covered in gold for the curtain. Their hooks are to be made out of gold and you shall cast five bronze bases.
Chapter 27
Altar of Burnt Offering. 1 “You shall make an altar out of acacia wood. It is to be five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar shall be square and be three cubits high. 2 Make horns[f] for its four corners and the horns and altar are one piece. You shall then cover it with bronze. 3 Fashion vessels to take away its ashes, as well as shovels, and basins, and forks, and fire pans. All of its utensils are to be made of bronze. 4 Make a grating for it, a network of bronze. Upon the net you shall fashion four rings made of bronze at its four corners. 5 Set it under the edge of the altar so that the net will hang halfway down the altar. 6 You shall also make poles for the altar. They shall be made of acacia wood covered with bronze. 7 The poles are to be placed through the rings, so that they are on either side of the altar for carrying it. 8 Make the altar with boards, hollow in the middle. It is to be made just as was shown to you on the mountain.
The Courtyard. 9 “You shall make a courtyard[g] for the tabernacle. On the south side there shall be a drape of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits long, to form the first side. 10 There are to be twenty columns with twenty bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their rings are to be made of silver.
11 “Likewise on the north side, there must be a drape one hundred cubits long, its twenty pillars with their twenty bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their rings are to be made of silver. 12 Along the width of the courtyard on the west side there shall be fifty cubits of drapes with ten columns and ten bases. 13 The width of the courtyard on the east side shall be fifty cubits. 14 On one side there are to be fifteen cubits of drapes with three columns and three bases, 15 and on the other side there are to be fifteen cubits of drapes with three columns and three bases.
16 “For the gate of the courtyard there shall be a curtain twenty cubits long, made of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen with four columns and their four bases. 17 All the columns around the courtyard are to be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be made of silver and their bases of bronze. 18 The length of the courtyard must be one hundred cubits, the width fifty, and the height five cubits, made of fine twisted linen with the bases made of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for whatever use and all the pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze.
20 The Oil for the Lampstand.“You shall order the children of Israel to obtain pure oil pressed from olives for the light, so that a lamp may burn continually. 21 It shall be in the meeting tent[h] outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony. Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning so that it may be before the Lord. This is a statute for the children of Israel throughout all their generations.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.