Bible in 90 Days

Consecration of the Priests^(A)

29 Now this is the thing that you shall do to them to consecrate them, to minister as priests to Me: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, ² and unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil—you shall make them of wheat flour. ³ You shall put them into one basket and bring them in the basket with the bull and the two rams. ⁴ Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. ⁵ You shall take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastplate, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ⁶ And you shall put the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ Then shall you take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. ⁸ You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. ⁹ You shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the headbands on them, and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute.

Thus you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ Then you shall bring a bull before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ You shall kill the bull before the Lord by the door of the tent of meeting. ¹² You shall take of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. ¹³ You shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the lobe that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴ But the flesh of the bull, its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵ You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁶ You shall slay the ram, and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it around on the altar. ¹⁷ Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head. ¹⁸ You shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a soothing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

¹⁹ Then you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. ²⁰ You shall kill the ram and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood around on the altar. ²¹ You shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him. So he and his garments shall be consecrated, along with his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

²² Also you shall take the fat and the rump of the ram, and the fat that covers the entrails and the lobe above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them and the right shoulder (for it is a ram of consecration), ²³ and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord. ²⁴ And you shall put all of these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar for a burnt offering, for a soothing aroma before the Lord. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord. ²⁶ You shall take the breast of Aaron’s ram of consecration, and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion.

²⁷ You shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priest’s portion that is contributed from the ram of the consecration, from that which was for Aaron and from that which was for his sons. ²⁸ It shall be for Aaron and his sons by a statute forever, for it is a contribution. It shall be a contribution from the children of Israel from their peace offerings, their contributions to the Lord.

²⁹ The holy garments belonging to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they may be anointed in them and be consecrated in them. ³⁰ The son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days when he comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.

³¹ You shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in a holy place. ³² Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket by the door of the tent of meeting. ³³ They shall eat those things by which the atonement was made in order to consecrate and sanctify them, but no one else shall eat them, because they are holy. ³⁴ If any of the flesh from the consecrations or from the bread remain until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ Thus shall you do to Aaron and his sons according to all that I have commanded you. You shall consecrate them for seven days. ³⁶ Every day you must offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you must cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it. You must anoint it to consecrate it. ³⁷ For seven days you must make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches the altar will be holy.

The Daily Offerings

³⁸ Now this is what you are to offer on the altar: two one-year-old lambs every day, continually. ³⁹ The one lamb you must offer in the morning, and the other lamb you must offer at sundown. ⁴⁰ And with the first lamb will be a tenth of an ephah^[a] of flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin^[b] of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering. ⁴¹ The other lamb you must offer at sundown and must offer with it the same grain offering and the same drink offering as in the morning, for a soothing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

⁴² This will be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. ⁴³ I will meet there with the children of Israel, and it will be consecrated by My glory.

⁴⁴ I will sanctify the tent of meeting and the altar. I will also sanctify both Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. ⁴⁵ I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. ⁴⁶ Then they will know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

The Altar of Incense^(B)

30 Also, you must make an altar for burning incense. You must make it of acacia wood. ² It must be a cubit in length, and its width a cubit. It will be square. Its height will be two cubits;^[c] the horns shall be of one piece with it. ³ You must overlay it with pure gold, its top, its sides all around, and its horns; and you must make a molding of gold all around it. ⁴ You must make two golden rings for it under its molding. You must make them on its two sides, on opposite sides of it, and they will be holders for the poles with which to carry it. ⁵ Then you must make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ You must put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you.

⁷ Aaron must burn sweet incense on it. Every morning, when he trims the lamps, he must burn incense. ⁸ When Aaron lights the lamps at sundown, he must burn incense on it. It is to be a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You must offer no strange incense on it, nor burnt sacrifice, nor grain offering, and you must not pour out a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ Aaron must make atonement on its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. Once a year he must make atonement on it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.

The Atonement Money

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² When you take the census of the children of Israel according to their number, then each man is to pay a ransom for his life to the Lord when you count them, so that there be no plague among them when you number them. ¹³ This is what everyone who is counted must give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary^[d] (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half shekel will be the offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who is counted, from twenty years old and above, must give an offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The rich must not give more and the poor must not give less than half a shekel when they give the offering to the Lord, to make atonement for your lives. ¹⁶ You must take the atonement money of the children of Israel and give it for the service of the tent of meeting, so that it may be a memorial to the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for your lives.

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁸ You must also make a basin of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing, and you must put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you must put water in it. ¹⁹ For Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and their feet from it. ²⁰ When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister by burning incense as an offering made by fire to the Lord, they must wash with water so that they will not die. ²¹ So they must wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die. And it will be a perpetual statute for them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

The Anointing Oil

²² Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²³ Take for yourself choice spices: five hundred shekels^[e] of pure myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels^[f]), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, ²⁴ five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin^[g] of olive oil. ²⁵ And you must make with it a holy anointing oil, a perfumed compound, the work of a perfumer. It will be a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ And you must anoint the tent of meeting with it, along with the ark of the testimony, ²⁷ and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, ²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand. ²⁹ You must consecrate them, so that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them must be holy.

³⁰ You must anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them, so that they may minister as priests to Me. ³¹ You must speak to the children of Israel, saying, “This will be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. ³² It must not be poured out on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any other like it in composition. It is holy, and it will be holy to you. ³³ Whoever makes anything like it or whoever puts any of it on a layman will be cut off from his people.”

The Incense

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses: Take for yourself sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense of equal amounts. ³⁵ You shall make of these an incense, a compound expertly blended, mingled with salt, pure and holy. ³⁶ You must beat some of it very fine and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you. It will be most holy to you. ³⁷ As for the perfume which you will make, you may not make it for yourselves using the same recipe. It must be holy for the Lord to you. ³⁸ Whoever makes anything like it in order to use it as perfume must be cut off from his people.

The Tabernacle Artisans^(C)

31 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³ I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of craftsmanship ⁴ to devise artistic works for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, ⁵ and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of craftsmanship. ⁶ I, indeed, I have given him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given skill to all who are specially skilled, that they may make everything that I have commanded you: ⁷ the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tent, ⁸ the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, ⁹ the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, ¹⁰ the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, ¹¹ the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. They must make them according to all that I have commanded you.

The Sabbath Law

¹² The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹³ Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, “You must surely keep My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

¹⁴ “You shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who defiles it will surely be put to death. For whoever does any work on it, that person will be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵ Six days may work be done, but on the seventh is the Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day will surely be put to death. ¹⁶ Therefore the children of Israel must keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.”

¹⁸ When He had made an end of communing with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The Golden Calf

32 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us gods which will go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

² Aaron said to them, “Break off the gold earrings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people broke off the gold earrings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He received them from their hand, and fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

⁵ When Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord.” ⁶ So they rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses, “Go, and get down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. ⁸ They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molded calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, which has brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ”

⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and certainly, it is a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰ Now therefore let Me alone, so that My wrath may burn against them and I may destroy them. And I will make of you a great nation.”

¹¹ But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your wrath burn against Your people, whom You have brought forth from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath and relent of this harm against Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your descendants, and they will inherit it forever.’ ” ¹⁴ Then the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.

¹⁵ Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of testimony in his hand. The tablets were written on both their sides. They were written on one side and on the other. ¹⁶ The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets.

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”

¹⁸ But he said:

¹⁹ As soon as he came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses’ anger burned, so he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the bottom of the mountain. ²⁰ Then he took the calf which they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.

²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”

²² Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn. You know that the people are set on evil. ²³ For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us which will go before us, for this Moses, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ²⁴ I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and then I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.’ ”

²⁵ Now when Moses saw the people were in a frenzy, for Aaron had let them get completely out of control, causing derision from their enemies, ²⁶ then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered themselves together around him.

²⁷ He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man fasten his sword on his side, and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’ ” ²⁸ The Levites did according to the word of Moses, and about three thousand men of the people died that day. ²⁹ For Moses had said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow a blessing on you this day, for every man opposes his son and his brother.”

³⁰ On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin, and now I will go up to the Lord. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

³¹ Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, this people has committed a great sin and have made a god of gold for themselves. ³² Yet now, if You will, forgive their sin, but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”

³³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. ³⁴ So go now, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Indeed, My angel will go before you. Nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will indeed punish them for their sin.”

³⁵ And the Lord plagued the people because they had made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

The Command to Leave Sinai

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ ² I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ³ Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. However, I will not go up in your midst, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

⁴ When the people heard this disturbing word, they mourned. And no one put on his ornaments. ⁵ For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up among you for one moment, I might destroy you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, so that I may know what I will do to you.’ ” ⁶ The children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

The Tent of Meeting

⁷ Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and called it the tent of meeting. And anyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. ⁸ So whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up and stand, every man at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹ And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people rose up and worshipped, every man at the entrance of his tent. ¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When he returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tent.

The Glory of God

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You, and that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too that this nation is Your people.”

¹⁴ And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how will it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we will be distinguished, I and Your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, “I will do this thing of which you have spoken, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “I pray, show me Your glory.”

¹⁹ Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” ²⁰ He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live.”

²¹ Then the Lord said, “Indeed, there is a place by Me. You must stand on the rock. ²² While My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. ²³ Then I will take away My hand, and you will see My back, but My face may not be seen.”

The New Stone Tablets

34 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. ³ No one is to come up with you. Do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain, and the flocks or herds may not graze in front of the mountain.”

⁴ So he cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. ⁵ Then the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

⁸ Moses made haste and bowed to the ground and worshipped. ⁹ He said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, for we are a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

The Covenant Renewed

¹⁰ Then He said: Indeed, I am going to make a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done in all the earth nor in any nation. And all the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I will do with you. ¹¹ Obey what I command you this day. Indeed, I am going to drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ¹² Watch yourself so that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare in your midst. ¹³ But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles^{[h] 14} (for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), ¹⁵ lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they prostitute themselves with their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you to eat of his sacrifice. ¹⁶ And then you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves after their gods. They will make your sons prostitute themselves after their gods.

¹⁷ You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.

¹⁸ You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the month of Aviv, for in the month of Aviv you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ Every firstborn of the womb belongs to Me, and every firstborn male among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. ²⁰ But you must redeem with a lamb the firstborn of a donkey, and if you fail to redeem him, then you must break his neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.

No one may appear before Me empty-handed.

²¹ You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. Even at the time of plowing and harvest you must rest.

²² You must observe the Feast of Weeks, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year. ²³ Three times in the year all your males must appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders. No man will covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

²⁵ You must not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left until the following morning.

²⁶ The first of the first fruits of your land you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.

You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses: Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. ²⁸ So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread or drink water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Moses’ Radiant Face

²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in the hands of Moses, when he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. ³⁰ So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, amazingly, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the children of Israel drew near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.

³³ When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took the veil off until he came out. Then he came out and spoke to the children of Israel what he had been commanded. ³⁵ The children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, and then Moses put the veil over his face again until he went in to speak with Him.

Sabbath Regulations

35 Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them: These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do. ² Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. ³ You must not kindle fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.

Offerings for the Tabernacle^(D)

⁴ Moses said to all the congregation of the children of Israel: This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: ⁵ Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze, ⁶ and blue, purple, and scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, ⁷ rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, ⁸ oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, ⁹ onyx stones, and gemstones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.

¹⁰ Every skilled craftsman among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded: ¹¹ the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, its hooks and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; ¹² the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil that conceals it; ¹³ the table with its poles, and all its utensils, and the showbread; ¹⁴ the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; ¹⁵ and the incense altar with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; ¹⁶ the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; ¹⁷ the hangings of the court, its pillars and their sockets, and the curtain for the gate of the court; ¹⁸ the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords; ¹⁹ the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.

²⁰ Then all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. ²¹ Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments. ²² They came, both men and women, as many as had willing hearts, and brought brooches, earrings, rings and bracelets, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone that offered an offering of gold to the Lord. ²³ Everyone who had blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and porpoise skins, brought them. ²⁴ Everyone who was making a contribution of silver and bronze brought the Lord’s offering, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. ²⁵ All the women that were skilled spun with their hands and brought what they had spun, both of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine linen. ²⁶ All the women whose hearts stirred them to action and were skilled spun goats’ hair. ²⁷ The leaders brought onyx stones and gemstones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate, ²⁸ and spice and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. ²⁹ The children of Israel brought a willing offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring material for all the work which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be made.

Bezalel and Oholiab^(E)

³⁰ Moses said to the children of Israel: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³¹ And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of craftsmanship, ³² to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, ³³ and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood in order to make every manner of artistic work. ³⁴ He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan. ³⁵ He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work as craftsmen; as designers; as embroiderers in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen; and as weavers: as craftsmen of every work and artistic designers.

36 So Bezalel and Oholiab, and every skilled person, in whom the Lord has put skill and understanding to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, are to do the work according to all that the Lord has commanded.

² Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart stirred him to come to the work to do it. ³ They received from Moses all the offerings which the children of Israel had brought to do the work of the service of the sanctuary, and they continued to bring to him freewill offerings every morning. ⁴ And all the skilled men who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came from the work they were doing, ⁵ and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than is needed for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.”

⁶ So Moses issued a command, and they circulated a proclamation throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more. ⁷ For the material they had was sufficient for all the work and more than enough to do it.

Construction of the Tabernacle^(F)

⁸ Every skilled man among those who were doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim that were the work of skillful workmen. ⁹ The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits.^[i] All of the curtains were the same size. ¹⁰ He joined the five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he joined to one to another. ¹¹ He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. He did likewise along the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. ¹² He made fifty loops in the one curtain and made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another. ¹³ He made fifty gold clasps and joined the curtains to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle was a unit.

¹⁴ He made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains in all. ¹⁵ The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain was four cubits.^[j] The eleven curtains were all the same size. ¹⁶ He joined five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. ¹⁷ He made fifty loops on the outermost edge of the curtain in the first set, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which joined the second set. ¹⁸ He made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together, so that it would be one unit. ¹⁹ He made a covering for the tent out of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins above.

²⁰ Then he made boards for the tabernacle out of acacia wood, standing upright. ²¹ The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width of each board was one and a half cubits.^{[k] 22} Each board had two tenons, equally distant from each other. He did this for all the boards of the tabernacle. ²³ He made boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side. ²⁴ He made forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. ²⁵ For the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards, ²⁶ and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. ²⁷ For the back of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. ²⁸ He made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the back. ²⁹ They were doubled beneath and joined together at the top in one ring. He did this with both of them in both the corners. ³⁰ There were eight boards with their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets, two under every board.

³¹ He made bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle, ³² and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the back to the west. ³³ He made the middle bar to pass through the boards from the one end to the other. ³⁴ He overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

³⁵ He made a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. He made cherubim, the work of a skillful designer. ³⁶ He made four pillars of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold with their hooks of gold, and he cast four sockets of silver for them. ³⁷ He made a hanging for the tabernacle entrance of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. ³⁸ And he made its five pillars with their hooks, and he overlaid their tops and their bands with gold, but their five sockets were of bronze.

Making the Ark of the Covenant^(G)

37 Now Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Its length was two and a half cubits, and its width a cubit and a half, and its height a cubit and a half.^{[l] 2} He overlaid it with pure gold, inside and out, and made a gold molding for it all around. ³ He cast four rings of gold for it on its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other side of it. ⁴ He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.

⁶ He made the mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ⁷ He made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the mercy seat: ⁸ one cherub on one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends. ⁹ The cherubim spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward each other. The faces of the cherubim were looking toward the mercy seat.

Making the Table for the Showbread^(H)

¹⁰ He made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long and a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.^{[m] 11} And he overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding for it all around. ¹² Also he made a rim for it of a handbreadth^[n] all around, and he made a gold molding for the rim all around. ¹³ He cast four rings of gold for it and put the rings on the four corners that were on its four feet. ¹⁴ Close by the rim were the rings, the holders for the poles to carry the table. ¹⁵ He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. ¹⁶ He made the utensils which were on the table, its dishes and its pans and its bowls and its jars, to be used in pouring out offerings, of pure gold.

Making the Lampstand^(I)

¹⁷ Then he made the lampstand of pure gold. He made it of hammered work, its base and its shaft. Its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were of the same piece. ¹⁸ Six branches were extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. ¹⁹ Three cups shaped like almond flowers, a bulb and a flower were on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers, a bulb and a flower were on the next branch, and the same for the six branches going out of the lampstand. ²⁰ In the lampstand there were four cups made like almond flowers, its bulbs and its flowers. ²¹ And a bulb was under the first two branches from it, and a bulb under the next two branches from it, and a bulb under the third two branches from it, according to the six branches coming out of it. ²² Their bulbs and their branches were of the same piece. All of it was one hammered work of pure gold.

²³ He made its seven lamps with its snuffers and its trays of pure gold. ²⁴ He made it and all of its utensils from a talent^[o] of pure gold.

Making the Altar of Incense^(J)

²⁵ He made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and the width a cubit, a square, and two cubits high.^[p] Its horns were of the same piece. ²⁶ He overlaid it with pure gold, its top, its sides all around, and its horns. He also made a gold molding for it all around. ²⁷ He also made two rings of gold for it under its molding, on its two sides, on opposite sides, to be places for the poles to carry it. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

²⁹ He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of a perfumer.

Making the Altar of Burnt Offering^(K)

38 He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was five cubits^[q] long and five cubits wide. It was square, and it was three cubits high.^{[r] 2} He made its horns on its four corners. The horns were part of the same piece, and he overlaid it with bronze. ³ He made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, the flesh hooks, and the fire pans. He made all its utensils of bronze. ⁴ He made for the altar a bronze grating, a network beneath, under its ledge, reaching halfway up. ⁵ He cast four rings for the four ends of the bronze grating to provide places for the poles. ⁶ He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷ He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar with which to carry it. He made the altar hollow, out of boards.

Making the Bronze Basin

⁸ He made the basin of bronze with its base of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Making the Court of the Tabernacle^(L)

⁹ He made the courtyard: On the south side southward the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits;^{[s] 10} their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. ¹¹ For the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty sockets were of bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.

¹² For the west side the hangings were fifty cubits^[t] with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. ¹³ For the east side eastward, fifty cubits. ¹⁴ The hangings of one side of the gate were fifteen cubits^[u] with their three pillars and their three sockets, ¹⁵ and also for the other side of the court gate. On both sides of the gate of the courtyard the hangings were fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets. ¹⁶ All the hangings of the courtyard all around were of fine twisted linen. ¹⁷ The sockets for the pillars were of bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver, and the overlaying of their tops of silver, and all the pillars of the courtyard were furnished with silver bands.

¹⁸ The screen for the gate of the courtyard was embroidered of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twisted linen. Its length was twenty cubits,^[v] and its height was five cubits,^[w] corresponding to the hangings of the courtyard. ¹⁹ Their four pillars and their four sockets were of bronze. Their hooks and their bands were of silver, and the overlaying of their tops and their bands were of silver. ²⁰ All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were bronze.

The Inventory of the Tabernacle

²¹ This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted according to the commandment of Moses for the service of the Levites by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. ²² Bezalel, the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses. ²³ With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine linen. ²⁴ All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the wave offering, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels,^[x] according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

²⁵ The silver of those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents,^[y] and a thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five shekels,^[z] according to the shekel of the sanctuary; ²⁶ a bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel,^[aa] according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone who was numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. ²⁷ The hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil—a hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. ²⁸ Of the one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels, he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their tops and made bands for them.

²⁹ The bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels.^{[ab] 30} With it he made the sockets for the door of the tent of meeting, and the bronze altar and its bronze grating, and all the utensils of the altar, ³¹ and the sockets of the courtyard all around, and the sockets of the courtyard gate, and all the tent pegs of the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard all around.

Making the Priestly Garments

39 Now from the blue, purple, and scarlet they made woven garments for serving in the holy place and made the holy garments for Aaron, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Making the Ephod^(M)

² He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twisted linen. ³ Then they hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads to work them into the blue, the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen, with skillful work. ⁴ They made shoulder pieces for it, in order to attach it together. It was joined by the two edges together. ⁵ The skillfully woven waistband of his ephod that was on it was like it, of the same material, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁶ They set the onyx stones enclosed in gold filigree settings; they were engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel. ⁷ And he put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, to be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Making the Breastplate^(N)

⁸ He made the breastplate, the work of a skillful workman, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twisted linen. ⁹ It was square. They made the breastplate folded double, a span^[ac] long and a span wide when doubled. ¹⁰ They set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; ¹¹ the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹² the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. ¹⁴ The stones were corresponding to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, corresponding to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each with its name, corresponding to the twelve tribes.

¹⁵ They made on the breastplate braided chains like cords of pure gold. ¹⁶ They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate. ¹⁷ They put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. ¹⁸ The other two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two filigree settings and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. ¹⁹ They made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it which was on the inner side of the ephod. ²⁰ They made two other golden rings and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the front of it, over against where it joined, above the waistband of the ephod. ²¹ They bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it might be above the waistband of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not come loose from the ephod, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Making Other Priestly Garments^(O)

²² Then he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. ²³ There was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening of a coat of mail, with a band all around the opening so that it should not be torn. ²⁴ They made on the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and twisted linen. ²⁵ They made bells of pure gold and put the bells between the pomegranates all around on the hem of the robe. ²⁶ There was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around about the hem of the robe to be used in service, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²⁷ They made tunics of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸ and the turban of fine linen, and the decorated caps of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twisted linen. ²⁹ The sash was of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁰ They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription, like the engravings of a signet:

HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

³¹ They attached to it a blue cord, to fasten it to the turban above, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Work Completed^(P)

³² Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses—so they did. ³³ They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets; ³⁴ and the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of porpoise skins, and the screening veil; ³⁵ the ark of the testimony and its poles and the mercy seat; ³⁶ the table, and all its utensils, and the showbread; ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand, with its arrangement of lamps, and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; ³⁸ and the gold altar, and the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent; ³⁹ the bronze altar, and its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; ⁴⁰ the hangings of the courtyard, its pillars, and its sockets, and the curtain for the courtyard gate, its cords, and its pegs, and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; ⁴¹ the woven garments of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests.

⁴² The children of Israel did all the work according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. ⁴³ Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so they had done. Then Moses blessed them.

The Tabernacle Erected

40 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³ You shall put the ark of the testimony in it and screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be arranged on it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. ⁵ You shall set the gold altar of incense before the ark of the testimony and put the curtain for the entrance to the tabernacle.

⁶ You shall set the altar of the burnt offering in front of the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ⁷ You shall set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. ⁸ You shall set up the courtyard around it and hang up the curtain at the courtyard gate.

⁹ You shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it and shall consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it shall be holy. ¹⁰ Then you shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy. ¹¹ You shall anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it.

¹² Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. ¹³ You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may minister to Me as a priest. ¹⁴ You shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. ¹⁵ Then you shall anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may minister to Me as priests, for their anointing will surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. ¹⁶ Thus Moses did. According to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did.

¹⁷ In the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. ¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle and fastened its sockets, and set up its boards, and inserted its bars, and erected 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 commanded Moses.

²⁰ He took the testimony and put it into the ark, attached the poles to the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screening, and screened the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²² Then he put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the veil. ²³ He set the bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁴ And he put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. ²⁵ He lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²⁶ Then he put the gold altar in the tent of meeting before the veil. ²⁷ And he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord commanded Moses. ²⁸ Then he set up the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle.

²⁹ He put the altar of burnt offering by the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁰ Then he set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. ³¹ It was there Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. ³² Whenever they went into the tent of meeting, and whenever they came near the altar, they washed, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³³ He erected the courtyard all around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the curtain of the courtyard gate. So Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ Moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

³⁶ When the cloud was lifted up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel would set out in all their journeys. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not lifted up, then they did not set out until the day that it was lifted. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.