Exodus 27:1-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 27
The Altar for Burnt Offerings. 1 You shall make an altar(A) of acacia wood, on a square, five cubits long and five cubits wide; it shall be three cubits high. 2 At the four corners make horns[a] that are of one piece with the altar. You shall then plate it with bronze. 3 Make pots for removing the ashes, as well as shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans; all these utensils you shall make of bronze. 4 Make for it a grating,[b] a bronze network; make four bronze rings for it, one at each of its four corners. 5 Put it down around the altar, on the ground. This network is to be half as high as the altar. 6 You shall also make poles of acacia wood for the altar, and plate them with bronze. 7 These poles are to be put through the rings, so that they are on either side of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar itself in the form of a hollow[c] box. Just as it was shown you on the mountain, so it is to be made.
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- 27:2 Horns: the horn of a ram, goat or ox is a common Old Testament figure for strength and dignity; they represent the divine character of the altar itself or the deity worshiped there.
- 27:4 Grating: it is not clear whether this was flush with the altar or at some small distance from it; in the latter case the space between the altar and the grating would be filled with stones and serve as a platform around the altar, which would otherwise be too high for the priest to reach conveniently.
- 27:8 Hollow: probably filled with earth or stones when in use. Cf. 20:24–25.
Exodus 27:1-8
Modern English Version
The Altar of Burnt Offering(A)
27 You shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide.[a] The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.[b] 2 You shall make its horns on its four corners. Its horns shall be part of it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. 3 You shall make its pots for its ashes, and its shovels, and its basins, and its meat hooks, and its fire pans. You shall make all of its vessels out of bronze. 4 You shall make a grating for it, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 You shall put it under the ledge of the altar beneath, so that the net will reach halfway up the altar. 6 You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles shall be put into the rings, so that the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when carrying it. 8 You shall make it hollow with boards. Just as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it.
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- Exodus 27:1 About 7½ feet, or 2.3 meters long and wide.
- Exodus 27:1 About 4½ feet, or 1.4 meters.
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