Bible in 90 Days

29 “This is the ceremony for the dedication of Aaron and his sons as priests: get a young bull and two rams with no defects, ² and bread made without yeast, and thin sheets of sweetened bread mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers with oil poured over them. (The various kinds of bread shall be made with finely ground wheat flour.) ^3-4 Place the bread in a basket and bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle, along with the young bull and the two rams.

“Bathe Aaron and his sons there at the entrance. ⁵ Then put Aaron’s robe on him, and the embroidered shirt, ephod, chestpiece, and sash, ⁶ and place on his head the turban with the gold plate. ⁷ Then take the anointing oil and pour it upon his head. ⁸ Next, dress his sons in their robes, ⁹ with their woven sashes, and place caps on their heads. They will then be priests forever; thus you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ “Then bring the young bull to the Tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon its head; ¹¹ and you shall kill it before the Lord, at the entrance of the Tabernacle. ¹² Place its blood upon the horns of the altar, smearing it on with your finger, and pour the rest at the base of the altar. ¹³ Then take all the fat that covers the inner parts, also the gall bladder and two kidneys, and the fat on them, and burn them upon the altar. ¹⁴ Then take the body, including the skin and the dung, outside the camp and burn it as a sin offering.

^15-16 “Next, Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of one of the rams as it is killed. Its blood shall also be collected and sprinkled upon the altar. ¹⁷ Cut up the ram and wash off the entrails and the legs; place them with the head and the other pieces of the body, ¹⁸ and burn it all upon the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord, and very pleasant to him.

^19-20 “Now take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon its head as it is killed. Collect the blood and place some of it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, and upon their right thumbs and the big toes of their right feet; sprinkle the rest of the blood over the altar. ²¹ Then scrape off some of the blood from the altar and mix it with some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it upon Aaron and his sons and upon their clothes; and they and their clothing shall be sanctified to the Lord.

²² “Then take the fat of the ram, including the fat tail and the fat that covers the insides, also the gall bladder and the two kidneys and the fat surrounding them, and the right thigh—for this is the ram for ordination of Aaron and his sons— ²³ and one loaf of bread, one cake of shortening bread, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that was placed before the Lord: ²⁴ Place these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, to wave them in a gesture of offering to the Lord. ²⁵ Afterwards, take them from their hands and burn them on the altar as a fragrant burnt offering to him. ²⁶ Then take the breast of Aaron’s ordination ram and wave it before the Lord in a gesture of offering; afterwards, keep it for yourself.

²⁷ “Give the breast and thigh of the consecration ram ²⁸ to Aaron and his sons. The people of Israel must always contribute this portion of their sacrifices—whether peace offerings or thanksgiving offerings—as their contribution to the Lord.

²⁹ “These sacred garments of Aaron shall be preserved for the consecration of his son who succeeds him, from generation to generation, for his anointing ceremony. ³⁰ Whoever is the next High Priest after Aaron shall wear these clothes for seven days before beginning to minister in the Tabernacle and the Holy Place.

³¹ “Take the ram of consecration—the ram used in the ordination ceremony—and boil its meat in a sacred area. ³² Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat, also the bread in the basket, at the door of the Tabernacle. ³³ They alone shall eat those items used in their atonement (that is, in their consecration ceremony). The ordinary people shall not eat them, for these things are set apart and holy. ³⁴ If any of the meat or bread remains until the morning, burn it; it shall not be eaten, for it is holy.

³⁵ “This, then, is the way you shall ordain Aaron and his sons to their offices. This ordination shall go on for seven days. ³⁶ Every day you shall sacrifice a young bull as a sin offering for atonement; afterwards,^[a] purge the altar by making atonement for it; pour olive oil upon it to sanctify it. ³⁷ Make atonement for the altar and consecrate it to God every day for seven days. After this the altar shall be exceedingly holy, so that whatever touches it shall be set apart for God.^[b]

³⁸ “Each day offer two yearling lambs upon the altar, ³⁹ one in the morning and the other in the evening. ⁴⁰ With one of them offer 3 quarts of finely ground flour mixed with 2-1/2 pints of oil, pressed from olives; also 2-1/2 pints of wine, as an offering.

⁴¹ Offer the other lamb in the evening, along with the flour and the wine as in the morning, for a fragrant offering to the Lord, an offering made to the Lord by fire.

⁴² “This shall be a perpetual daily offering at the door of the Tabernacle before the Lord, where I will meet with you and speak with you. ⁴³ And I will meet with the people of Israel there, and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. ⁴⁴ Yes, I will sanctify the Tabernacle and the altar and Aaron and his sons who are my ministers, the priests. ⁴⁵ And I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, ⁴⁶ and they shall know that I am the Lord their God. I brought them out of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am Jehovah their God.

30 “Then make a small altar for burning incense. It shall be made from acacia wood. ² It is to be eighteen inches square and three feet high, with horns carved from the wood of the altar—they are not to be merely separate parts that are attached. ³ Overlay the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold molding around the entire altar. ⁴ Beneath the molding, on each of two sides, construct two gold rings to hold the carrying poles. ⁵ The poles are to be made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. ⁶ Place the altar just outside the veil, near the place of mercy that is above the Ark containing the Ten Commandments. I will meet with you there.

⁷ “Every morning when Aaron trims the lamps, he shall burn sweet spices on the altar, ⁸ and each evening when he lights the lamps he shall burn the incense before the Lord, and this shall go on from generation to generation. ⁹ Offer no unauthorized incense, burnt offerings, meal offerings, or wine offerings.

¹⁰ “Once a year Aaron must sanctify the altar,^[c] placing upon its horns the blood of the sin offering for atonement. This shall be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the Lord’s supremely holy altar.”

^11-12 And Jehovah said to Moses, “Whenever you take a census of the people of Israel, each man who is numbered shall give a ransom to the Lord for his soul, so that there will be no plague among the people when you number them. ¹³ His payment shall be half a dollar.^{[d] 14} All who have reached their twentieth birthday shall give this offering. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less, for it is an offering to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. ¹⁶ Use this money for the care of the Tabernacle; it is to bring you, the people of Israel, to the Lord’s attention, and to make atonement for you.”

^17-18 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a bronze basin with a bronze pedestal. Put it between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet there, ²⁰ when they go into the Tabernacle to appear before the Lord, or when they approach the altar to burn offerings to the Lord. They must always wash before doing so, or they will die. ²¹ These are instructions to Aaron and his sons from generation to generation.”

^22-23 Then the Lord told Moses to collect the choicest of spices—eighteen pounds of pure myrrh; half as much of cinnamon and of sweet cane; ²⁴ the same amount of cassia as of myrrh; and 1-1/2 gallons of olive oil. ²⁵ The Lord instructed skilled perfume makers to compound all this into a holy anointing oil.

^26-27 “Use this,” he said, “to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark, the table and all its instruments, the lampstand and all its utensils, the incense altar, ²⁸ the burnt offering altar with all its instruments, and the washbasin and its pedestal. ²⁹ Sanctify them, to make them holy; whatever touches them shall become holy.^{[e] 30} Use it to anoint Aaron and his sons, sanctifying them so that they can minister to me as priests. ³¹ And say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall always be my holy anointing oil. ³² It must never be poured upon an ordinary person, and you shall never make any of it yourselves, for it is holy, and it shall be treated by you as holy. ³³ Anyone who compounds any incense like it or puts any of it upon someone who is not a priest shall be excommunicated.’”

³⁴ These were the Lord’s directions to Moses concerning the incense: “Use sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, weighing out the same amounts of each, ³⁵ using the usual techniques of the incense maker, and seasoning it with salt; it shall be a pure and holy incense. ³⁶ Beat some of it very fine and put some of it in front of the Ark where I meet with you in the Tabernacle; this incense is most holy. ³⁷ Never make it for yourselves, for it is reserved for the Lord and you must treat it as holy. ³⁸ Anyone making it for himself shall be excommunicated.”

31 ^1-2 The Lord also said to Moses, “See, I have appointed Bezalel (son of Uri, and grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah), ³ and have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and skill in constructing the Tabernacle and everything it contains. ⁴ He is highly capable as an artistic designer of objects made of gold, silver, and bronze. ⁵ He is skilled, too, as a jeweler and in carving wood.

⁶ “And I have appointed Oholiab (son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan) to be his assistant; moreover, I have given special skill to all who are known as experts, so that they can make all the things I have instructed you to make: ⁷ the Tabernacle; the Ark with the place of mercy upon it; all the furnishings of the Tabernacle; ⁸ the table and its instruments; the pure gold lampstand with its instruments; the altar of incense; ⁹ the burnt offering altar with its instruments; the laver and its pedestal; ¹⁰ the beautifully made, holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons, so that they can minister as priests; ¹¹ the anointing oil; and the sweet-spice incense for the Holy Place. They are to follow exactly the directions I gave you.”

^12-13 The Lord then gave these further instructions to Moses: “Tell the people of Israel to rest on my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a reminder of the covenant between me and you forever; it helps you to remember that I am Jehovah who makes you holy. ^14-15 Yes, rest on the Sabbath, for it is holy. Anyone who does not obey this command must die; anyone who does any work on that day shall be killed. ^16-17 Work six days only, for the seventh day is a special day to remind you of my covenant—a weekly reminder forever of my promises to the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and rested on the seventh day, and was refreshed.”

¹⁸ Then, as God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God.

32 When Moses didn’t come back down the mountain right away, the people went to Aaron. “Look,” they said, “make us a god to lead us, for this fellow Moses who brought us here from Egypt has disappeared; something must have happened to him.”

^2-3 “Give me your gold earrings,” Aaron replied.

So they all did—men and women, boys and girls. ⁴ Aaron melted the gold, then molded and tooled it into the form of a calf. The people exclaimed, “O Israel, this is the god that brought you out of Egypt!”

⁵ When Aaron saw how happy the people were about it, he built an altar before the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah!”

⁶ So they were up early the next morning and began offering burnt offerings and peace offerings to the calf idol; afterwards they sat down to feast and drink at a wild party, followed by sexual immorality.

⁷ Then the Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go on down, for your people that you brought from Egypt have defiled themselves, ⁸ and have quickly abandoned all my laws. They have molded themselves a calf, and worshiped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of Egypt.’”

⁹ Then the Lord said, “I have seen what a stubborn, rebellious lot these people are. ¹⁰ Now leave me alone and my anger shall blaze out against them and destroy them all; and I will make you, Moses, into a great nation instead of them.”

¹¹ But Moses begged God not to do it. “Lord,” he pleaded, “why is your anger so hot against your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and mighty miracles? ¹² Do you want the Egyptians to say, ‘God tricked them into coming to the mountains so that he could slay them, destroying them from off the face of the earth’? Turn back from your fierce wrath. Turn away from this terrible evil you are planning against your people! ¹³ Remember your promise to your servants—to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. For you swore by your own self, ‘I will multiply your posterity as the stars of heaven, and I will give them all of this land I have promised to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

¹⁴ So the Lord changed his mind and spared them.

¹⁵ Then Moses went down the mountain, holding in his hands the Ten Commandments written on both sides of two stone tablets. ¹⁶ (God himself had written the commandments on the tablets.)

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the noise below them, of all the people shouting, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds as if they are preparing for war!”

¹⁸ But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a cry of victory or defeat, but singing.”

¹⁹ When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and in terrible anger he threw the tablets to the ground, and they lay broken at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf and melted it in the fire, and when the metal cooled, he ground it into powder and spread it upon the water and made the people drink it.

²¹ Then he turned to Aaron. “What in the world did the people do to you,” he demanded, “to make you bring such a terrible sin upon them?”

²² “Don’t get so upset,” Aaron replied. “You know these people and what a wicked bunch they are. ²³ They said to me, ‘Make us a god to lead us, for something has happened to this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt.’ ²⁴ Well, I told them, ‘Bring me your gold earrings.’ So they brought them to me and I threw them into the fire, and . . . well . . . this calf came out!”

²⁵ When Moses saw that the people had been committing adultery—at Aaron’s encouragement, and much to the amusement of their enemies— ²⁶ he stood at the camp entrance and shouted, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come over here and join me.” And all the Levites came.

²⁷ He told them, “Jehovah the God of Israel says, ‘Get your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other and kill even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.’” ²⁸ So they did, and about three thousand men died that day.

²⁹ Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers; now he will give you a great blessing.”

³⁰ The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin, but I will return to the Lord on the mountain—perhaps I will be able to obtain his forgiveness for you.”

³¹ So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have sinned a great sin and have made themselves gods of gold. ³² Yet now if you will only forgive their sin—and if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”^[f]

³³ And the Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me will be blotted out of my book. ³⁴ And now go, lead the people to the place I told you about, and I assure you that my Angel shall travel on ahead of you; however, when I come to visit these people, I will punish them for their sins.”

³⁵ And the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped Aaron’s calf.

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Lead these people you brought from Egypt to the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I said, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ ² I will send an Angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ³ It is a land ‘flowing with milk and honey’; but I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn, unruly people, and I would be tempted to destroy you along the way.”

⁴ When the people heard these stern words, they went into mourning and stripped themselves of their jewelry and ornaments.

⁵ For the Lord had told Moses to tell them, “You are an unruly, stubborn people. If I were there among you for even a moment, I would exterminate you. Remove your jewelry and ornaments until I decide what to do with you.” ⁶ So, after that, they wore no jewelry.

⁷ Moses always erected the sacred tent (the “Tent for Meeting with God,” he called it) far outside the camp, and everyone who wanted to consult with Jehovah went out there.

⁸ Whenever Moses went to the Tabernacle, all the people, when they saw it, stood and would rise and stand in their tent doors. ⁹ As he entered, the pillar of cloud would come down and stand at the door while the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ Then all the people worshiped from their tent doors, bowing low to the pillar of cloud. ¹¹ Inside the tent the Lord spoke to Moses face-to-face, as a man speaks to his friend. Afterwards Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua (son of Nun), stayed behind in the Tabernacle.

¹² Moses talked there with the Lord and said to him, “You have been telling me, ‘Take these people to the Promised Land,’ but you haven’t told me whom you will send with me. You say you are my friend,^[g] and that I have found favor before you; ¹³ please, if this is really so, guide me clearly along the way you want me to travel^[h] so that I will understand you and walk acceptably before you. For don’t forget that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ And the Lord replied, “I myself will go with you and give you success.”

¹⁵ For Moses had said, “If you aren’t going with us, don’t let us move a step from this place. ¹⁶ If you don’t go with us, who will ever know that I and my people have found favor with you, and that we are different from any other people upon the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord had replied to Moses, “Yes, I will do what you have asked, for you have certainly found favor with me, and you are my friend.”^[i]

¹⁸ Then Moses asked to see God’s glory.

¹⁹ The Lord replied, “I will make my goodness pass before you, and I will announce to you the meaning of my name^[j] Jehovah, the Lord. I show kindness and mercy to anyone I want to. ²⁰ But you may not see the glory of my face, for man may not see me and live. ²¹ However, stand here on this rock beside me. ²² And when my glory goes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed. ²³ Then I will remove my hand, and you shall see my back but not my face.”

34 The Lord told Moses, “Prepare two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write upon them the same commands that were on the tablets you broke. ² Be ready in the morning to come up into Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. ³ No one shall come with you and no one must be anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds feed close to the mountain.”

⁴ So Moses took two tablets of stone like the first ones, and was up early and climbed Mount Sinai, as the Lord had told him to, taking the two stone tablets in his hands.

^5-6 Then the Lord descended in the form of a pillar of cloud and stood there with him, and passed in front of him and announced the meaning of his name.^[k] “I am Jehovah, the merciful and gracious God,” he said, “slow to anger and rich in steadfast love and truth. ⁷ I, Jehovah, show this steadfast love to many thousands by forgiving their sins;^[l] or else I refuse to clear the guilty, and require that a father’s sins be punished in the sons and grandsons, and even later generations.”

⁸ Moses fell down before the Lord and worshiped. ⁹ And he said, “If it is true that I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, then please go with us to the Promised Land; yes, it is an unruly, stubborn people, but pardon our iniquity and our sins, and accept us as your own.”

¹⁰ The Lord replied, “All right, this is the contract I am going to make with you. I will do miracles such as have never been done before anywhere in all the earth, and all the people of Israel shall see the power of the Lord—the terrible power I will display through you. ¹¹ Your part of the agreement is to obey all of my commandments; then I will drive out from before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

¹² “Be very, very careful never to compromise with the people there in the land where you are going, for if you do, you will soon be following their evil ways. ¹³ Instead, you must break down their heathen altars, smash the obelisks they worship, and cut down their shameful idols.^{[m] 14} For you must worship no other gods, but only Jehovah, for he is a God who claims absolute loyalty and exclusive devotion.

¹⁵ “No, do not make a peace treaty of any kind with the people living in the land, for they are spiritual prostitutes, committing adultery against me by sacrificing to their gods.^[n] If you become friendly with them and one of them invites you to go with him and worship his idol, you are apt to do it. ¹⁶ And you would accept their daughters, who worship other gods, as wives for your sons—and then your sons would commit adultery against me by worshiping their wives’ gods. ¹⁷ You must have nothing to do with idols.

¹⁸ “Be sure to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, just as I instructed you, at the dates appointed each year in March; that was the month you left Egypt.

¹⁹ “Every firstborn male^[o] is mine—cattle, sheep, and goats. ²⁰ The firstborn colt of a donkey may be redeemed by giving a lamb in its place. If you decide not to redeem it, then its neck must be broken. But your sons must all be redeemed. And no one shall appear before me without a gift.

²¹ “Even during plowing and harvest times, work only six days, and rest on the seventh.

²² “And you must remember to celebrate these three annual religious festivals: the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of the First Wheat, and the Harvest Festival. ²³ On each of these three occasions all the men and boys of Israel shall appear before the Lord. ²⁴ No one will attack and conquer your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God those three times each year. For I will drive out the nations from before you and enlarge your boundaries.

²⁵ “You must not use leavened bread with your sacrifices to me, and none of the meat of the Passover lamb may be kept over until the following morning. ²⁶ And you must bring the best of the first of each year’s crop to the Tabernacle of the Lord your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these laws^[p] that I have given you, for they represent the terms of my covenant with you and with Israel.”

²⁸ Moses was up on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, and in all that time he neither ate nor drank. At that time God^[q] wrote out the Covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.

²⁹ Moses didn’t realize as he came back down the mountain with the tablets that his face glowed from being in the presence of God. ³⁰ Because of this radiance upon his face, Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to come near him.

³¹ But Moses called them over to him, and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation came and talked with him. ³² Afterwards, all the people came to him, and he gave them the commandments the Lord had given him upon the mountain. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face;^{[r] 34} but whenever he went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he removed the veil until he came out again; then he would pass on to the people whatever instructions God had given him, ³⁵ and the people would see his face aglow. Afterwards he would put the veil on again until he returned to speak with God.

35 Now Moses called a meeting of all the people and told them, “These are the laws of Jehovah you must obey.

² “Work six days only; the seventh day is a day of solemn rest, a holy day to be used to worship Jehovah; anyone working on that day must die. ³ Don’t even light the fires in your homes that day.”

⁴ Then Moses said to all the people, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ^5-9 All of you who wish to, all those with generous hearts, may bring these offerings to Jehovah:

^10-19 “Come, all of you who are skilled craftsmen having special talents, and construct what God has commanded us:

²⁰ So all the people went to their tents to prepare their gifts. ²¹ Those whose hearts were stirred by God’s Spirit returned with their offerings of materials for the Tabernacle, its equipment, and for the holy garments. ²² Both men and women came, all who had willing hearts. They brought to the Lord their offerings of gold, jewelry—earrings, rings from their fingers, necklaces—and gold objects of every kind. ²³ Others brought blue, purple, and scarlet cloth made from the fine-twined linen or goats’ hair; and rams’ skins dyed red, and specially treated goatskins. ²⁴ Others brought silver and bronze as their offering to the Lord; and some brought the acacia wood needed in the construction.

²⁵ The women skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread and cloth, and fine-twined linen, and brought them in. ²⁶ Some other women gladly used their special skill to spin the goats’ hair into cloth. ²⁷ The leaders brought onyx stones to be used for the ephod and the chestpiece; ²⁸ and spices, and oil—for the light, and for compounding the anointing oil and the sweet incense. ²⁹ So the people of Israel—every man and woman who wanted to assist in the work given to them by the Lord’s command to Moses—brought their freewill offerings to him.

^30-31 And Moses told them, “Jehovah has specifically appointed Bezalel (the son of Uri and grandson of Hur of the tribe of Judah) as general superintendent of the project. ³² He will be able to create beautiful workmanship from gold, silver, and bronze; ³³ he can cut and set stones like a jeweler and can do beautiful carving; in fact, he has every needed skill. ³⁴ And God has made him and Oholiab gifted teachers of their skills to others. (Oholiab is the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.) ³⁵ God has filled them both with unusual skills as jewelers, carpenters, embroidery designers in blue, purple, and scarlet on linen backgrounds, and as weavers—they excel in all the crafts we will be needing in the work.

36 ^1-2 “All the other craftsmen with God-given abilities are to assist Bezalel and Oholiab in constructing and furnishing the Tabernacle.” So Moses told Bezalel and Oholiab and all others who felt called to the work to begin. ³ Moses gave them the materials donated by the people and additional gifts were received each morning.

^4-7 But finally the workmen all left their task to meet with Moses and told him, “We have more than enough materials on hand now to complete the job!” So Moses sent a message throughout the camp announcing that no more donations were needed. Then at last the people were restrained from bringing more!

^8-9 The skilled weavers first made ten sheets from fine linen, then embroidered into them blue, purple, and scarlet Guardian Angels. Each sheet was 42 feet long and 6 feet wide. ¹⁰ Five of these sheets were attached end to end, then five others similarly attached, forming two long roofsheets. ^11-12 Fifty blue ribbons were looped along the edges of these two long sheets, each loop being opposite its mate on the other long sheet. ¹³ Then fifty clasps of gold were made to connect the loops, thus tying the two long sheets together to form the ceiling of the Tabernacle.

^14-15 Above the ceiling was a second layer formed by eleven draperies made of goats’ hair (uniformly 45 feet long and 6 feet wide). ¹⁶ Bezalel coupled five of these draperies together to make one long piece, and six others to make another long piece. ¹⁷ Then he made fifty loops along the end of each ¹⁸ and fifty small bronze clasps to couple the loops so that the draperies were firmly attached to each other.

¹⁹ The top layer of the roof was made of rams’ skins, dyed red, and tanned goatskins.

²⁰ For the sides of the Tabernacle he used frames of acacia wood standing on end. ²¹ The height of each frame was 15 feet and the width 2-1/4 feet. ²² Each frame had two clasps joining it to the next. ²³ There were twenty frames on the south side, ²⁴ with the bottoms fitting into forty silver bases. Each frame was connected to its base by two clasps. ^25-26 There were also twenty frames on the north side of the Tabernacle, with forty silver bases, two for each frame. ²⁷ The west side of the Tabernacle, which was its rear, was made from six frames, ²⁸ plus another at each corner. ²⁹ These frames, including those at the corners, were linked to each other at both top and bottom by rings. ³⁰ So, on the west side, there were a total of eight frames with sixteen silver bases beneath them, two for each frame.

^31-32 Then he made five sets of bars from acacia wood to tie the frames together along the sides, five for each side of the Tabernacle. ³³ The middle bar of the five was halfway up the frames, along each side, running from one end to the other. ³⁴ The frames and bars were all overlaid with gold, and the rings were pure gold.

³⁵ The blue, purple, and scarlet inner^[s] curtain was made from woven linen, with Guardian Angels skillfully embroidered into it. ³⁶ The curtain was then attached to four gold hooks set into four posts of acacia wood, overlaid with gold and set into four silver bases.

³⁷ Then he made a drapery for the entrance to the Tabernacle; it was woven from finespun linen, embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet. ³⁸ This drapery was connected by five hooks to five posts. The posts and their capitals and rods were overlaid with gold; their five bases were molded from bronze.

37 Next Bezalel made the Ark. This was constructed of acacia wood and was 3-3/4 feet long, 2-1/4 feet wide, and 2-1/4 feet high. ² It was plated with pure gold inside and out, and had a molding of gold all the way around the sides. ³ There were four gold rings fastened into its four feet, two rings at each end. ⁴ Then he made poles from acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, ⁵ and put the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark, to carry it.

⁶ Then, from pure gold, he made a lid called “the place of mercy”; it was 3-3/4 feet long and 2-1/4 feet wide. ⁷ He made two statues of Guardian Angels of beaten gold and placed them at the two ends of the gold lid. ⁸ They were molded so that they were actually a part of the gold lid—it was all one piece. ⁹ The Guardian Angels faced each other, with outstretched wings that overshadowed the place of mercy, looking down upon it.

¹⁰ Then he made a table, using acacia wood, 3 feet long, 1-1/2 feet wide, and 2-1/4 feet high. ¹¹ It was overlaid with pure gold, with a gold molding all around the edge. ¹² A rim 4 inches high was constructed around the edges of the table, with a gold molding along the rim. ¹³ Then he cast four rings of gold and placed them into the four table legs, ¹⁴ close to the molding, to hold the carrying poles in place. ¹⁵ He made the carrying poles of acacia wood covered with gold. ¹⁶ Next, using pure gold, he made the bowls, flagons, dishes, and spoons to be placed upon this table.

¹⁷ Then he made the lampstand, again using pure, beaten gold. Its base, shaft, lamp-holders, and decorations of almond flowers were all of one piece. ¹⁸ The lampstand had six branches, three from each side. ¹⁹ Each of the branches was decorated with identical carvings of blossoms. ^20-21 The main stem of the lampstand was similarly decorated with almond blossoms, a flower on the stem beneath each pair of branches; also a flower below the bottom pair and above the top pair, four in all. ²² The decorations and branches were all one piece of pure, beaten gold. ^23-24 Then he made the seven lamps at the ends of the branches, the snuffers, and the ashtrays, all of pure gold. The entire lampstand weighed 107 pounds, all pure gold.

²⁵ The incense altar was made of acacia wood. It was 18 inches square and 3 feet high, with its corner-horns made as part of the altar so that it was all one piece. ²⁶ He overlaid it all with pure gold and ran a gold molding around the edge. ²⁷ Two gold rings were placed on each side, beneath this molding, to hold the carrying poles. ²⁸ The carrying poles were gold-plated acacia wood.

²⁹ Then, from sweet spices, he made the sacred oil for anointing the priests, and the pure incense, using the techniques of the most skilled perfumers.

38 The burnt-offering altar was also constructed of acacia wood; it was 7-1/2 feet square at the top, and 4-1/2 feet high. ² There were four horns at the four corners, all of one piece with the rest. This altar was overlaid with bronze. ³ Then he made bronze utensils to be used with the altar—the pots, shovels, basins, meat hooks, and fire pans. ⁴ Next he made a bronze grating that rested upon a ledge about halfway up in the firebox.^{[t] 5} Four rings were cast for each side of the grating, to insert the carrying poles. ⁶ The carrying poles themselves were made of acacia wood, overlaid with bronze. ⁷ The carrying poles were inserted into the rings at the side of the altar. The altar was hollow, with plank siding.

⁸ The bronze washbasin and its bronze pedestal were cast from the solid bronze mirrors donated by the women who assembled at the entrance to the Tabernacle.

⁹ Then he constructed the courtyard. The south wall was 150 feet long; it consisted of drapes woven from fine-twined linen thread. ¹⁰ There were twenty posts to hold drapes, with bases of bronze and with silver hooks and rods. ¹¹ The north wall was also 150 feet long, with twenty bronze posts and bases and with silver hooks and rods. ¹² The west side was 75 feet wide; the walls were made from drapes supported by ten posts and bases, and with silver hooks and rods. ¹³ The east side was also 75 feet wide.

^14-15 The drapes at either side of the entrance were 22-1/2 feet wide, each with three posts and three bases. ¹⁶ All the drapes making up the walls of the court were woven of fine-twined linen. ¹⁷ Each post had a bronze base, and all the hooks and rods were silver; the tops of the posts were overlaid with silver, and the rods to hold up the drapes were solid silver.

¹⁸ The drapery covering the entrance to the court was made of fine-twined linen, beautifully embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread.

It was 30 feet long and 7-1/2 feet wide, just the same as the drapes composing the walls of the court. ¹⁹ It was supported by four posts, with four bronze bases and with silver hooks and rods; the tops of the posts were also silver.

²⁰ All the nails used in constructing the Tabernacle and court were bronze.

²¹ This summarizes the various steps in building the Tabernacle to house the Ark, so that the Levites could carry on their ministry. All was done in the order designated by Moses and was supervised by Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. ²² Bezalel (son of Uri and grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah) was the master craftsman, ²³ assisted by Oholiab (son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan); he too was a skilled craftsman and also an expert at engraving, weaving, and at embroidering blue, purple, and scarlet threads into fine linen cloth.

²⁴ The people brought gifts of 3,140 pounds of gold, all of which was used throughout the Tabernacle.

^25-26 The amount of silver used was 9,575 pounds, which came from the fifty-cent head tax collected from all those registered in the census who were twenty years old or older, a total of 603,550 men. ²⁷ The bases for the frames of the sanctuary walls and for the posts supporting the veil required 9,500 pounds of silver, 95 pounds^[u] for each socket. ²⁸ The silver left over was used for the posts and to overlay their tops, and for the rods and hooks.

^29-31 The people brought 7,540 pounds of bronze, which was used for casting the bases for the posts at the entrance to the Tabernacle, and for the bronze altar, the bronze grating, the altar utensils, the bases for the posts supporting the drapes enclosing the court, and for all the nails used in the construction of the Tabernacle and the court.

39 Then, for the priests, the people made beautiful garments of blue, purple, and scarlet cloth—garments to be used while ministering in the Holy Place. This same cloth was used for Aaron’s sacred garments, in accordance with the Lord’s instructions to Moses. ² The ephod was made from this cloth too, woven from fine-twined linen thread. ³ Bezalel beat gold into thin plates and cut it into wire threads, to work into the blue, purple, and scarlet linen; it was a skillful and beautiful piece of workmanship when finished.

^4-5 The ephod was held together by shoulder straps at the top and was tied down by an elaborate one-piece woven sash made of the same gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth cut from fine-twined linen thread, just as God had directed Moses. ^6-7 The two^[v] onyx stones, attached to the two shoulder straps of the ephod, were set in gold, and the stones were engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel, just as initials are engraved upon a ring. These stones were reminders to Jehovah concerning the people of Israel; all this was done in accordance with the Lord’s instructions to Moses.

⁸ The chestpiece was a beautiful piece of work, just like the ephod, made from the finest gold, blue, purple, and scarlet linen. ⁹ It was a piece nine inches square, doubled over to form a pouch; ¹⁰ there were four rows of stones across it. In the first row were a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle; ¹¹ in the second row were an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. ¹² In the third row were a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ¹³ In the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper—all set in gold filigree. ¹⁴ The stones were engraved like a seal, with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

^15-18 To attach the chestpiece to the ephod,^[w] a gold ring was placed at the top of each shoulder strap of the ephod, and from these gold rings, two strands of twined gold attached to gold clasps on the top corners of the chestpiece. ¹⁹ Two gold rings were also set at the lower edge of the chestpiece, on the under side, next to the ephod. ²⁰ Two other gold rings were placed low on the shoulder straps of the ephod, close to where the ephod joined its beautifully woven sash. ²¹ The chestpiece was held securely above the beautifully woven sash of the ephod by tying the rings of the chestpiece to the rings of the ephod with a blue ribbon.

All this was commanded to Moses by the Lord.

²² The main part of the ephod was woven, all of blue, ²³ and there was a hole at the center, just as in a coat of mail, for the head to go through, reinforced around the edge so that it would not tear. ²⁴ Pomegranates were attached to the bottom edge of the robe; these were made of linen cloth, embroidered^[x] with blue, purple, and scarlet. ^25-26 Bells of pure gold were placed between the pomegranates along the bottom edge of the skirt, with bells and pomegranates alternating all around the edge. This robe was worn when Aaron ministered to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁷ Robes were now made for Aaron and his sons from fine-twined linen thread. ^28-29 The chestpiece, the beautiful turbans, and the caps and the underclothes were all made of this linen, and the linen belt was beautifully embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet threads, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses. ³⁰ Finally, they made the holy plate of pure gold to wear on the front of the turban, engraved with the words, “Consecrated to Jehovah.” ³¹ It was tied to the turban with a blue cord, just as the Lord had instructed.

³² And so at last the Tabernacle was finished, following all of the Lord’s instructions to Moses.

^33-40 Then they brought the entire Tabernacle to Moses:

⁴¹ They also brought for his inspection the beautifully tailored garments to be worn while ministering in the Holy Place and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and those for his sons, to be worn when on duty.

⁴² So the people of Israel followed all the Lord’s instructions to Moses. ⁴³ And Moses inspected all their work and blessed them because it was all as the Lord had instructed him.

40 The Lord now said to Moses, ² “Put together the Tabernacle on the first day of the first month. ³ In it place the Ark containing the Ten Commandments; and install the veil to enclose the Ark within the Holy of Holies. ⁴ Then bring in the table and place the utensils on it, and bring in the lampstand and light the lamps.

⁵ “Place the gold altar for the incense in front of the Ark. Set up the drapes at the entrance of the Tabernacle, ⁶ and place the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance. ⁷ Set the washbasin between the Tabernacle-tent and the altar, and fill it with water. ⁸ Then make the courtyard around the outside of the tent, and hang the curtain-door at the entrance to the courtyard.

⁹ “Take the anointing oil and sprinkle it here and there upon the Tabernacle and everything in it, upon all of its utensils and parts, and all the furniture, to hallow it; and it shall become holy. ¹⁰ Sprinkle the anointing oil upon the altar of burnt offering and its utensils, sanctifying it; for the altar shall then become most holy. ¹¹ Then anoint the washbasin and its pedestal, sanctifying it.

¹² “Now bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tabernacle and wash them with water; ¹³ and clothe Aaron with the holy garments and anoint him, sanctifying him to minister to me as a priest. ¹⁴ Then bring his sons and put their robes upon them, ¹⁵ and anoint them as you did their father, that they may minister to me as priests; their anointing shall be permanent from generation to generation: all their children and children’s children shall forever be my priests.”

¹⁶ So Moses proceeded to do all as the Lord had commanded him. ¹⁷ On the first day of the first month, in the second year, the Tabernacle was put together. ¹⁸ Moses erected it by setting its frames into their bases and attaching the bars. ¹⁹ Then he spread the coverings over the framework and put on the top layers, just as the Lord had commanded him.

²⁰ Inside the Ark he placed the stones with the Ten Commandments engraved on them, and attached the carrying poles to the Ark and installed the gold lid, the place of mercy. ²¹ Then he brought the Ark into the Tabernacle and set up the curtain to screen it, just as the Lord had commanded.

²² Next he placed the table at the north side of the room outside the curtain ²³ and set the Bread of the Presence upon the table before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded.

²⁴ And he placed the lampstand next to the table, on the south side of the Tabernacle. ²⁵ Then he lighted the lamps before the Lord, following all the instructions, ²⁶ and placed the gold altar in the Tabernacle next to the curtain, ²⁷ and burned upon it the incense made from sweet spices, just as the Lord had commanded.

²⁸ He attached the curtain at the entrance of the Tabernacle, ²⁹ and placed the outside altar for the burnt offerings near the entrance, and offered upon it a burnt offering and a meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded him.

³⁰ Next he placed the washbasin between the tent and the altar and filled it with water so that the priests could use it for washing. ³¹ Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons washed their hands and feet there. ³² Whenever they walked past the altar to enter the Tabernacle, they stopped and washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³³ Then he erected the enclosure surrounding the tent and the altar, and set up the curtain-door at the entrance of the enclosure. So at last Moses finished the work.

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled it. ³⁵ Moses was not able to enter because the cloud was standing there, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. ³⁶ Whenever the cloud lifted and moved, the people of Israel journeyed onward, following it. ³⁷ But if the cloud stayed, they stayed until it moved. ³⁸ The cloud rested upon the Tabernacle during the daytime, and at night there was fire in the cloud so that all the people of Israel could see it.

This continued throughout all their journeys.