Bible in 90 Days

Appointing the Priests

29 “This is what you must do to appoint Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two male sheep that have nothing wrong with them. ² Use fine wheat flour without yeast to make bread, cakes mixed with olive oil, and wafers brushed with olive oil. ³ Put these in one basket, and bring them along with the bull and two male sheep. ⁴ Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the clothes and dress Aaron in the inner robe and the outer robe of the holy vest. Then put on him the holy vest and the chest covering, and tie the holy vest on him with its skillfully woven belt. ⁶ Put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ Take the special olive oil and pour it on his head to make him a priest.

⁸ “Then bring his sons and put the inner robes on them. ⁹ Put the headbands on their heads, and tie cloth belts around their waists. Aaron and his descendants will be priests in Israel, according to a rule that will continue from now on. This is how you will appoint Aaron and his sons as priests.

¹⁰ “Bring the bull to the front of the Meeting Tent, and Aaron and his sons must put their hands on the bull’s head. ¹¹ Then kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ¹² Use your finger to put some of the bull’s blood on the corners of the altar, and then pour the blood that is left at the bottom of the altar. ¹³ Take all the fat that covers the inner organs, as well as the best part of the liver, both kidneys, and the fat around them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴ Take the bull’s meat, skin, and intestines, and burn them outside the camp. This is an offering to take away sin.

¹⁵ “Take one of the male sheep, and have Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ¹⁶ Kill it, and take its blood and sprinkle it on all four sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Then cut it into pieces and wash its inner organs and its legs, putting them with its head and its other pieces. ¹⁸ Burn the whole sheep on the altar; it is a burnt offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Take the other male sheep, and have Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ²⁰ Kill it and take some of its blood. Put the blood on the bottom of the right ears of Aaron and his sons and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then sprinkle the rest of the blood against all four sides of the altar. ²¹ Take some of the blood from the altar, and mix it with the special oil used in appointing priests. Sprinkle this on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. This will show that Aaron and his sons and their clothes are given to my service.

²² “Then take the fat from the male sheep, the fat tail, and the fat that covers the inner organs. In addition, take the best part of the liver, both kidneys, and the fat around them, and the right thigh. (This is the male sheep to be used in appointing priests.)

²³ “Then take the basket of bread that you made without yeast, which you put before the Lord. From it take a loaf of bread, a cake made with olive oil, and a wafer. ²⁴ Put all of these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and tell them to present them as an offering to the Lord. ²⁵ Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar with the whole burnt offering. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord; its smell is pleasing to the Lord. ²⁶ Then take the breast of the male sheep used to appoint Aaron as priest, and present it before the Lord as an offering. This part of the animal will be your share. ²⁷ Set aside the breast and the thigh of the sheep that were used to appoint Aaron and his sons as priests. These parts belong to them. ²⁸ They are to be the regular share which the Israelites will always give to Aaron and his sons. It is the gift the Israelites must give to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.

²⁹ “The holy clothes made for Aaron will belong to his descendants so that they can wear these clothes when they are appointed as priests. ³⁰ Aaron’s son, who will become high priest after Aaron, will come to the Meeting Tent to serve in the Holy Place. He is to wear these clothes for seven days.

³¹ “Take the male sheep used to appoint priests and boil its meat in a place that is holy. ³² Then at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, Aaron and his sons must eat the meat of the sheep and the bread that is in the basket. ³³ They should eat these offerings that were used to remove their sins and to make them holy when they were made priests. But no one else is to eat them, because they are holy things. ³⁴ If any of the meat from that sheep or any of the bread is left the next morning, it must be burned. It must not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ “Do all these things that I commanded you to do to Aaron and his sons, and spend seven days appointing them. ³⁶ Each day you are to offer a bull to remove the sins of Aaron and his sons so they will be given for service to the Lord. Make the altar ready for service to the Lord, and pour oil on it to make it holy. ³⁷ Spend seven days making the altar ready for service to God and making it holy. Then the altar will become very holy, and anything that touches it must be holy.

The Daily Sacrifices

³⁸ “Every day from now on, offer on the altar two lambs that are one year old. ³⁹ Offer one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening before dark. ⁴⁰ In the morning, when you offer the first lamb, offer also two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of oil from pressed olives. Pour out a quart of wine as a drink offering. ⁴¹ Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same grain offering and drink offering as you did in the morning. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord, and its smell is pleasing to him.

⁴² “You must burn these things as an offering to the Lord every day, from now on, at the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord. When you make the offering, I, the Lord, will meet you there and speak to you. ⁴³ I will meet with the people of Israel there, and that place will be holy because of my glory.

⁴⁴ “So I will make the Meeting Tent and the altar holy; I will also make Aaron and his sons holy so they may serve me as priests. ⁴⁵ I will live with the people of Israel and be their God. ⁴⁶ And they will know that I am the Lord their God who led them out of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am the Lord their God.

The Altar for Burning Incense

30 “Make an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense. ² Make it square—eighteen inches long and eighteen inches wide—and make it thirty-six inches high. The corners that stick out like horns must be one piece with the altar. ³ Cover its top, its sides, and its corners with pure gold, and put a gold strip all around the altar. ⁴ Make two gold rings beneath the gold strip on opposite sides of the altar, and slide poles through them to carry the altar. ⁵ Make the poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. ⁶ Put the altar of incense in front of the curtain that is near the Ark of the Agreement, in front of the lid that covers that Ark. There I will meet with you.

⁷ “Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on the altar every morning when he comes to take care of the oil lamps. ⁸ He must burn incense again in the evening when he lights the lamps, so incense will burn before the Lord every day from now on. ⁹ Do not use this altar for offering any other incense, or burnt offering, or any kind of grain offering, or drink offering. ¹⁰ Once a year Aaron must make the altar ready for service to God by putting blood on its corners—the blood of the animal offered to remove sins. He is to do this once a year from now on. This altar belongs completely to the Lord’s service.”

The Tax for the Meeting Tent

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “When you count the people of Israel, every person must buy back his life from the Lord so that no terrible things will happen to the people when you number them. ¹³ Every person who is counted must pay one-fifth of an ounce of silver. (This is set by using one-half of the Holy Place measure, which weighs two-fifths of an ounce.) This amount is a gift to the Lord. ¹⁴ Every person who is counted and is twenty years old or older must give this amount to the Lord. ¹⁵ A rich person must not give more than one-fifth of an ounce, and a poor person must not give less. You are paying this to the Lord to buy back your lives. ¹⁶ Gather from the people of Israel this money paid to buy back their lives, and spend it on things for the service in the Meeting Tent. This payment will remind the Lord that the Israelites’ lives have been bought back.”

The Bronze Bowl

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Make a bronze bowl, on a bronze stand, for washing. Put the bowl and stand between the Meeting Tent and the altar, and put water in the bowl. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet with the water from this bowl. ²⁰ Each time they enter the Meeting Tent they must wash with water so they will not die. Whenever they approach the altar to serve as priests and offer a sacrifice to the Lord by fire, ²¹ they must wash their hands and their feet so they will not die. This is a rule which Aaron and his descendants are to keep from now on.”

Oil for Appointing

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Take the finest spices: twelve pounds of liquid myrrh, half that amount (that is, six pounds) of sweet-smelling cinnamon, six pounds of sweet-smelling cane, ²⁴ and twelve pounds of cassia. Weigh all these by the Holy Place measure. Also take four quarts of olive oil, ²⁵ and mix all these things like a perfume to make a holy olive oil. This special oil must be put on people and things to make them ready for service to God. ²⁶ Put this oil on the Meeting Tent and the Ark of the Agreement, ²⁷ on the table and all its dishes, on the lampstand and all its tools, and on the incense altar. ²⁸ Also, put the oil on the altar for burnt offerings and on all its tools, as well as on the bowl and the stand under the bowl. ²⁹ You will prepare all these things for service to God, and they will be very holy. Anything that touches these things must be holy.

³⁰ “Put the oil on Aaron and his sons to give them for service to me, that they may serve me as priests. ³¹ Tell the Israelites, ‘This is to be my holy olive oil from now on. It is to be put on people and things to make them ready for service to God. ³² Do not pour it on the bodies of ordinary people, and do not make perfume the same way you make this oil. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. ³³ If anyone makes perfume like it or puts it on someone who is not a priest, that person must be cut off from his people.’”

Incense

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take these sweet-smelling spices: resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense. Be sure that you have equal amounts of each. ³⁵ Make incense as a person who makes perfume would do. Add salt to it to keep it pure and holy. ³⁶ Beat some of the incense into a fine powder, and put it in front of the Ark of the Agreement in the Meeting Tent, where I will meet with you. You must use this incense powder only for its very special purpose. ³⁷ Do not make incense for yourselves the same way you make this incense. Treat it as holy to the Lord. ³⁸ Whoever makes incense like this to use as perfume must be cut off from his people.”

Bezalel and Oholiab Help

31 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri from the tribe of Judah. (Uri was the son of Hur.) ³ I have filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God and have given him the skill, ability, and knowledge to do all kinds of work. ⁴ He is able to design pieces to be made from gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵ to cut jewels and put them in metal, to carve wood, and to do all kinds of work. ⁶ I have also chosen Oholiab son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan to work with Bezalel. I have given skills to all the craftsmen, and they will be able to make all these things I have commanded you: ⁷ the Meeting Tent, the Ark of the Agreement, the lid that covers the Ark, and everything in the Tent. ⁸ This includes the table and everything on it, the pure gold lampstand and everything with it, the altar of incense, ⁹ the altar for burnt offerings and everything used with it, and the bowl and the stand under it. ¹⁰ They will make the woven clothes and the holy clothes for Aaron and the clothes for his sons to wear when they serve as priests. ¹¹ They will also make the special olive oil used in appointing people and things to the service of the Lord, and the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Place.

“These workers will make all these things just as I have commanded you.”

The Day of Rest

¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹³ “Tell the Israelites, ‘You must keep the rules about my Sabbaths, because they will be a sign between you and me from now on. In this way you will know that I, the Lord, make you holy.

¹⁴ “‘Make the Sabbath a holy day. If anyone treats the Sabbath like any other day, that person must be put to death; anyone who works on the Sabbath day must be cut off from his people. ¹⁵ There are six days for working, but the seventh day is a day of rest, a day holy for the Lord. Anyone who works during the Sabbath day must be put to death. ¹⁶ The Israelites must remember the Sabbath day as an agreement between them and me that will continue from now on. ¹⁷ The Sabbath day will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, because in six days I, the Lord, made the sky and the earth. On the seventh day I did not work; I rested.’”

¹⁸ When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets with the Agreement written on them, written by the finger of God.

The People Make a Gold Calf

32 The people saw that a long time had passed and Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron and said, “Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us gods who will lead us.”

² Aaron said to the people, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, sons, and daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took the gold from the people and formed it with a tool and made a statue of a calf. Then the people said, “Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

⁵ When Aaron saw all this, he built an altar before the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a special feast to honor the Lord.” ⁶ The people got up early the next morning and offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink, and then they got up and sinned sexually.

⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain, because your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have ruined themselves. ⁸ They have quickly turned away from the things I commanded them to do. They have made for themselves a calf covered with gold, and they have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. They have said, ‘Israel, these are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’”

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and I know that they are very stubborn. ¹⁰ So now do not stop me. I am so angry with them that I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants a great nation.”

¹¹ But Moses begged the Lord his God and said, “Lord, don’t let your anger destroy your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with your great power and strength. ¹² Don’t let the people of Egypt say, ‘The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt for an evil purpose. He planned to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the earth.’ So stop being angry, and don’t destroy your people. ¹³ Remember the men who served you—Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You promised with an oath to them and said, ‘I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised them, and it will be theirs forever.’” ¹⁴ So the Lord changed his mind and did not destroy the people as he had said he might.

¹⁵ Then Moses went down the mountain, and in his hands he had the two stone tablets with the Agreement on them. The commands were written on both sides of each stone, front and back. ¹⁶ God himself had made the tablets, and God himself had written the commands on the tablets.

¹⁷ When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp.”

¹⁸ Moses answered:

¹⁹ When Moses came close to the camp, he saw the gold calf and the dancing, and he became very angry. He threw down the stone tablets that he was carrying and broke them at the bottom of the mountain. ²⁰ Then he took the calf that the people had made and melted it in the fire. He ground it into powder. Then he threw the powder into the water and forced the Israelites to drink it.

²¹ Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?”

²² Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, master. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. ²³ The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him. Make us gods who will lead us.’ ²⁴ So I told the people, ‘Take off your gold jewelry.’ When they gave me the gold, I threw it into the fire and out came this calf!”

²⁵ Moses saw that the people were acting wildly. Aaron had let them get out of control and become fools in front of their enemies. ²⁶ So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Let anyone who wants to follow the Lord come to me.” And all the people from the family of Levi gathered around Moses.

²⁷ Then Moses said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Every man must put on his sword and go through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’” ²⁸ The people from the family of Levi obeyed Moses, and that day about three thousand of the Israelites died. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “Today you have been given for service to the Lord. You were willing to kill your own sons and brothers, and God has blessed you for this.”

³⁰ The next day Moses told the people, “You have done a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe I can do something so your sins will be removed.” ³¹ So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “How terribly these people have sinned! They have made for themselves gods from gold. ³² Now, please forgive them of this sin. If you will not, then erase my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.”

³³ But the Lord told Moses, “I will erase from my book the names of the people who sin against me. ³⁴ So now, go. Lead the people where I have told you, and my angel will lead you. When the time comes to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

³⁵ So the Lord caused terrible things to happen to the people because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land that I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give that land to your descendants.’ ² I will send an angel to lead you, and I will force these people out of the land: the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ³ Go up to a fertile land. But I will not go with you, because I might destroy you on the way, since you are such a stubborn people.”

⁴ When the people heard this bad news, they became very sad, and none of them put on jewelry. ⁵ This was because the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stubborn people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I would destroy you. So take off all your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.’” ⁶ So the people of Israel took off their jewelry at Mount Sinai.

The Meeting Tent

⁷ Moses used to take a tent and set it up a long way outside the camp; he called it the “Meeting Tent.” Anyone who wanted to ask the Lord about something would go to the Meeting Tent outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise and stand at the entrances of their tents, watching him until he entered the Meeting Tent. ⁹ When Moses went into the Tent, the pillar of cloud would always come down and stay at the entrance of the Tent while the Lord spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud at the entrance of the Tent, they stood and worshiped, each person at the entrance of his own tent.

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but Moses’ young helper, Joshua son of Nun, did not leave the Tent.

¹² Moses said to the Lord, “You have told me to lead these people, but you did not say whom you would send with me. You have said to me, ‘I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.’ ¹³ If I have truly pleased you, show me your plans so that I may know you and continue to please you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴ The Lord answered, “I myself will go with you, and I will give you victory.”

¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, “If you yourself don’t go with us, then don’t send us away from this place. ¹⁶ If you don’t go with us, no one will know that you are pleased with me and with your people. These people and I will be no different from any other people on earth.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you ask, because I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.”

Moses Sees God’s Glory

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your glory.”

¹⁹ The Lord answered, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it. I will show kindness to anyone to whom I want to show kindness, and I will show mercy to anyone to whom I want to show mercy. ²⁰ But you cannot see my face, because no one can see me and live.

²¹ “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² When my glory passes that place, I will put you in a large crack in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But my face must not be seen.”

Moses Gets New Stone Tablets

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two more stone tablets like the first two, and I will write the same words on them that were on the first two stones which you broke. ² Be ready tomorrow morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Stand before me there on the top of the mountain. ³ No one may come with you or even be seen any place on the mountain. Not even the flocks or herds may eat grass near that mountain.”

⁴ So Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. Then early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, carrying the two stone tablets with him. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses, and the Lord called out his name: the Lord.

⁶ The Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the Lord. The Lord is a God who shows mercy, who is kind, who doesn’t become angry quickly, who has great love and faithfulness ⁷ and is kind to thousands of people. The Lord forgives people for evil, for sin, and for turning against him, but he does not forget to punish guilty people. He will punish not only the guilty people, but also their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren, and their great-great-grandchildren.”

⁸ Then Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped. ⁹ He said, “Lord, if you are pleased with me, please go with us. I know that these are stubborn people, but forgive our evil and our sin. Take us as your own people.”

¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “I am making this agreement with you. I will do miracles in front of all your people—things that have never before been done for any other nation on earth—and the people with you will see my work. I, the Lord, will do wonderful things for you. ¹¹ Obey the things I command you today, and I will force out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites ahead of you. ¹² Be careful that you don’t make an agreement with the people who live in the land where you are going, because it will bring you trouble. ¹³ Destroy their altars, break their stone pillars, and cut down their Asherah idols. ¹⁴ Don’t worship any other god, because I, the Lord, the Jealous One, am a jealous God.

¹⁵ “Be careful that you don’t make an agreement with the people who live in that land. When they worship their gods, they will invite you to join them. Then you will eat their sacrifices. ¹⁶ If you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters worship gods, they will lead your sons to do the same thing.

¹⁷ “Do not make gods of melted metal.

¹⁸ “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast as I commanded you. Do this during the month I have chosen, the month of Abib, because in that month you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹ “The firstborn of every mother belongs to me, including every firstborn male animal that is born in your flocks and herds. ²⁰ You may buy back a donkey by paying for it with a lamb, but if you don’t want to buy back a donkey, you must break its neck. You must buy back all your firstborn sons.

“No one is to come before me without a gift.

²¹ “You must work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest—even during the planting season and the harvest season.

²² “Celebrate the Feast of Weeks when you gather the first grain of the wheat harvest. And celebrate the Feast of Shelters in the fall.

²³ “Three times each year all your males must come before the Lord God, the God of Israel. ²⁴ I will force out nations ahead of you and expand the borders of your land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year, and at that time no one will try to take your land from you.

²⁵ “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with anything containing yeast, and do not leave any of the sacrifice of the Feast of Passover until the next morning.

²⁶ “Bring the best first crops that you harvest from your ground to the Tent of the Lord your God.

“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, because with these words I have made an agreement with you and Israel.”

²⁸ Moses stayed there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, and during that time he did not eat food or drink water. And Moses wrote the words of the Agreement—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.

The Face of Moses Shines

²⁹ Then Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the two stone tablets of the Agreement in his hands. But he did not know that his face was shining because he had talked with the Lord. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw that Moses’ face was shining, they were afraid to go near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the people returned to Moses, and he talked with them. ³² After that, all the people of Israel came near him, and he gave them all the commands that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³ When Moses finished speaking to the people, he put a covering over his face. ³⁴ Anytime Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, Moses took off the covering until he came out. Then Moses would come out and tell the Israelites what the Lord had commanded. ³⁵ They would see that Moses’ face was shining. So he would cover his face again until the next time he went in to speak with the Lord.

Rules About the Sabbath

35 Moses gathered all the Israelite community together and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do. ² You are to work for six days, but the seventh day will be a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to honor the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death. ³ On the Sabbath day you must not light a fire in any of your houses.”

⁴ Moses said to all the Israelites, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ⁵ From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who is willing bring this offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, ⁶ blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen, goat hair ⁷ and male sheepskins that are colored red. They may also bring fine leather, acacia wood, ⁸ olive oil for the lamps, spices for the special olive oil used for appointing priests and for the sweet-smelling incense, ⁹ onyx stones, and other jewels to be put on the holy vest and chest covering of the priests.

¹⁰ “Let all the skilled workers come and make everything the Lord commanded: ¹¹ the Holy Tent, its outer tent and its covering, the hooks, frames, crossbars, posts, and bases; ¹² the Ark of the Agreement, its poles, lid, and the curtain in front of it; ¹³ the table, and its poles, all the things that go with the table, and the bread that shows we are in God’s presence; ¹⁴ the lampstand for the light and all the things that go with it, the lamps, and olive oil for the light; ¹⁵ the altar of incense and its poles, the special oil and the sweet-smelling incense, the curtain for the entrance of the Meeting Tent; ¹⁶ the altar of burnt offering and its bronze screen, its poles and all its tools, the bronze bowl and its base; ¹⁷ the curtains around the courtyard, their posts and bases, and the curtain at the entry to the courtyard; ¹⁸ the pegs of the Holy Tent and of the courtyard and their ropes; ¹⁹ the special clothes that the priest will wear in the Holy Place. These are the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and his sons to wear when they serve as priests.”

²⁰ Then all the people of Israel went away from Moses. ²¹ Everyone who wanted to give came and brought a gift to the Lord for making the Meeting Tent, all the things in the Tent, and the special clothes. ²² All the men and women who wanted to give brought gold jewelry of all kinds—pins, earrings, rings, and bracelets. They all presented their gold to the Lord. ²³ Everyone who had blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen, and anyone who had goat hair or male sheepskins colored red or fine leather brought them to the Lord. ²⁴ Everyone who could give silver or bronze brought that as a gift to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood to be used in the work brought it. ²⁵ Every skilled woman used her hands to make the blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen, and they brought what they had made. ²⁶ All the women who were skilled and wanted to help made thread of the goat hair. ²⁷ The leaders brought onyx stones and other jewels to put on the holy vest and chest covering for the priest. ²⁸ They also brought spices and olive oil for the sweet-smelling incense, the special oil, and the oil to burn in the lamps. ²⁹ All the men and women of Israel who wanted to help brought gifts to the Lord for all the work the Lord had commanded Moses and the people to do.

³⁰ Then Moses said to the Israelites, “Look, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. ³¹ The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God and has given him the skill, ability, and knowledge to do all kinds of work. ³² He is able to design pieces to be made of gold, silver, and bronze, ³³ to cut stones and jewels and put them in metal, to carve wood, and to do all kinds of work. ³⁴ Also, the Lord has given Bezalel and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. ³⁵ The Lord has given them the skill to do all kinds of work. They are able to cut designs in metal and stone. They can plan and sew designs in the fine linen with the blue, purple, and red thread. And they are also able to weave things. 36 ¹ So Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person will do the work the Lord has commanded, because he gave them the wisdom and understanding to do all the skilled work needed to build the Holy Tent.”

² Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the other skilled people to whom the Lord had given skills, and they came because they wanted to help with the work. ³ They received from Moses everything the people of Israel had brought as gifts to build the Holy Tent. The people continued to bring gifts each morning because they wanted to. ⁴ So all the skilled workers left the work they were doing on the Holy Tent, ⁵ and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than we need to do the work the Lord commanded.”

⁶ Then Moses sent this command throughout the camp: “No man or woman should make anything else as a gift for the Holy Tent.” So the people were kept from giving more, ⁷ because what they had was already more than enough to do all the work.

The Holy Tent

⁸ Then the skilled workers made the Holy Tent. They made the ten curtains of blue, purple, and red cloth, and they sewed designs of creatures with wings on the curtains. ⁹ Each curtain was the same size—forty-two feet long and six feet wide. ¹⁰ Five of the curtains were fastened together to make one set, and the other five were fastened together to make another set. ¹¹ Then they made loops of blue cloth along the edge of the end curtain on the first set of five, and they did the same thing with the other set of five. ¹² There were fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the other curtain, with the loops opposite each other. ¹³ They made fifty gold hooks to join the two curtains together so that the Holy Tent was joined together as one piece.

¹⁴ Then the workers made another tent of eleven curtains made of goat hair, to put over the Holy Tent. ¹⁵ All eleven curtains were the same size—forty-five feet long and six feet wide. ¹⁶ The workers sewed five curtains together into one set and six together into another set. ¹⁷ They made fifty loops along the edge of the outside curtain of one set and fifty loops along the edge of the outside curtain of the other set. ¹⁸ Then they made fifty bronze rings to join the two sets of cloth together and make the tent one piece. ¹⁹ They made two more coverings for the outer tent—one made of male sheepskins colored red and the other made of fine leather.

²⁰ Then they made upright frames of acacia wood for the Holy Tent. ²¹ Each frame was fifteen feet tall and twenty-seven inches wide, ²² and there were two pegs side by side on each one. Every frame of the Holy Tent was made this same way. ²³ They made twenty frames for the south side of the Tent, ²⁴ and they made forty silver bases that went under the twenty frames. There were two bases for every frame—one for each peg of each frame. ²⁵ They also made twenty frames for the north side of the Holy Tent ²⁶ and forty silver bases—two to go under each frame. ²⁷ They made six frames for the rear or west end of the Holy Tent ²⁸ and two frames for the corners at the rear of the Holy Tent. ²⁹ These two frames were doubled at the bottom and joined at the top with a metal ring. They did this for each of these corners. ³⁰ So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two bases under each frame.

³¹ Then they made crossbars of acacia wood to connect the upright frames of the Holy Tent. Five crossbars held the frames together on one side of the Tent, ³² and five held the frames together on the other side. Also, five crossbars held the frames together on the west end, at the rear of the Tent. ³³ They made the middle crossbar run along the entire length of each side and rear of the Tent. It was set halfway up the frames. ³⁴ They made gold rings on the sides of the frames to hold the crossbars, and they covered the frames and the crossbars with gold.

³⁵ Then they made the curtain of blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. A skilled craftsman sewed designs of creatures with wings on it. ³⁶ They made four posts of acacia wood for it and covered them with gold. Then they made gold hooks for the posts, as well as four silver bases in which to set the posts. ³⁷ For the entrance to the Tent, they made a curtain of blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. A person who sewed well sewed designs on it. ³⁸ Then they made five posts and hooks for it. They covered the tops of the posts and their bands with gold, and they made five bronze bases for the posts.

The Ark of the Agreement

37 Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood; it was forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ² He covered it, both inside and out, with pure gold, and he put a gold strip around it. ³ He made four gold rings for it and attached them to its four feet, with two rings on each side. ⁴ Then he made poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold. ⁵ He put the poles through the rings on each side of the Ark to carry it. ⁶ Then he made a lid of pure gold that was forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. ⁷ Then Bezalel hammered gold to make two creatures with wings and attached them to each end of the lid. ⁸ He made one creature on one end of the lid and the other creature on the other end. He attached them to the lid so that it would be one piece. ⁹ The creatures’ wings were spread upward, covering the lid, and the creatures faced each other across the lid.

The Table

¹⁰ Then he made the table of acacia wood; it was thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ¹¹ He covered it with pure gold and put a gold strip around it. ¹² He made a frame three inches high that stood up all around the edge, and he put a gold strip around it. ¹³ Then he made four gold rings for the table and attached them to the four corners of the table where the four legs were. ¹⁴ The rings were put close to the frame around the top of the table, because they held the poles for carrying it. ¹⁵ The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were covered with gold. ¹⁶ He made of pure gold all the things that were used on the table: the plates, bowls, cups, and jars used for pouring the drink offerings.

The Lampstand

¹⁷ Then he made the lampstand of pure gold, hammering out its base and stand. Its flower-like cups, buds, and petals were joined together in one piece with the base and stand. ¹⁸ Six branches went out from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹ Each branch had three cups shaped like almond flowers, and each cup had a bud and a petal. Each of the six branches going out from the lampstand was the same. ²⁰ There were four more cups shaped like almond flowers on the lampstand itself, each with its buds and petals. ²¹ Three pairs of branches went out from the lampstand. A bud was under the place where each pair was attached to the lampstand. Each of the six branches going out from the lampstand was the same. ²² The buds, branches, and lampstand were all one piece of pure, hammered gold. ²³ He made seven pure gold lamps for this lampstand, and he made pure gold wick trimmers and trays. ²⁴ He used about seventy-five pounds of pure gold to make the lampstand and all the things that go with it.

The Altar for Burning Incense

²⁵ Then he made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square—eighteen inches long and eighteen inches wide—and it was thirty-six inches high. Each corner that stuck out like a horn was joined into one piece with the altar. ²⁶ He covered the top and all the sides and the corners with pure gold, and he put gold trim around the altar. ²⁷ He made two gold rings and put them below the trim on opposite sides of the altar; these rings held the poles for carrying it. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

²⁹ Then he made the holy olive oil for appointing the priests and the pure, sweet-smelling incense. He made them like a person who mixes perfumes.

The Altar for Burnt Offerings

38 Then he built the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood. The altar was square—seven and one-half feet long and seven and one-half feet wide—and it was four and one-half feet high. ² He made each corner stick out like a horn so that the horns and the altar were joined together in one piece. Then he covered the altar with bronze. ³ He made all the tools of bronze to use on the altar: the pots, shovels, bowls for sprinkling blood, meat forks, and pans for carrying the fire. ⁴ He made a large bronze screen to hold the burning wood for the altar and put it inside the altar, under its rim, halfway up from the bottom. ⁵ He made bronze rings to hold the poles for carrying the altar, and he put them at the four corners of the screen. ⁶ Then he made poles of acacia wood and covered them with bronze. ⁷ He put the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar, to carry it. He made the altar of boards and left the inside hollow.

The Bronze Bowl

⁸ He made the bronze bowl for washing, and he built it on a bronze stand. He used the bronze from mirrors that belonged to the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

The Courtyard of the Holy Tent

⁹ Then he made a wall of curtains to form a courtyard around the Holy Tent. On the south side the curtains were one hundred fifty feet long and were made of fine linen. ¹⁰ The curtains hung on silver hooks and bands, placed on twenty bronze posts with twenty bronze bases. ¹¹ On the north side the wall of curtains was also one hundred fifty feet long, and it hung on silver hooks and bands on twenty posts with twenty bronze bases.

¹² On the west side of the courtyard, the wall of curtains was seventy-five feet long. It was held up by silver hooks and bands on ten posts with ten bases. ¹³ The east side was also seventy-five feet long. ¹⁴ On one side of the entry there was a wall of curtains twenty-two and one-half feet long, held up by three posts and three bases. ¹⁵ On the other side of the entry there was also a wall of curtains twenty-two and one-half feet long, held up by three posts and three bases. ¹⁶ All the curtains around the courtyard were made of fine linen. ¹⁷ The bases for the posts were made of bronze. The hooks and the bands on the posts were made of silver, and the tops of the posts were covered with silver also. All the posts in the courtyard had silver bands.

¹⁸ The curtain for the entry of the courtyard was made of blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen, sewn by a person who could sew well. The curtain was thirty feet long and seven and one-half feet high, the same height as the curtains around the courtyard. ¹⁹ It was held up by four posts and four bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver, and the tops on the posts were covered with silver. ²⁰ All the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and for the curtains around the courtyard were made of bronze.

²¹ This is a list of the materials used to make the Holy Tent, where the Agreement was kept. Moses ordered the Levites to make this list, and Ithamar son of Aaron was in charge of keeping it. ²² Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses. ²³ Oholiab son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan helped him. He could cut designs into metal and stone; he was a designer and also skilled at sewing the blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen.

²⁴ The total amount of gold used to build the Holy Tent was presented to the Lord. It weighed over 2,000 pounds, as set by the Holy Place measure.

²⁵ The silver was given by the members of the community who were counted. It weighed 7,550 pounds, as set by the Holy Place measure. ²⁶ All the men twenty years old or older were counted. There were 603,550 men, and each man had to pay one-fifth of an ounce of silver, as set by the Holy Place measure. ²⁷ Of this silver, 7,500 pounds were used to make the one hundred bases for the Holy Tent and for the curtain—75 pounds of silver in each base. ²⁸ They used 50 pounds of silver to make the hooks for the posts and to cover the tops of the posts and to make the bands on them.

²⁹ The bronze which was presented to the Lord weighed about 5,000 pounds. ³⁰ They used the bronze to make the bases at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, to make the altar and the bronze screen, and to make all the tools for the altar. ³¹ This bronze was also used to make bases for the wall of curtains around the courtyard and bases for curtains at the entry to the courtyard, as well as to make the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and the curtains that surrounded the courtyard.

Clothes for the Priests

39 They used blue, purple, and red thread to make woven clothes for the priests to wear when they served in the Holy Place. They made the holy clothes for Aaron as the Lord had commanded Moses.

² They made the holy vest of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. ³ They hammered the gold into sheets and then cut it into long, thin strips. They worked the gold into the blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. This was done by skilled craftsmen. ⁴ They made the shoulder straps for the holy vest, which were attached to the top corners of the vest and tied together over each shoulder. ⁵ The skillfully woven belt was made in the same way; it was joined to the holy vest as one piece. It was made of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen, the way the Lord commanded Moses.

⁶ They put gold around the onyx stones and then wrote the names of the sons of Israel on these gems, as a person carves words and designs on a seal. ⁷ Then they attached the gems on the shoulder straps of the holy vest, as reminders of the twelve sons of Israel. This was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁸ The skilled craftsmen made the chest covering like the holy vest; it was made of gold, and blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen. ⁹ The chest covering was square—nine inches long and nine inches wide—and it was folded double to make a pocket. ¹⁰ Then they put four rows of beautiful jewels on it: In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz, and a yellow quartz; ¹¹ in the second there was a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; ¹² in the third there was a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ in the fourth there was a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. Gold was put around these jewels to attach them to the chest covering, ¹⁴ and the names of the sons of Israel were carved on these twelve jewels as a person carves a seal. Each jewel had the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

¹⁵ They made chains of pure gold, twisted together like a rope, for the chest covering. ¹⁶ The workers made two gold pieces and two gold rings. They put the two gold rings on the two upper corners of the chest covering. ¹⁷ Then they put two gold chains in the two rings at the ends of the chest covering, ¹⁸ and they fastened the other two ends of the chains to the two gold pieces. They attached these gold pieces to the two shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest. ¹⁹ They made two gold rings and put them at the lower corners of the chest covering on the inside edge next to the holy vest. ²⁰ They made two more gold rings on the bottom of the shoulder straps in front of the holy vest, near the seam, just above the woven belt of the holy vest. ²¹ They used a blue ribbon and tied the rings of the chest covering to the rings of the holy vest, connecting it to the woven belt. In this way the chest covering would not swing out from the holy vest. They did all these things the way the Lord commanded.

²² Then they made the outer robe to be worn under the holy vest. It was woven only of blue cloth. ²³ They made a hole in the center of the outer robe, with a woven collar sewn around it so it would not tear. ²⁴ Then they made balls like pomegranates of blue, purple, and red thread, and fine linen and hung them around the bottom of the outer robe. ²⁵ They also made bells of pure gold and hung these around the bottom of the outer robe between the balls. ²⁶ So around the bottom of the outer robe there was a bell and a pomegranate ball, a bell and a pomegranate ball. The priest wore this outer robe when he served as priest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁷ They wove inner robes of fine linen for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸ and they made turbans, headbands, and underclothes of fine linen. ²⁹ Then they made the cloth belt of fine linen, and blue, purple, and red thread, and designs were sewn onto it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰ They made a strip of pure gold, which is the holy crown, and carved these words in the gold, as one might carve on a seal: “Holy to the Lord.” ³¹ Then they tied this flat piece to the turban with a blue ribbon, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³² So all the work on the Meeting Tent was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ Then they brought the Holy Tent to Moses: the Tent and all its furniture, hooks, frames, crossbars, posts, and bases; ³⁴ the covering made of male sheepskins colored red, the covering made of fine leather, and the curtain that covered the entrance to the Most Holy Place; ³⁵ the Ark of the Agreement, its poles and lid; ³⁶ the table, all its containers, and the bread that showed they were in God’s presence; ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand with its lamps in a row, all its tools, and the olive oil for the light; ³⁸ the gold altar, the special olive oil used for appointing priests, the sweet-smelling incense, and the curtain that covered the entrance to the Tent; ³⁹ the bronze altar and its screen, its poles and all its tools, the bowl and its stand; ⁴⁰ the curtains for the courtyard with their posts and bases, the curtain that covered the entry to the courtyard, the cords, pegs, and all the things in the Meeting Tent. ⁴¹ They brought the clothes for the priests to wear when they served in the Holy Tent—the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and the clothes for his sons, which they wore when they served as priests.

⁴² The Israelites had done all this work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴³ Moses looked closely at all the work and saw they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

Setting Up the Holy Tent

40 Then the Lord said to Moses: ² “On the first day of the first month, set up the Holy Tent, which is the Meeting Tent. ³ Put the Ark of the Agreement in it and hang the curtain in front of the Ark. ⁴ Bring in the table and arrange everything on the table that should be there. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. ⁵ Put the gold altar for burning incense in front of the Ark of the Agreement, and put the curtain at the entrance to the Holy Tent.

⁶ “Put the altar of burnt offerings in front of the entrance of the Holy Tent, the Meeting Tent. ⁷ Put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ Set up the courtyard around the Holy Tent, and put the curtain at the entry to the courtyard.

⁹ “Use the special olive oil and pour it on the Holy Tent and everything in it, in order to give the Tent and all that is in it for service to the Lord. They will be holy. ¹⁰ Pour the special oil on the altar for burnt offerings and on all its tools. Give the altar for service to God, and it will be very holy. ¹¹ Then pour the special olive oil on the bowl and the base under it so that they will be given for service to God.

¹² “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and wash them with water. ¹³ Then put the holy clothes on Aaron. Pour the special oil on him, and give him for service to God so that he may serve me as a priest. ¹⁴ Bring Aaron’s sons and put the inner robes on them. ¹⁵ Pour the special oil on them in the same way that you appointed their father as priest so that they may also serve me as priests. Pouring oil on them will make them a family of priests, they and their descendants from now on.” ¹⁶ Moses did everything that the Lord commanded him.

¹⁷ So the Holy Tent was set up on the first day of the first month during the second year after they left Egypt. ¹⁸ When Moses set up the Holy Tent, he put the bases in place, and he put the frames on the bases. Next he put the crossbars through the rings of the frames and set up the posts. ¹⁹ After that, Moses spread the cloth over the Holy Tent and put the covering over it, just as the Lord commanded.

²⁰ Moses put the stone tablets that had the Agreement written on them into the Ark. He put the poles through the rings of the Ark and put the lid on it. ²¹ Next he brought the Ark into the Tent and hung the curtain to cover the Ark, just as the Lord commanded him.

²² Moses put the table in the Meeting Tent on the north side of the Holy Tent in front of the curtain. ²³ Then he put the bread on the table before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded him. ²⁴ Moses put the lampstand in the Meeting Tent on the south side of the Holy Tent across from the table. ²⁵ Then he put the lamps on the lampstand before the Lord, just as the Lord commanded him.

²⁶ Moses put the gold altar for burning incense in the Meeting Tent in front of the curtain. ²⁷ Then he burned sweet-smelling incense on it, just as the Lord commanded him. ²⁸ Then he hung the curtain at the entrance to the Holy Tent.

²⁹ He put the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the Holy Tent, the Meeting Tent, and offered a whole burnt offering and grain offerings on it, just as the Lord commanded him. ³⁰ Moses put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar for burnt offerings, and he put water in it for washing. ³¹ Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons used this water to wash their hands and feet. ³² They washed themselves every time they entered the Meeting Tent and every time they went near the altar for burnt offerings, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³³ Then Moses set up the courtyard around the Holy Tent and the altar, and he put up the curtain at the entry to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

The Cloud over the Holy Tent

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the Meeting Tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Holy Tent. ³⁵ Moses could not enter the Meeting Tent, because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Holy Tent.

³⁶ When the cloud rose from the Holy Tent, the Israelites would begin to travel, ³⁷ but as long as the cloud stayed on the Holy Tent, they did not travel. They stayed in that place until the cloud rose. ³⁸ So the cloud of the Lord was over the Holy Tent during the day, and there was a fire in the cloud at night. So all the Israelites could see the cloud while they traveled.