Exodus 25; Exodus 26; Exodus 27

Exodus 25

1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 "Tell the Israelites to choose something to give me as a special contribution. You must accept whatever contribution each person freely gives.

3 This is the kind of contribution you will accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze,

4 violet, purple, and bright red yarn, fine linen, goats' hair,

5 rams' skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood,

6 olive oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense,

7 onyx stones, and other precious stones to be set in the [chief priest's] ephod and his breastplate.

8 "Then have them make a holy place for me, and I will live among them.

9 Make the tent and all its furnishings exactly like the plans I am showing you.

10 "Make an ark of acacia wood 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

11 Cover it with pure gold inside and out, and put a gold molding around it.

12 Cast four gold rings for it, and fasten them to its four feet, two rings on each side.

13 Make poles of acacia wood, and cover them with gold.

14 Put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry it.

15 The poles must stay in the rings of the ark. Never remove them.

16 Then you will put into the ark the words of my promise which I will give you.

17 "Make a throne of mercy to cover the ark out of pure gold 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.

18 Make two angels out of hammered gold for the two ends of the throne of mercy,

19 one on each end. Form the angels and the throne of mercy out of one piece of gold.

20 The angels should have their wings spread above the throne of mercy, overshadowing it. They should face each other, looking at the throne of mercy.

21 After you put into the ark the words of my promise which I will give you, place the throne of mercy on top.

22 I will be above the throne of mercy between the angels whenever I meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

23 "Make a table of acacia wood 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

24 Cover it with pure gold, and put a gold molding around it.

25 Make a rim three inches wide around it, and put a gold molding around the rim.

26 Make four gold rings for it, and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are.

27 The rings are to be close to the rim. They are to hold the poles for carrying the table.

28 Make the poles out of acacia wood, cover them with gold, and use them to carry the table.

29 Make plates and dishes for the table out of pure gold, as well as pitchers and bowls to be used for pouring wine offerings.

30 Put the bread of the presence on this table so that it will be in front of me all the time.

31 "Make a lamp stand out of pure gold. The lamp stand, its base, and its shaft, as well as the flower cups, buds, and petals must be hammered out of one piece of gold.

32 Six branches are to come out of the sides, three branches on one side and three on the other.

33 Each of the six branches coming out of the lamp stand is to have three flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals.

34 The lamp stand itself is to have four flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals.

35 There should be a bud under each of the three pairs of branches coming out of the lamp stand.

36 The buds and branches should also be hammered out of the same piece of pure gold as the lamp stand.

37 "Make seven lamps, and set them on the lamp stand so that they light up [the area] in front of it.

38 The tongs and incense burners must be made of pure gold.

39 Use 75 pounds of pure gold to make the lamp stand and all the utensils.

40 Be sure to make them according to the plans you were shown on the mountain."

Exodus 26

1 [The LORD continued,] "Make the inner tent with ten sheets made from fine linen yarn. Take violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and creatively work an angel design into the fabric.

2 Each sheet will be 42 feet long and 6 feet wide--all the same size.

3 Five of the sheets must be sewn together, and the other five must also be sewn together.

4 Make 50 violet loops along the edge of the end sheet in each set,

5 placing the loops opposite each other.

6 Make 50 gold fasteners. Use them to link the [two sets of] sheets together so that the tent is a single unit.

7 "Make 11 sheets of goats' hair to form an outer tent over the inner tent.

8 Each of the 11 sheets will be 45 feet long and 6 feet wide.

9 Sew five of the sheets together into one set and the remaining six into another set. Fold the sixth sheet in half [to hang] in front of the tent.

10 Make 50 loops along the edge of the end sheet in each set.

11 Make 50 bronze fasteners, and put them through the loops to link the inner tent together as a single unit.

12 The remaining half-sheet should hang over the back of the inner tent.

13 There will be 18 inches left over on each side because of the length of the outer tent's sheets. That part should hang over each side in order to cover the inner tent.

14 Make a cover of rams' skins that have been dyed red for the outer tent. Over that put a cover made of fine leather.

15 "Make a framework out of acacia wood for the inner tent.

16 Each frame is to be 15 feet long and 27 inches wide,

17 with two identical pegs. Make all the frames for the inner tent the same way.

18 Make 20 frames for the south side of the inner tent.

19 Then make 40 silver sockets at the bottom of the 20 frames, two sockets at the bottom of each frame for the two pegs.

20 For the north side of the inner tent [make] 20 frames

21 and 40 silver sockets, two at the bottom of each frame.

22 Make six frames for the far end, the west side.

23 Make two frames for [each of] the corners at the far end of the inner tent.

24 These will be held together at the bottom and held tightly at the top by a single ring. Both corner frames will be made this way.

25 There will be eight frames with 16 silver sockets, two at the bottom of each frame.

26 "Make crossbars out of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the inner tent,

27 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the far end of the inner tent, the west side.

28 The middle crossbar will run from one end to the other, halfway up the frames.

29 Cover the frames with gold, make gold rings to hold the crossbars, and cover the crossbars with gold.

30 "Set up the inner tent according to the plans you were shown on the mountain.

31 "Make a canopy of violet, purple, and bright red yarn. Creatively work an angel design into fine linen yarn.

32 Use gold hooks to hang it on four posts of acacia wood covered with gold, standing in four silver sockets.

33 Hang the canopy from the fasteners in the ceiling, and put the ark containing the words of my promise under it. The canopy will mark off the most holy place from the holy place.

34 Put the throne of mercy that is on the ark in the most holy place.

35 "Place the table outside the canopy on the north side of the inner tent, and put the lamp stand opposite the table on the south side.

36 "For the entrance of the outer tent, make a screen out of fine linen yarn, embroidered with violet, purple, and bright red yarn.

37 Make five posts of acacia wood for the screen and cover them with gold. Make gold hooks for this screen. Cast five bronze bases for the posts."

Exodus 27

1 [The LORD continued,] "Make an altar out of acacia wood. It should be 7½ feet square, and 4½ feet high.

2 Make a horn at each of its four corners. The four horns and the altar must be made out of one piece [of wood] covered with bronze.

3 "Make all the utensils for it out of bronze: pots for taking away the altar's ashes, also shovels, bowls, forks, and incense burners.

4 "Make a grate for it out of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring for [each of] the four corners of the grate.

5 Put the grate under the ledge of the altar so that it comes halfway up the altar.

6 "Make poles out of acacia wood for the altar, and cover them with bronze.

7 The poles should be put through the rings on both sides of the altar to carry it.

8 "Make the altar out of boards so that it's hollow inside. It must be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

9 "Make a courtyard for the tent. The south side of the courtyard should be 150 feet long and have curtains made out of fine linen yarn,

10 [hung] on 20 posts [set in] 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts should be made of silver.

11 The north side should be the same: 150 feet long, with curtains on 20 posts set in 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts should be made of silver.

12 "The courtyard on the west end should be 75 feet wide and have curtains [hung] on ten posts [set in] ten bases.

13 On the east end, facing the rising sun, the courtyard should also be 75 feet wide.

14 Each side [of the entrance] will be 22½ feet wide with curtains [hung on] three posts [set in] three bases.

15

16 "The entrance to the courtyard must have a 30-foot screen made from fine linen yarn, embroidered with violet, purple, and bright red yarn, [hung] on four posts [set in] four bases.

17 All the posts around the courtyard should have silver bands, silver hooks, and bronze bases.

18 The courtyard should be 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 7½ feet high, with [curtains] made of fine linen yarn and with bronze bases.

19 "All the things for the tent, no matter how they're used, including all the pegs for the tent and the courtyard, must be made of bronze.

20 "For the lighting, you must command the Israelites to bring you pure, virgin olive oil so that the lamps won't go out.

21 In the tent of meeting outside the canopy where the words of my promise are, Aaron and his descendants must keep the lamps lit in the LORD's presence from evening until morning. This is a permanent law among the Israelites for generations to come."