Exodus 39-40

Making the Priestly Garments

39 From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments,^[a] for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

² He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ³ And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design. ⁴ They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. ⁵ And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷ And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁸ He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ⁹ It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span^[b] its length and a span its breadth when doubled. ¹⁰ And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; ¹¹ and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹² and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. ¹⁴ There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. ¹⁵ And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. ¹⁶ And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. ¹⁷ And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. ¹⁸ They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ¹⁹ Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁰ And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²¹ And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, ²³ and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. ²⁴ On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. ²⁵ They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates— ²⁶ a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁷ They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸ and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, ²⁹ and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰ They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” ³¹ And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³² Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. ³³ Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; ³⁴ the covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins, and the veil of the screen; ³⁵ the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; ³⁶ the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; ³⁷ the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; ³⁸ the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; ³⁹ the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; ⁴⁰ the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; ⁴¹ the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests. ⁴² According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. ⁴³ And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

The Tabernacle Erected

40 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³ And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. ⁵ And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ⁶ You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, ⁷ and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

⁹ “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. ¹⁰ You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. ¹¹ You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. ¹² Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water ¹³ and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. ¹⁴ You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, ¹⁵ and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

¹⁶ This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. ¹⁷ In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. ¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²² He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, ²³ and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁴ He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, ²⁵ and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁶ He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, ²⁷ and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸ He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ²⁹ And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰ He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, ³¹ with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. ³² When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. ³³ And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

Footnotes

1. Exodus 39:1 Or garments for worship
2. Exodus 39:9 A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters

Making the Garments of the Priesthood

39 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments^[a] of ministry, for ministering in the ^[b]holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Ephod

² He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. ³ And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs. ⁴ They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges. ⁵ And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶ And they set onyx stones, enclosed in ^[c]settings of gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷ He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Breastplate

⁸ And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. ⁹ They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled. ¹⁰ And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row; ¹¹ the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹² the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings. ¹⁴ There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes. ¹⁵ And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold. ¹⁶ They also made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. ¹⁷ And they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. ¹⁸ The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. ¹⁹ And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod. ²⁰ They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod. ²¹ And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Other Priestly Garments

²² He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. ²³ And there was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of mail, with a woven binding all around the opening, so that it would not tear. ²⁴ They made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen. ²⁵ And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around between the pomegranates: ²⁶ a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe to ^[d]minister in, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁷ They made tunics, artistically woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸ a turban of fine linen, exquisite hats of fine linen, short trousers of fine woven linen, ²⁹ and a sash of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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

HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

³¹ And they tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it above on the turban, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Work Completed

³² Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. ³³ And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; ³⁴ the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering; ³⁵ the ark of the Testimony with its poles, and the mercy seat; ³⁶ the table, all its utensils, and the showbread; ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light; ³⁸ the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door; ³⁹ the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base; ⁴⁰ the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; ⁴¹ and the ^[e]garments of ministry, to ^[f]minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests.

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

The Tabernacle Erected and Arranged

40 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³ You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and ^[g]partition off the ark with the veil. ⁴ You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and ^[h]light its lamps. ⁵ You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ⁶ Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ⁷ And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.

⁹ “And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. ¹⁰ You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. ¹¹ And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it.

¹² “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. ¹³ You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. ¹⁴ And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. ¹⁵ You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”

¹⁶ Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹⁷ And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was ^[i]raised up. ¹⁸ So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; ²³ and he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁴ He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; ²⁵ and he lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁶ He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; ²⁷ and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸ He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. ²⁹ And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰ He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; ³¹ and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. ³² Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

The Cloud and the Glory

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would ^[j]go onward in all their journeys. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Footnotes

1. Exodus 39:1 Or woven garments
2. Exodus 39:1 sanctuary
3. Exodus 39:6 plaited work
4. Exodus 39:26 serve
5. Exodus 39:41 Or woven garments
6. Exodus 39:41 serve
7. Exodus 40:3 screen
8. Exodus 40:4 set up
9. Exodus 40:17 erected
10. Exodus 40:36 journey