Chronological Plan

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Tell the children of Israel to take an offering for Me. From every man whose heart moves him [to give willingly] you shall take My offering.

³This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze,

⁴blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, fine twisted linen, goats' hair,

⁵rams' skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,

⁶[olive] oil for lighting, balsam for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,

⁷onyx stones and setting stones for the [priest's] ephod and for the breastpiece.

⁸Have them build a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.

⁹You shall construct it in accordance with everything that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture.

¹⁰"They shall make an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.

¹¹You shall overlay the ark with pure gold, overlay it inside and out, and you shall make a gold border (frame) around its top.

¹²You shall cast four gold rings for it and attach them to the four feet, two rings on either side.

¹³You shall make [carrying] poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold,

¹⁴and put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, by which to carry it.

¹⁵The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it [so that the ark itself need not be touched].

¹⁶You shall put into the ark the Testimony (Ten Commandments) which I will give you.

¹⁷"You shall make a mercy seat (cover) of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.

¹⁸You shall make two cherubim (winged angelic figures) of [solid] hammered gold at the two ends of the mercy seat.

¹⁹Make one cherub at each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends.

²⁰The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing each other. The faces of the cherubim are to be looking downward toward the mercy seat.

²¹You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony which I will give you.

²²There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, I will speak [intimately] with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites.

²³"You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high.

²⁴You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a border of gold around the top of it.

²⁵You shall make a rim of a hand width around it; you shall make a gold border for the rim around it.

²⁶You shall make four gold rings for it and fasten them at the four corners that are on the table's four legs.

²⁷The rings shall be close against the rim as holders for the poles to carry the table.

²⁸You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them.

²⁹You shall make its plates [for the showbread] and its cups [for incense] and its pitchers and bowls for sacrificial drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.

³⁰You shall set the bread of the Presence (showbread) on the table before Me at all times.

³¹"You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft shall be made of hammered work; its cups, its calyxes and its flowers shall be all of one piece with it.

³²Six branches shall come out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand out of the one side and three branches of the lampstand out of its other side [the shaft being the seventh branch].

³³Three cups shall be made like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and a flower on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms on the other branch with a calyx and a flower—so for the six branches coming out of the lampstand;

³⁴and in the [center shaft of the] lampstand [you shall make] four cups shaped like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and their flowers.

³⁵A calyx shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a calyx under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a calyx under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand.

³⁶Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold.

³⁷Then you shall make the lamps [of the lampstand] seven in number [with one lamp at the top of the shaft]. The priests shall set up its seven lamps so that they will light the space in front of it.

³⁸Its snuffers and their trays shall be of pure gold.

³⁹It shall be made from a talent (50-80 lbs.) of pure gold, including all these utensils.

⁴⁰See that you make them [exactly] after their pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.

¹"Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle (sacred tent of worship) with ten [interior] curtains of fine twisted linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet fabric; you shall make them with [embroidered] cherubim, the handwork of a skillful craftsman.

²The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all of the curtains shall measure the same.

³The five curtains shall be joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another.

⁴You shall make loops of blue on the outer edge of the last curtain in the first set, and likewise in the second set.

⁵You shall make fifty loops on the one curtain, and fifty loops on the edge of the last curtain that is in the second set. The loops on one curtain correspond to the loops on the other.

⁶You shall make fifty gold hooks, and fasten the curtains together with the hooks; and the tabernacle shall be one unit.

⁷"Then you shall make [exterior] curtains of goats' hair as a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains in all.

⁸Each curtain shall be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. The eleven curtains shall all measure the same.

⁹You shall join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent [to make a closed door].

¹⁰Make fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set.

¹¹"You shall make fifty bronze hooks and put the hooks into the loops and join the tent together so that it may be one unit.

¹²The overlapping part that is left over from the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over, shall lap over the back of the tabernacle.

¹³The cubit on one side and the cubit on the other, of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the tent shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and the other side, to cover it.

¹⁴You shall make a third covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a fourth covering above that of porpoise skins.

¹⁵"Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright [as a trellis-like frame].

¹⁶The length of each board shall be ten cubits and the width of each board shall be one and a half cubits.

¹⁷Make two dovetails in each board for fitting [them] together; you shall do the same for all the tabernacle boards.

¹⁸You shall make the boards for the tabernacle [in the following quantities]: twenty boards for the south side.

¹⁹You shall make forty silver sockets under the twenty boards, two sockets under each board for its two dovetails, and two sockets under another board for its two dovetails;

²⁰for the north side of the tabernacle there shall be twenty boards,

²¹and their forty silver sockets, two sockets under each board.

²²For the back or west side of the tabernacle you shall make six boards.

²³Make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear [on both sides].

²⁴They shall be joined together underneath, and joined together on top with one ring. So shall it be for both of them; they shall form the two [rear] corners.

²⁵There shall be eight boards and sixteen silver sockets; two sockets under each board.

²⁶"Then you shall make [fifteen] bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle,

²⁷and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the rear end of the tabernacle, for the back wall toward the west.

²⁸And the middle bar in the center of the boards shall pass through [horizontally] from end to end.

²⁹You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold to hold the bars. You shall overlay the bars with gold.

³⁰You shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan [the direction corresponding to its meaning and purpose] which has been shown to you on the mountain.

³¹"You shall make a veil [to divide the two rooms] of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine twisted linen, skillfully worked with cherubim on it.

³²You shall hang it on four pillars (support poles) of acacia wood overlaid with gold, with gold hooks, on four silver sockets.

³³You shall hang the veil from the hooks [that connect the curtains together], and you shall bring the ark of the Testimony there within the veil. The veil shall separate for you the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

³⁴You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Holy of Holies.

³⁵You shall set the table [for the bread] outside the veil [in the Holy Place] on the north side, and the lampstand opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle.

³⁶"You shall make a screen [to provide a covering] for the doorway of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and finely woven [embroidered] linen, the work of an embroiderer.

³⁷You shall make five pillars (support poles) of acacia wood to support the hanging curtain and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five [base] sockets of bronze for them.

¹"And you shall make the altar [for burnt offerings] of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.

²Make horns (horn-shaped projections) for it on its four corners; the horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.

³You shall make pots to remove its ashes, and shovels, basins [to catch the blood of the sacrificed animal], meat-forks, and firepans [to store live coals]. You shall make all its utensils of bronze.

⁴Also make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the grid you are to make four bronze rings at its four corners.

⁵And you shall put it under the ledge of the altar, so that the grid will extend halfway up the altar.

⁶You shall make [carrying] poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, overlaid with bronze.

⁷The poles shall be inserted through the rings on the two sides of the altar so that it may be carried.

⁸You are to make the altar hollow with planks; as you were shown on the mountain [of Sinai], so shall it be made.

⁹"You shall make the court of the tabernacle. The south side of the court is to have curtains of fine twisted linen, a hundred cubits long for one side;

¹⁰it shall have twenty pillars and twenty bronze sockets; but the hooks of the pillars and their fasteners shall be silver;

¹¹likewise for the north side there shall be curtains, a hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars and twenty bronze sockets; but the hooks of the pillars and their fasteners shall be silver.

¹²For the width of the court on the west side there shall be curtains of fifty cubits, with ten pillars (support poles) and ten sockets.

¹³The width of the court [to the front], on the east side shall be fifty cubits.

¹⁴The curtains for one side [of the gate] shall be fifteen cubits with three pillars and three sockets.

¹⁵On the other side [of the gate] the curtains shall be fifteen cubits with three pillars and three sockets.

¹⁶For the gate of the court there shall be a screen [to provide a covering] of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and finely woven [embroidered] linen, the work of an embroiderer, with four pillars and four [base] sockets.

¹⁷All the pillars (support poles) around the court shall be joined together with silver rods; their hooks shall be of silver and their sockets of bronze.

¹⁸The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the width fifty [cubits] throughout, and the height five cubits of fine twisted linen, and their sockets of bronze.

¹⁹All the tabernacle's utensils and instruments used in all its service, and all its stakes, and all the stakes for the court, shall be of bronze.

²⁰"You shall command the Israelites to provide you with clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually [every night].

²¹In the Tent of Meeting [of God with His people], outside the veil which is in front of the [ark of the] Testimony [and sets it apart], Aaron [the high priest] and his sons shall keep the lamp burning from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a perpetual statute [to be observed] throughout their generations on behalf of the Israelites.