Exodus 24:12-31:18

New Catholic Bible

Moses on the Mountain: The Regulation of Worship^[a]

¹² Moses Ascends the Mountain of God. The Lord said to Moses, “Climb up to me on the mountain and remain there. I will give you stone tablets with the laws and commandments that I have written for their instruction.”

¹³ Then Moses went up with Joshua, his assistant, and they climbed the mountain of God. ¹⁴ He told the elders, “Remain here to wait for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has any concern can bring it to them.”

¹⁵ Moses then climbed up the mountain, and clouds covered the mountain.

¹⁶ The glory of the Lord^[b] settled upon Mount Sinai, and clouds covered it for seven days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from out of the cloud.

¹⁷ The glory of the Lord appeared to the children of Israel to be a consuming fire on the mountaintop. ¹⁸ Moses entered into the midst of the cloud and climbed up the mountain. He remained on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Instruction on the Sanctuary and Its Ministers

Chapter 25

Moses Receives the Command to Establish a Sanctuary. ¹ The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the children of Israel to gather an offering for me. Let each one raise up as an offering what his heart tells him is right. ³ This is what you shall gather from them: gold, silver, and bronze, ⁴ blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, fine linen, goats’ hair, ⁵ rams’ skins dyed red, sheep skins, acacia wood, ⁶ oil for the lamps, balsam for anointing oil and for fragrant incense, ⁷ onyx stones and stones for setting in the ephod and the breastplate.

⁸ “They are to build a sanctuary for me and I will live in their midst. ⁹ Build it just as I will show you, following the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture.

¹⁰ The Ark of the Covenant.“They are to make an Ark out of acacia wood. It is to be two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.^{[c] 11} You are to cover it with gold inside and out, and they are to put a gold molding on it. ¹² You are to cast four golden rings for it and attach them to its four legs, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ¹³ You are to make poles out of acacia wood and cover them with gold. ¹⁴ You shall put the poles into the rings on the two sides of the Ark so that you may carry the Ark with them. ¹⁵ The poles must remain in the rings of the Ark; they are not to be taken out of them.

¹⁶ “You will place the Testimony that I will give you in the Ark.

¹⁷ “You shall make a seat^[d] of atonement of pure gold. It shall be two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁸ You will make two cherubim^[e] out of gold. Make them as hammered works, placing them on the two sides of the seat of atonement.

¹⁹ “Make one cherubim at one end and the other cherubim at the other end. Make the cherubim all of one piece at the two ends of the seat of atonement. ²⁰ The cherubim shall have two wings spread out covering the seat of atonement. They shall be facing each other, and the faces of the cherubim will be turned toward the seat of atonement.

²¹ “You will place the seat of atonement on top of the Ark and place the Testimony that I will give you inside the Ark.

²² “I will meet you there. I will speak with you from the seat of atonement that is between the two cherubim upon the Ark of Testimony concerning all that I will command the children of Israel.

²³ The Table of the Bread Offered to God.“You are to make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. ²⁴ Cover it with pure gold and place a molding of gold upon it. ²⁵ Make a frame one handbreath wide and place a molding of gold around it. ²⁶ You shall also make four golden rings for it and place them at the four corners that are on its four legs. ²⁷ Place the rings alongside the borders to hold the poles used in carrying the table.

²⁸ “Make the poles out of acacia wood, cover them in gold, and carry the table with them. ²⁹ Also make dishes and plates and flagons and jars out of pure gold to pour out libations. ³⁰ Set the bread of the Presence on the table before me always.

³¹ The Golden Lampstand.“You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out.

“Its base and shaft; its bowls and knobs and flowers shall be of one piece. ³² Six of the branches of the lampstand shall come out of its sides, three from one side of the lampstand and three from the other side of the lampstand. ³³ On one branch there shall be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, with bud and flower. Also there shall be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, with bud and flower, on the next branch—and similarly for all six branches that rise out of the lampstand.

³⁴ “On the shaft of the lampstand there shall be four cups shaped like almond blossoms with their bud and flower. ³⁵ One bud shall be under the first set of two branches coming out of it, and one bud under the second set of two branches coming out of it, and one bud under the third set of two branches coming out of it, for there are six branches coming out of it. ³⁶ The buds and their respective branches must be one piece with the lampstand, and the whole made from one piece of pure gold that has been beaten into shape.

³⁷ “You shall then make seven lamps for the lampstand and set them on the lampstand to shed light in front of it. ³⁸ Its snuffers and their trays are to be made of pure gold.

³⁹ “Use a talent^[f] of pure gold for making the lampstand and all of its accessories.

⁴⁰ “See that you make them according to the model that I have shown you on the mountain.

Chapter 26

The Tabernacle. ¹ “As for the tabernacle, you shall make it out of ten curtains of fine twisted linen, blue and purple and scarlet, with cherubim sewn on them by skillful craftsmen.^{[g] 2} The curtains shall be twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide, each curtain being the same size. ³ Five curtains shall be joined together, and the other five curtains shall be joined together. ⁴ Make loops of blue cloth on the outside edge of the first set, and likewise loops on the outside edge of the second set. ⁵ Make fifty loops in the first set and make fifty loops in the edge of the second set. The loops should be symmetrical. ⁶ Then make fifty golden clasps and attach the sets of curtains to each other to form the tabernacle.

⁷ “You shall then make curtains of goats hair to build a tent over the tabernacle, eleven curtains in all. ⁸ The curtains shall be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. Each curtain shall be the same size. ⁹ You shall join five of the curtains on one side and six curtains on the other side. Fold back the sixth curtain to double it over on the front of the tent. ¹⁰ You shall make fifty loops in the outside edge of the first set, and fifty loops in the edge of the second set. ¹¹ You shall make fifty bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops to join the tent together and make it a single structure.

¹² “The overlapping part of the curtain, the half curtain that is left over, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. ¹³ The cubit that is left over on the one side, like the cubit that is left over on the other side, of what is remaining in the length of the curtain of the tent, shall hang over the two sides of the tabernacle to cover one side and the other.

¹⁴ “You shall make a covering for the tent out of rams’ skins dyed red, and over it shall be a covering of sheep skin.

¹⁵ The Linear Structure of the Tabernacle.“You shall make upright frames for the tent of acacia wood. ¹⁶ Each board shall be ten cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁷ Each board shall have two joints in it to fit them together. All the boards of the tabernacle are to be made this way. ¹⁸ This is how you shall make all the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards being on the southern side. ¹⁹ You shall also make forty silver bases for the twenty boards, two bases for each of the joints on one board, and two bases for each of the joints on the next board. ²⁰ On the second side of the tabernacle, toward the north, there shall be twenty boards ²¹ as well as their forty silver bases, two bases under one board, and two bases under the next board. ²² For the rear of the tabernacle facing the west you shall make six boards, ²³ and two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the rear. ²⁴ They shall be doubled together below and likewise joined together above into one ring. The two of them will form two corners. ²⁵ Thus, there shall be eight boards with their silver bases, sixteen bases in all, with two bases under one board and two bases under the next board.

²⁶ “You shall also make bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle ²⁷ and five bars for the boards for the other side of the tabernacle and five bars for the boards of the rear, toward the west. ²⁸ The middle bar shall pass half way up the boards, reaching from end to end. ²⁹ Cover the boards with gold, and make their rings gold in which the bars are inserted, and also cover the bars in gold.

³⁰ “You shall build the tabernacle according to the plan that you were shown on the mountain.

³¹ The Inner Veil.“You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen, with cherubim sewn upon it by skillful craftsmen. ³² You shall hang it on four columns of acacia wood covered in gold, with hooks of gold and standing upon four bases of silver. ³³ Hang the veil from the clasps, and place the Ark of Testimony inside the veil. The veil shall serve you as the separation between the Holy and the Holy of Holies. ³⁴ Place the seat of atonement on the Ark of Testimony in the Holy of Holies. ³⁵ Set the table outside of the veil and the lampstand opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle. You are to put the table on the north side.

³⁶ The Entry Curtain.“You shall make a curtain for the door to the tent of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen that is covered with embroidery. ³⁷ You shall make five columns of acacia wood covered in gold for the curtain. Their hooks are to be made out of gold and you shall cast five bronze bases.

Chapter 27

Altar of Burnt Offering. ¹ “You shall make an altar out of acacia wood. It is to be five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar shall be square and be three cubits high. ² Make horns^[h] for its four corners and the horns and altar are one piece. You shall then cover it with bronze. ³ Fashion vessels to take away its ashes, as well as shovels, and basins, and forks, and fire pans. All of its utensils are to be made of bronze. ⁴ Make a grating for it, a network of bronze. Upon the net you shall fashion four rings made of bronze at its four corners. ⁵ Set it under the edge of the altar so that the net will hang halfway down the altar. ⁶ You shall also make poles for the altar. They shall be made of acacia wood covered with bronze. ⁷ The poles are to be placed through the rings, so that they are on either side of the altar for carrying it. ⁸ Make the altar with boards, hollow in the middle. It is to be made just as was shown to you on the mountain.

The Courtyard. ⁹ “You shall make a courtyard^[i] for the tabernacle. On the south side there shall be a drape of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits long, to form the first side. ¹⁰ There are to be twenty columns with twenty bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their rings are to be made of silver.

¹¹ “Likewise on the north side, there must be a drape one hundred cubits long, its twenty pillars with their twenty bronze bases. The hooks of the pillars and their rings are to be made of silver. ¹² Along the width of the courtyard on the west side there shall be fifty cubits of drapes with ten columns and ten bases. ¹³ The width of the courtyard on the east side shall be fifty cubits. ¹⁴ On one side there are to be fifteen cubits of drapes with three columns and three bases, ¹⁵ and on the other side there are to be fifteen cubits of drapes with three columns and three bases.

¹⁶ “For the gate of the courtyard there shall be a curtain twenty cubits long, made of blue and purple and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen with four columns and their four bases. ¹⁷ All the columns around the courtyard are to be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be made of silver and their bases of bronze. ¹⁸ The length of the courtyard must be one hundred cubits, the width fifty, and the height five cubits, made of fine twisted linen with the bases made of bronze. ¹⁹ All the utensils of the tabernacle for whatever use and all the pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze.

²⁰ The Oil for the Lampstand.“You shall order the children of Israel to obtain pure oil pressed from olives for the light, so that a lamp may burn continually. ²¹ It shall be in the meeting tent^[j] outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony. Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning so that it may be before the Lord. This is a statute for the children of Israel throughout all their generations.

Chapter 28

The Priestly Vestments. ¹ “Have Aaron, your brother, and his sons approach you. Take them from among the children of Israel to be your priests: Aaron and Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, his sons. ² You shall make sacred vestments for Aaron, your brother, for glory and beauty. ³ Speak to all the most expert artisans, those to whom I have given a spirit of wisdom, and they shall prepare vestments for Aaron, for his consecration, so that he might exercise his priesthood in my honor.

⁴ “These are the vestments that they shall make: the breastplate and the ephod,^[k] a robe, a checkered colored coat, a turban, and a sash. They will make sacred vestments for Aaron your brother and for his sons so that they may exercise their priesthood in my honor. ⁵ They must use gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and linen.

The Ephod. ⁶ “They shall make the ephod with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine linen, the work of skillful craftsmen. ⁷ It will have two shoulder pieces attached to its two ends so that it may be joined together. ⁸ The skillfully woven band to bind it together shall be placed over it and be of the same quality and materials: blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen.

⁹ “Take two pieces of onyx and engrave the names of the children of Israel on them. ¹⁰ Put six of their names on the first stone, and the other six names on the second piece, written in order of their birth. ¹¹ Engrave the names of the children of Israel on the two stones as an engraver engraves a signet ring. Insert them into settings of gold filigree. ¹² Set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the children of Israel. Thus, Aaron shall carry the names upon his shoulders^[l] before the Lord, as a memorial. ¹³ Also make settings of gold filigree ¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold that are twisted like cords. Then attach the chains to the settings.

¹⁵ The Breastplate.“You shall make a breastplate of judgment with skilled craftsmanship, the same as was used on the ephod. Make it of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen. ¹⁶ It is to be square and doubled over, a span in length and a span in width. ¹⁷ Then cover it with settings of precious stones arranged in four rows. The first row shall have a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald. ¹⁸ The second row shall have a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond. ¹⁹ The third row shall have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row shall have a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. ²¹ The stones shall correspond to the names of the children of Israel. There are to be twelve, standing for their names, each with engravings like that of a signet ring, each of them corresponding to a name of one of the twelve tribes.

²² “On the breastplate make chains of pure gold in the shape of twisted cords. ²³ On the breastplate also make two golden rings and place the two rings at the edges of the breastplate.

²⁴ “Attach the two golden chains to the two golden rings on the edges of the breastplate. ²⁵ As for the two other ends of the chains, attach them to two filigree settings and fasten them to the front part of the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ²⁶ Make two golden rings and place them at the two edges of the breastplate, on the inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷ Make another two golden rings and place them on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at their bottom on the front side, next to the place where it is attached to the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸ Tie the rings of the breastplate to the rings on the ephod with a cord of blue material so that it may lie upon the skillfully woven band of the ephod and so that the breastplate may not pull away from the ephod.

²⁹ “Thus Aaron shall carry the names of the children of Israel over his heart on the breastplate of judgment whenever he enters the sanctuary. This will serve as a memorial before the Lord forever. ³⁰ Put the Urim and the Thummim inside the breastplate of judgment so that they will be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters into the presence of the Lord.^[m] Aaron will forever bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart whenever he enters into the presence of the Lord.

³¹ Other Priestly Vestments.“Make the robe for the ephod all in blue ³² with an opening in the middle for the head, with a woven border around the opening, like the opening of a garment, so that it may not be torn. ³³ On its hem you shall design pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet cloth, and fine twisted linen, all around its hem, with bells of gold between them ³⁴ so that there shall be a golden bell^[n] and a pomegranate alternating all around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron must wear it when he ministers as priest, and one will hear the sound it makes when he enters the sanctuary, into the presence of the Lord, and when he leaves it, lest he die.

³⁶ “You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave ‘Holy to the Lord’ on it as one engraves a signet ring. ³⁷ Attach it with a blue cord to the front part of the turban. ³⁸ It will be on Aaron’s forehead, so that Aaron may carry the weight of whatever guilt the children of Israel may incur in the holy things, when they consecrate their holy offerings. He will always wear it on his forehead so that they may be pleasing to the Lord.

³⁹ “Weave the checkered tunic of fine linen and make a turban of fine linen and a sash embroidered with needlework. ⁴⁰ Make tunics and sashes for the sons of Aaron as well as caps for them to give them honor and renown. ⁴¹ Put these garments on Aaron, your brother, and his sons. Then anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests in my honor.

⁴² “Make linen undergarments to cover their nakedness. They must reach from their hips to their thighs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons will put them on whenever they enter into the meeting tent or when they approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, so that they may not incur guilt and die. This shall be a perpetual statute for him and his offspring forever.

Chapter 29

Consecration of the Priests. ¹ “You shall observe this rite to consecrate them as my priests: Take a bull and two rams without defect, ² and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers with oil spread on them. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. ³ Put them in one basket and bring them and offer them together with the young bull and the two rams.

⁴ “Then have Aaron and his sons approach the entrance to the meeting tent and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the garments and clothe Aaron in the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate. Wrap the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him. ⁶ Place the turban on his head and put the holy crown over the turban. ⁷ Then pour the anointing oil on his head and anoint him.

⁸ “As for his sons, make them draw near and clothe them in their tunics, ⁹ wrap their sashes around them, and tie their caps on them. They will participate in the priesthood by an eternal statute. This is how you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ The Offering of the Sacrifices.“Then have the young bull brought in front of the meeting tent. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. ¹¹ Kill the bull before the Lord, at the entrance to the meeting tent. ¹² Take part of its blood and with a finger put it on the horns of the altar. The rest of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the altar.

¹³ “Take the fat that surrounds its entrails, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that surrounds them, and burn them as a sacrifice on the altar. ¹⁴ But the meat of the bull, its skin and its dung, you must burn outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “Then take one of the rams. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. ¹⁶ Kill the ram and gather its blood and pour it around the altar. ¹⁷ Cut the ram into pieces. Wash the entrails and the legs and put them with the pieces and the head. ¹⁸ Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a pleasing fragrance^[o] to the Lord, a burnt offering to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Take the second ram. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head, ²⁰ and you shall kill it. Take part of its blood and place it on the right ear lobe of Aaron and the right ear lobes of his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then pour out the blood around the altar. ²¹ Take some of the blood on the altar and some anointing oil and sprinkle Aaron and his vestments, the sons of Aaron and their vestments. Thus, he shall be consecrated with his vestments together with his sons and their vestments.

²² “Take the fat of the ram: the tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh, for it is a ram of consecration. ²³ Also take a round loaf of bread, a cake of bread mixed with oil, and an unleavened wafer from the basket of unleavened breads placed before the altar. ²⁴ Put all of it into the hands of Aaron and the hands of his sons. They shall wave it as an offering before the Lord.^{[p] 25} Take everything from their hands and burn it on the altar. It shall be a pleasant fragrance to the Lord, a burnt offering to the Lord.

²⁶ “Take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration and wave it as an offering before the Lord. It shall be your portion. ²⁷ Consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the offering and wave it. It is offered from the ram of the consecration, and it is for Aaron and his sons. ²⁸ It is to belong to Aaron and his sons as the portion reserved to them. This shall be an eternal statute for the children of Israel. It will be the priests’ portion to be offered by the children of Israel from their peace offerings, an offering unto the Lord.

²⁹ The Transmission of the Sacred Vestments.“The sacred vestments of Aaron shall belong to his sons after him. They shall be anointed and consecrated in them. ³⁰ Those descendants of Aaron who succeed him in the priesthood and who enter into the meeting tent to minister in the sanctuary shall wear these vestments for seven days.

³¹ The Sacred Food of the Priests.“Take the ram of consecration and cook its meat in a holy place. ³² At the entrance to the meeting tent, Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread of the basket. ³³ They shall eat those things with which atonement was obtained. No outsider can eat them, for they are holy things. ³⁴ If any of the meat of consecration or the bread is left over in the morning, you shall burn whatever is left over with fire; it shall not be eaten, for it is holy. ³⁵ Do to Aaron and to his sons what I have commanded you to do. For seven days you shall consecrate them.

³⁶ The Consecrated Altar and the Daily Sacrifice.“For each of seven days you shall offer a young bull as a sin offering for atonement. You shall also make a sin offering for the atonement for the altar, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. ³⁷ For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. It shall thus become a most holy thing, and whatever touches the altar will become holy.^[q]

³⁸ “Now this is what you shall offer up on the altar every day and forever: two lambs, a year old. ³⁹ You shall offer one of these lambs in the morning and the second lamb in the evening. ⁴⁰ With the first lamb you shall offer a tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of olive oil and a fourth of a hin of wine as a libation. ⁴¹ Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same offering and libation as in the morning. It will be a pleasant fragrance to the Lord, a burnt offering to the Lord.

⁴² “It shall be a perpetual burnt offering throughout all your generations at the entrance to the meeting tent, in the presence of the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you.

⁴³ “I will meet with the children of Israel in this place that will be consecrated to my glory. ⁴⁴ I will consecrate the meeting tent and the altar. I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to be my priests. ⁴⁵ I will live in the midst of the children of Israel and I will be their God. ⁴⁶ They shall know that I am the Lord, their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I, the Lord, their God, might live in their midst.

Chapter 30

The Altar of Incense. ¹ “You shall build an altar upon which to burn incense. Make it of acacia wood, ² one cubit long and one cubit wide. It shall be square, and two cubits high; and its horns shall all be one piece with it. ³ Cover its top, its sides, and its horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. ⁴ You shall also make two golden rings below its molding on its two sides. Place them on opposite sides. They shall be used to insert poles with which to carry it. ⁵ You shall make the poles out of acacia wood and cover them with gold. ⁶ And you shall place the altar in front of the veil that hides the Ark of Testimony, in front of the seat of atonement that is upon it, where I will meet you.

⁷ “Aaron shall burn fragrant incense upon the altar. He shall burn it each morning when he trims the lamps, ⁸ and also in the evening when he refills the lamps. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout all your generations. ⁹ Do not offer any unholy incense upon it, nor burnt offerings nor sacrifices nor libations. ¹⁰ Once a year Aaron shall perform an atonement ritual upon it, upon its horns. He shall make atonement upon it with the blood of your sin offering once a year throughout all your generations. It is something most holy to the Lord.”

¹¹ The Temple Tax. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ¹² “When you take a census of the number of the children of Israel, each man will offer a ransom for his life to the Lord, when you number them, lest there be a plague among them when you number them. ¹³ Each person counted in the census will give half a shekel according to the measure of the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half shekel will be an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who is counted in the census, from twenty years old and up, will give the Lord’s offering. ¹⁵ The rich will not give more and the poor will not give less than half a shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering, in order to ransom your life. ¹⁶ You shall take the money of this ransom of the children of Israel and designate it for the needs of the meeting tent. It shall be a memorial before the Lord for the children of Israel, for the ransom of your lives.”

¹⁷ The Basin for Washing. The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “You shall make a basin out of bronze, with a base of bronze, for ablutions. Place it between the meeting tent and the altar and fill it with water. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it.^{[r] 20} When they enter the meeting tent, they shall perform an ablution with water, lest they die. Thus, whenever they approach the altar to minister, to burn an offering unto the Lord with fire, ²¹ they shall wash their hands and their feet so that they might not die. This shall be a perpetual statute for him and his sons, for all their generations.”

²² The Anointing Oil. The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Take the finest spices: five hundred shekels of flowing myrrh, half that amount of sweet-smelling cinnamon, namely two hundred and fifty shekels of it, two hundred and fifty shekels of aromatic cane, ²⁴ five hundred shekels of cassia, all according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. ²⁵ Make a holy anointing oil out of them using the craft of the perfumer who blends oils. It shall be a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ With it you are to anoint the meeting tent, the Ark of Testimony, ²⁷ the table and all its accessories, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, ²⁸ the altar of burnt offerings and all of its accessories, and the basin and its base. ²⁹ You shall consecrate these things, and they shall become most holy. Whatever touches them will be holy.

³⁰ “You shall also anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so that they may serve me as priests. ³¹ Say to the children of Israel: ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil for all your generations. ³² You shall not pour it out on anyone’s body, nor shall you make anything else like it. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.’

³³ “Anyone who makes anything like it, or who pours it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.”

³⁴ The Incense. The Lord said to Moses, “Gather sweet spices, gum of stacte, onycha, resin of galbanum, equal measures of sweet spices and pure frankincense, ³⁵ and make an incense using the skill of the perfumer. It is to be salted, pure and holy. ³⁶ Beat some of it very fine and put it before the Testimony in the meeting tent where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.

³⁷ “You shall not make for yourselves anything like this incense according to its composition. You shall consider it to be holy to the Lord. ³⁸ Whoever makes anything like it to use for its sweet odor shall be cut off from his people.”

Chapter 31

The Choice of Craftsmen for the Tabernacle. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses and said to him, ² “Behold, I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³ I have filled him with the Spirit of God^[s] so that he possesses wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and is expert in every kind of craft ⁴ to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵ to know how to cut stones for settings and how to carve wood. He is expert in every craft. ⁶ And behold, I have sent Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan to him. I have also given all skillful men their ability, so that they may make all that I have commanded you to make: ⁷ the meeting tent, the Ark of Testimony, the seat of atonement over it, and all the accessories of the tent, ⁸ the table with its accessories, the pure lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, ⁹ the altar of burnt offerings with all of its accessories, the basin and its base, ¹⁰ the finely crafted vestments, the sacred vestments for Aaron and the vestments for his sons, for their priestly ministry, ¹¹ the oil of anointing, and the fragrant incense for the sanctuary. They shall produce all that I have commanded you.”

¹² The Sabbath.^[t] The Lord said to Moses, ¹³ “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You shall observe my Sabbaths, for the Sabbath is a sign between me and you for all your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

¹⁴ “ ‘Therefore, you shall observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever works on that day shall be cut off from his people. ¹⁵ Six days you shall work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of sacred rest for you, holy to the Lord. Whoever works on the Sabbath shall be put to death. ¹⁶ The children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, celebrating the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ This is a perpetual sign between me and the children of Israel, for the Lord made the heavens and the earth in six days, but on the seventh he ceased and rested.’ ”

¹⁸ Moses Receives the Tablets of the Law. When the Lord had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of Testimony, the stone tablets, written with the finger of God.