Exodus 35:1-35
Rules for the Sabbath Day
Moses gathered the whole community of Israel together. He said to them, “Here are the things the Lord has commanded you to do. You must do your work in six days. But the seventh day will be your holy day. It will be a day of sabbath rest to honor the Lord. You must rest on it. Anyone who does any work on it must be put to death. Do not even light a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day.”
Supplies for the Holy Tent
Moses spoke to the whole community of Israel. He said, “Here is what the Lord has commanded. Take an offering for the Lord from what you have. Those who want to can bring an offering to the Lord. Here is what they can bring.
“gold, silver and bronze
blue, purple and bright red yarn and fine linen
goat hair
ram skins that are dyed red
another kind of strong leather
acacia wood
olive oil for the lights
spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense
onyx stones and other jewels for the linen apron and the chest cloth
“All the skilled workers among you must come. They must make everything the Lord has commanded for the holy tent and its covering. Here is what they must make.
“hooks, frames, crossbars, posts and bases
the ark of the covenant law, the poles and cover for the ark, and the curtain that hides the ark
the table for the holy bread, the poles and all the things for the table, and the holy bread
the lampstand for light and everything used with it, the lamps, and the olive oil that gives light
the altar for burning incense, the poles for the altar, the anointing oil and the sweet-smelling incense
the curtain for the entrance to the holy tent
the altar for burnt offerings with its bronze grate, its poles and all its tools
the large bronze bowl with its stand
the curtains of the courtyard with their posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard
the ropes and tent stakes for the holy tent and for the courtyard
and the sacred clothes for Aaron the priest and the clothes for his sons when they serve as priests”
Then the whole community of Israel left Moses. Everyone who wanted to give offerings to the Lord brought them to him. The offerings were for the work on the tent of meeting. They were also for the sacred clothes and for any other purpose at the tent. Every man and woman who wanted to give came. They brought gold jewelry of all kinds. They brought pins, earrings, rings and other jewelry. All of them gave their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. People brought what they had. They brought blue, purple or bright red yarn or fine linen. They brought goat hair, ram skins dyed red, or the other kind of strong leather. Some brought silver or bronze as an offering to the Lord. Others brought acacia wood for any part of the work. All the skilled women spun yarn with their hands. They brought blue, purple or bright red yarn or fine linen. All the skilled women who wanted to spin the goat hair did so. The leaders brought onyx stones and other jewels for the linen apron and the chest cloth. They also brought spices and olive oil. They brought them for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet-smelling incense. All the men and women of Israel who wanted to bring offerings to the Lord brought them to him. The offerings were for all the work the Lord had commanded Moses to tell them to do.
Bezalel and Oholiab
Then Moses spoke to the people of Israel. He said, “The Lord has chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri. Uri is the son of Hur. Bezalel is from the tribe of Judah. The Lord has filled him with the Spirit of God. He has filled him with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skill. Bezalel can make beautiful patterns in gold, silver and bronze. He can cut and set stones. He can work with wood. In fact, he can work in all kinds of arts and crafts. And the Lord has given both him and Oholiab the ability to teach others. Oholiab, the son of Ahisamak, is from the tribe of Dan. The Lord has filled Bezalel and Oholiab with skill to do all kinds of work. They can carve things and make patterns. They can sew skillfully with blue, purple and bright red yarn and on fine linen. They use thread to make beautiful cloth. Both of them have the skill to work in all kinds of crafts.
Exodus 36:1-38
Bezalel and Oholiab must do the work just as the Lord has commanded. So must every skilled worker to whom the Lord has given skill and ability. They know how to do all the work for every purpose connected with the sacred tent. And that includes setting it up.”
Then Moses sent for Bezalel and Oholiab. He sent for every skilled worker to whom the Lord had given ability and who wanted to come and do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings the people of Israel had brought. They had brought the offerings for all the work for every purpose connected with the holy tent. That included setting it up. The people kept bringing the offerings they chose to give. They brought them morning after morning. So all the skilled workers working on the holy tent stopped what they were doing. They said to Moses, “The Lord commanded us to do the work. And the people are bringing more than enough for us to do it.”
Then Moses gave an order. A message was sent through the whole camp. It said, “No man or woman should make anything else and offer it for the holy tent.” And so the people were kept from bringing more offerings. There was already more than enough to do all the work.
The Holy Tent
All the skilled workers made the holy tent. They made ten curtains out of finely twisted linen. They made them with blue, purple and bright red yarn. A skilled worker sewed cherubim into the pattern. All the curtains were the same size. They were 42 feet long and six feet wide. The workers joined five of the curtains together. They did the same thing with the other five. Then they made loops out of blue strips of cloth along the edge of the end curtain in one set. They did the same thing with the end curtain in the other set. They also made 50 loops on the end curtain of the one set. They did the same thing on the end curtain of the other set. They put the loops across from each other. Then they made 50 gold hooks. They used them to join the two sets of curtains together so that the holy tent was all one piece.
The workers made a total of 11 curtains out of goat hair to put over the holy tent. All 11 curtains were the same size. They were 45 feet long and six feet wide. The workers joined five of the curtains together into one set. They did the same thing with the other six. Then they made 50 loops along the edge of the end curtain in the one set. They did the same thing with the other set. They made 50 bronze hooks. They used them to join the tent together all in one piece. They made a covering for the tent. They made it out of ram skins dyed red. Over that, they put a covering of another kind of strong leather.
The workers made frames out of acacia wood for the holy tent. Each frame was about 15 feet long and two feet three inches wide. The workers added two small wooden pins to each frame. The pins stuck out so that they were even with each other. The workers made all the frames of the holy tent in the same way. The workers made 20 frames for the south side of the holy tent. And they made 40 silver bases to go under them. They made two bases for each frame. They put one under each pin that stuck out. For the north side of the holy tent they made 20 frames and 40 silver bases. They put two bases under each frame. The workers made six frames for the west end of the holy tent. They made two frames for the corners of the holy tent at the far end. At those two corners the frames were double from top to bottom. They were fitted into a single ring. The workers made both of them the same. So there were eight frames and 16 silver bases. There were two bases under each frame.
The workers also made crossbars out of acacia wood. They made five for the frames on one side of the holy tent. They made five for the frames on the other side. And they made five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the holy tent. The center crossbar reached from end to end at the middle of the frames. The workers covered the frames with gold. They made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also covered the crossbars with gold.
They made the curtain out of blue, purple and bright red yarn and finely twisted linen. A skilled worker sewed cherubim into the pattern. The workers made four posts out of acacia wood for the curtain. They covered the posts with gold. They made gold hooks and four silver bases for the posts. For the entrance to the tent the workers made a curtain. They made it out of blue, purple and bright red yarn and finely twisted linen. A person who sewed skillfully made it. The workers made five posts with hooks for the curtains. They covered the tops of the posts and their bands with gold. And they made five bronze bases for them.
