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The Altar for Burning Offerings

38 Then Bezalel used acacia wood to build the altar. This was the altar used for burning offerings. The altar was square. It was 5 cubits[a] long, 5 cubits wide, and 3 cubits[b] high. He made a horn for each of the four corners of the altar. He joined each horn to its corner so that everything was one piece. He covered the altar with bronze. Then he used bronze to make all the tools to be used on the altar. He made the pots, shovels, bowls, forks, and pans. Then he made a bronze grating for the altar. This grating was shaped like a net. The grating was put under the ledge at the bottom of the altar. It went halfway up into the altar from below. Then he made bronze rings to hold the poles for carrying the altar. He put the rings at the four corners of the grating. Then he used acacia wood to make the poles and covered them with bronze. He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it. He used boards to make the sides of the altar. It was hollow, like an empty box.

He made the bowl and its base with bronze. He used the bronze mirrors that the women gave. These were the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

The Courtyard Around the Holy Tent

Then he made a wall of curtains around the courtyard. On the south side, he made a wall of curtains 100 cubits[c] long. The curtains were made from fine linen. 10 The curtains on the south side were supported by 20 posts. The posts were on 20 bronze bases. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods[d] were made from silver. 11 The north side of the courtyard also had a wall of curtains 100 cubits long. There were 20 posts with 20 bronze bases. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods were made from silver.

12 On the west side of the courtyard the wall of curtains was 50 cubits[e] long. There were 10 posts and 10 bases. The hooks for the posts and the curtain rods were made from silver.

13 The east side of the courtyard was 50 cubits wide. The entrance to the courtyard was on this side. 14 On one side of the entrance the wall of curtains was 15 cubits[f] long. There were three posts and three bases on this side. 15 The wall of curtains on the other side of the entrance was also 15 cubits long. There were three posts and three bases on that side. 16 All the curtains around the courtyard were made from fine linen. 17 The bases for the posts were made from bronze. The hooks and the curtain rods were made from silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver also. All the posts in the courtyard had silver curtain rods.

18 The curtain for the entrance of the courtyard was made from fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn. Designs were woven into that curtain. The curtain was 20 cubits[g] long and 5 cubits high. It was the same height as the curtains around the courtyard. 19 The curtain was supported by four posts and four bronze bases. The hooks on the posts were made from silver. The tops on the posts were covered with silver, and the curtain rods were also made from silver. 20 All the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and for the curtains around the courtyard were made from bronze.

21 Moses commanded the Levites to write down everything that was used to make the Holy Tent, that is, the Tent of the Agreement. Ithamar son of Aaron was in charge of keeping the list.

22 Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses. 23 Also Oholiab son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, helped him. Oholiab was a skilled worker and designer. He was skilled at weaving fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn.

24 The people gave over a ton[h] of gold as an offering to the Lord for his holy place. (This was weighed using the official measure.)

25-26 All the men 20 years old or older were counted. Each man had to pay a tax of 1 beka[i] of silver. (Using the official measure, 1 beka is 1/2 shekel.[j]) There were 603,550 men. So they collected about 7550 pounds of silver. 27 They used most of the silver to make 100 bases for the Holy Tent and its curtains, 75 pounds[k] for each base. 28 They used the remaining 44 pounds[l] of silver to make the hooks, the curtain rods, and the silver covers for the posts.

29 They gave more than 2 1/2 tons[m] of bronze. 30 That bronze was used to make the bases at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They also used the bronze to make the altar and the bronze grating. And the bronze was used to make all the tools and dishes for the altar. 31 It was also used to make the bases for the curtains around the courtyard and the bases for the curtains at the entrance. And the bronze was used to make the tent pegs for the Holy Tent and for the curtains around the courtyard.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 38:1 5 cubits 8' 6" (2.6 m). Also in verse 18.
  2. Exodus 38:1 3 cubits 5' 1 3/16" (1.55 m).
  3. Exodus 38:9 100 cubits 170' 5/8" (51.83 m).
  4. Exodus 38:10 curtain rods Or “fasteners.” Also in verses 12, 17, 19, 28.
  5. Exodus 38:12 50 cubits 85' 5/16" (25.92 m).
  6. Exodus 38:14 15 cubits 25' 6 1/16" (7.77 m).
  7. Exodus 38:18 20 cubits 34' 1/8" (10.37 m).
  8. Exodus 38:24 ton Literally, “29 talents and 730 shekels.”
  9. Exodus 38:25 beka About 1/5 of an ounce (6 g).
  10. Exodus 38:25 shekel Two-fifths of an ounce (11.5 g).
  11. Exodus 38:27 75 pounds Literally, “1 talent” (34.5 kg).
  12. Exodus 38:28 44 pounds Literally, “1775 shekels” (20.4 kg).
  13. Exodus 38:29 2 1/2 tons Literally, “70 talents and 2400 shekels” (2447 kg).

The Altar of Burnt Offering(A)

38 They[a] built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits[b] high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.[c] They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.(B) They made all its utensils(C) of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.

The Basin for Washing

They made the bronze basin(D) and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women(E) who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The Courtyard(F)

Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits[d] long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

12 The west end was fifty cubits[e] wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 13 The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits[f] long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. 16 All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. 17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.

18 The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits[g] long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits[h] high, 19 with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 20 All the tent pegs(G) of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

The Materials Used

21 These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law,(H) which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar(I) son of Aaron, the priest. 22 (Bezalel(J) son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses; 23 with him was Oholiab(K) son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) 24 The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary(L) was 29 talents and 730 shekels,[i] according to the sanctuary shekel.(M)

25 The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census(N) was 100 talents[j] and 1,775 shekels,[k] according to the sanctuary shekel— 26 one beka per person,(O) that is, half a shekel,[l] according to the sanctuary shekel,(P) from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more,(Q) a total of 603,550 men.(R) 27 The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases(S) for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. 28 They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.

29 The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.[m] 30 They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, 31 the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 38:1 Or He; also in verses 2-9
  2. Exodus 38:1 That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters
  3. Exodus 38:1 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters long and wide
  4. Exodus 38:9 That is, about 150 feet or about 45 meters
  5. Exodus 38:12 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters
  6. Exodus 38:14 That is, about 22 feet or about 6.8 meters
  7. Exodus 38:18 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters
  8. Exodus 38:18 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
  9. Exodus 38:24 The weight of the gold was a little over a ton or about 1 metric ton.
  10. Exodus 38:25 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons; also in verse 27
  11. Exodus 38:25 That is, about 44 pounds or about 20 kilograms; also in verse 28
  12. Exodus 38:26 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams
  13. Exodus 38:29 The weight of the bronze was about 2 1/2 tons or about 2.4 metric tons.