Exodus 25

¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

² ‘Tell the sons of Israel to set aside a contribution for me; you shall accept this contribution from every man whose heart prompts him to give it.

³ You shall accept from them the following contributions: gold, silver and bronze;

⁴ purple stuffs, of violet shade and red, crimson stuffs, fine linen, goats’ hair;

⁵ rams’ skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood;

⁶ oil for the lamps, spices for the chrism and for the fragrant incense;

⁷ onyx stones and gems to be set in ephod and pectoral.

⁸ Build me a sanctuary so that I may dwell among them.

⁹ In making the tabernacle and its furnishings you must follow exactly the pattern I shall show you.

¹⁰ ‘You are to make me an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, one and a half cubits high.[*b]

¹¹ You are to plate it, inside and out, with pure gold, and decorate it all round with a gold moulding.

¹² You will cast four gold rings for the ark and fix them to its four supports: two rings on one side and two rings on the other.

¹³ You will also make shafts of acacia wood plated with gold

¹⁴ and pass the shafts through the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark by these.

¹⁵ The shafts must remain in the rings of the ark and not be withdrawn.

¹⁶ Inside the ark you will place the Testimony that I shall give you.

¹⁷ ‘Further, you are to make a throne of mercy, of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide.

¹⁸ For the two ends of this throne of mercy you are to make two golden cherubs;[*c] you are to make them of beaten gold.

¹⁹ Make the first cherub for one end and the second for the other, and fasten them to the two ends of the throne of mercy so that they make one piece with it.

²⁰ The cherubs are to have their wings spread upwards so that they overshadow the throne of mercy. They must face one another, their faces towards the throne of mercy.

²¹ You must place the throne of mercy on the top of the ark. Inside the ark you must place the Testimony that I shall give you.

²² There I shall come to meet you; there, from above the throne of mercy, from between the two cherubs that are on the ark of the Testimony, I shall give you all my commands for the sons of Israel.

²³ ‘You are to make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high.

²⁴ You are to plate it with pure gold, and decorate it all round with a gold moulding.

²⁵ You are to fit it with struts, one hand’s breadth wide, and decorate these with a golden moulding.

²⁶ You are to make for it four gold rings and fix these at the four corners where the four legs are.

²⁷ The rings must lie close to the struts to hold the shafts for carrying the table.

²⁸ You are to make the shafts of acacia wood and plate them with gold. The table is to be carried by these.

²⁹ You are to make dishes, cups, jars and libation bowls for it; you are to make these of pure gold.

³⁰ On the table; before me, you must place the bread of continual offering.

³¹ ‘You are to make a lamp-stand of pure gold; the lamp-stand must be of beaten gold, base and stem. Its cups – calyx and petals – must be of one piece with it.

³² Six branches must extend from the sides of it, three from one side, three from the other.

³³ The first branch is to carry three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyx and petals; the second branch, too, is to carry three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyx and petals, and similarly for all six branches extending from the lamp-stand.

³⁴ The lamp-stand itself is to carry four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyx and petals,

³⁵ thus: one calyx under the first two branches extending from the lamp-stand, one under the next pair, one under the last pair: corresponding to the six branches extending from the lamp-stand.

³⁶ The calyxes and the branches must be of one piece with the lamp-stand, and the whole made from a single piece of pure gold, beaten out.

³⁷ Then you are to make lamps for it, seven of them, and set them so that they throw their light towards the front of it.

³⁸ The snuffers and trays must be of pure gold.

³⁹ You are to use a talent of pure gold for making the lamp-stand and all its accessories.

⁴⁰ See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.