Exodus 36

¹ Bezalel and Oholiab and all the skilled craftsmen whom Yahweh had endowed with the skill and perception to carry out all that was required for the building of the sanctuary, did their work exactly as Yahweh had directed.

² Moses then summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and all the skilled craftsmen whose hearts Yahweh had endowed with skill, all whose heart prompted them to offer to do the work.

³ From Moses they received all that the sons of Israel had brought as contributions for the work of building the sanctuary. As these continued each morning to bring

⁴ their offerings, the skilled craftsmen, busy with the various works on the sanctuary, all left their work

⁵ and went to tell Moses, ‘The people are bringing more than is needed for the work Yahweh has directed us to do’.

⁶ At Moses’ command, therefore, this proclamation was made throughout the camp: ‘Let no one, man or woman, do anything more towards the collection for the sanctuary.’ So the people were stopped from bringing any more;

⁷ the material they had was enough, and more than enough, to complete all the work.

⁸ All the most skilled craftsmen among the workers made the tabernacle. He made it with ten sheets of fine twined linen, of purple stuffs, violet shade and red, and of crimson stuffs, finely brocaded with cherubs.

⁹ The length of a single sheet was twenty-eight cubits, its width four cubits, all the sheets being of the same size.

¹⁰ He joined five of the sheets together, and the other five similarly.

¹¹ He attached loops of violet stuff to the border of the last sheet in one set, and did the same for the border of the last sheet in the other set.

¹² He put fifty loops on the first sheet and, matching them one by one, fifty loops on the border of the last sheet in the second set.

¹³ He made fifty gold clasps and with them drew the sheets together. In this way the tabernacle was a unified whole.

¹⁴ Next he made sheets of goats’ hair to form a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven of these.

¹⁵ The length of a single sheet was thirty cubits, its width four cubits; the eleven sheets were all of the same size.

¹⁶ He joined five of these sheets together into one set, the remaining six into another.

¹⁷ He attached fifty loops to the border of the last sheet in one set, and fifty loops to the border of the last sheet in the second set.

¹⁸ And he made fifty bronze clasps, so as to draw the tent together and make it a unified whole.

¹⁹ For the tent he made a covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of fine leather to spread over it.

²⁰ For the tabernacle he made frames of acacia wood, these to stand upright.

²¹ Each frame was ten cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.

²² Each frame was fitted with twin tenons; this he did for all the frames of the tabernacle.

²³ He made the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the southern side, facing the south country.

²⁴ He made forty silver sockets for putting under the twenty frames: two sockets under the first frame to receive its two tenons, and so on for the other frames.

²⁵ For the other side of the tabernacle, on the north, he made twenty frames

²⁶ and forty silver sockets, two sockets under each frame.

²⁷ For the back of the tabernacle, on the west, he made six frames.

²⁸ And he made two frames for the corners at the back of the tabernacle.

²⁹ These frames were coupled at their lower end and so to the top, up to the level of the first ring; this he did with the two frames that were to form the two corners.

³⁰ Thus there were eight frames with their sixteen silver sockets; two sockets under each frame.

³¹ He made crossbars of acacia wood: five to hold the frames together that were to form one side of the tabernacle,

³² five on the other side to hold the frames that were to form the end of the tabernacle on the west.

³³ He made the middle bar, fixed half-way up, to run from one end to the other.

³⁴ He plated the frames with gold, and put gold rings on them to take the crossbars which he plated with gold.

³⁵ He made the veil of purple stuffs, violet shade and red, of crimson stuffs, and of fine twined linen, skilfully embroidered with cherubs.

³⁶ For hanging this veil he made four posts of acacia wood and plated them with gold, with golden hooks, and he cast four silver sockets for them.

³⁷ For the entrance to the tent he made a screen of purple stuffs, violet shade and red, and of crimson stuffs and fine twined linen, the work of a skilled embroiderer.

³⁸ For the hanging of this he made five posts, and their hooks; their capitals and rods he plated with gold; their five sockets were of bronze.