“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; and the fat of My feast is not to be left overnight until morning.

When My Angel goes before you and brings you to [the land of] the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, I will reject them and completely destroy them.

I will send hornets ahead of you which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you.

I will not drive them out before you in a single year, so that the land does not become desolate [due to lack of attention] and the [wild] animals of the field do not become too numerous for you.

I will drive them out before you little by little, until you have increased and are strong enough to take possession of the land.

I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean), and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will hand over the residents of the land to you, and you shall drive them out before you.

They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it is certain to be a trap for you [resulting in judgment].”

Then God said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (Aaron’s older sons), and seventy of Israel’s elders, and you shall worship at a [safe] distance.

Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar [for worship] at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars (memorial stones) representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

Moses took half of the blood and put it in large basins, and [the other] half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

So Moses took the blood [which had been placed in the large basins] and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

and they saw [a manifestation of] the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, just as clear as the sky itself.

Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the Israelites; and they saw [the manifestation of the presence of] God, and ate and drank.

The glory and brilliance of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day God called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.

“Tell the children of Israel to take an offering for Me. From every man whose heart moves him [to give willingly] you shall take My offering.

rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,

You shall construct it in accordance with everything that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture.

“They shall make an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.

You shall overlay the ark with pure gold, overlay it inside and out, and you shall make a gold border (frame) around its top.

You shall cast four gold rings for it and attach them to the four feet, two rings on either side.

You shall make [carrying] poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold,

and put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, by which to carry it.

The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it [so that the ark itself need not be touched].

“You shall make a mercy seat (cover) of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.

Make one cherub at each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends.

The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing each other. The faces of the cherubim are to be looking downward toward the mercy seat.

“You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high.

You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a border of gold around the top of it.

You shall make a rim of a hand width around it; you shall make a gold border for the rim around it.

You shall make four gold rings for it and fasten them at the four corners that are on the table’s four legs.

You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them.

“You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft shall be made of hammered work; its cups, its calyxes and its flowers shall be all of one piece with it.

Six branches shall come out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand out of the one side and three branches of the lampstand out of its other side [the shaft being the seventh branch].

Three cups shall be made like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and a flower on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms on the other branch with a calyx and a flower—so for the six branches coming out of the lampstand;

A calyx shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a calyx under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a calyx under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand.

Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold.

Then you shall make the lamps [of the lampstand] seven in number [with one lamp at the top of the shaft]. The priests shall set up its seven lamps so that they will light the space in front of it.

It shall be made from a talent (50-80 lbs.) of pure gold, including all these utensils.

See that you make them [exactly] after their pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.

The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all of the curtains shall measure the same.

Each curtain shall be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. The eleven curtains shall all measure the same.

“You shall make fifty bronze hooks and put the hooks into the loops and join the tent together so that it may be one unit.

The cubit on one side and the cubit on the other, of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the tent shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and the other side, to cover it.

“Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright [as a trellis-like frame].

They shall be joined together underneath, and joined together on top with one ring. So shall it be for both of them; they shall form the two [rear] corners.

There shall be eight boards and sixteen silver sockets; two sockets under each board.

“Then you shall make [fifteen] bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle,

You shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan [the direction corresponding to its meaning and purpose] which has been shown to you on the mountain.

“You shall make a veil [to divide the two rooms] of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine twisted linen, skillfully worked with cherubim on it.

You shall hang it on four pillars (support poles) of acacia wood overlaid with gold, with gold hooks, on four silver sockets.

You shall make five pillars (support poles) of acacia wood to support the hanging curtain and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five [base] sockets of bronze for them.

“And you shall make the altar [for burnt offerings] of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.

Make horns (horn-shaped projections) for it on its four corners; the horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.

Also make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the grid you are to make four bronze rings at its four corners.

And you shall put it under the ledge of the altar, so that the grid will extend halfway up the altar.

You shall make [carrying] poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, overlaid with bronze.

The poles shall be inserted through the rings on the two sides of the altar so that it may be carried.

You are to make the altar hollow with planks; as you were shown on the mountain [of Sinai], so shall it be made.

For the gate of the court there shall be a screen [to provide a covering] of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and finely woven [embroidered] linen, the work of an embroiderer, with four pillars and four [base] sockets.

“You shall command the Israelites to provide you with clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually [every night].

In the Tent of Meeting [of God with His people], outside the veil which is in front of the [ark of the] Testimony [and sets it apart], Aaron [the high priest] and his sons shall keep the lamp burning from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a perpetual statute [to be observed] throughout their generations on behalf of the Israelites.

It is to have two shoulder pieces joined to its two [back and front] ends, so that it may be joined together.

“You are to make a breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skilled and talented craftsman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and of fine twisted linen.

You shall mount on it four rows of stones: the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald;

the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;

You shall make two gold rings and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod.

They shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it will be above the skillfully woven sash of the ephod, so that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod.

There shall be an opening at its top in the center [for the head], with a binding of woven work around the opening, like the opening in a coat of armor, so that it will not tear or fray.

Aaron shall wear the robe when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes [alone] into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he will not die there.

“You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’

You shall fasten it on the front of the turban with a blue cord.

It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take away the guilt from the holy things which the sons of Israel dedicate, with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be accepted before the Lord.

You shall make for them [white] linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, reaching from the waist to the thighs.

The various articles of clothing shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the Tent of Meeting, or when they approach the altar [of incense] to minister in the Holy Place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It shall be a statute forever to Aaron and to his descendants after him.

“This is what you shall do to consecrate Aaron and his sons so that they may serve Me as priests: take one young bull and two rams, without blemish,

You shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams.

Then bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting [out where the basin is] and wash them with water.

Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.

And you shall take some of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar [of burnt offering], and you shall pour out the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar.

But the meat of the bull, its hide, and the contents of its intestines you shall burn in the fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

then you shall kill the ram and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it around the altar [of burnt offering].

and you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord: it is a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ears of Aaron and his sons and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, and sprinkle the [rest of the] blood around on the altar [of burnt offering].

Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Now Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments shall be consecrated (dedicated, made holy, declared sacred for God’s purpose).

“You shall also take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the intestines, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh; (for it is a ram of ordination),

and one loaf of bread and one cake of oiled bread and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord;

Then you shall take them from their hands, add them to the burnt offering, and burn them on the altar for a sweet and soothing aroma before the Lord; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.

“Then you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination, and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be your (Moses) portion.

You shall consecrate the waved breast offering [of the ram] used in the ordination and the waved thigh offering of the priests’ portion, since it is [a contribution] for Aaron and for his sons.

It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their due portion from the Israelites forever, for it is a heave offering. It shall be a heave offering to the Lord from the Israelites from the sacrifices of their peace offerings.

Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread in the basket, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

They shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy [that is, set apart to the worship of God].

And if any of the meat of ordination or the bread remains until morning, you shall burn it in the fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

You shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar from sin when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it [for God’s sacred purpose].

For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar [of burnt offering] and consecrate it; then the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy (set apart for God’s service).

“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one year old lambs shall be offered each day, continuously.

and with the one lamb there shall be one-tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten [olive] oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering [to be poured out].

And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and do with it as with the grain offering of the morning and with the drink offering, for a sweet and soothing aroma [to appease God], an offering by fire to the Lord.

This will be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.

They shall know [from personal experience] and acknowledge that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.