Exodus 40

1 And the Lord said to Moses,

The Lord told Moses,

2 On the first day of the first month you are to put up the House of the Tent of meeting.

“Put up the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month of the year.

3 And inside it put the ark of the law, hanging the veil before it.

Place the Ark of the Testimony inside it. Make sure the Ark is behind the veil.

4 And put the table inside, placing all the things on it in order; and put in the support for the lights, and let its lights be burning.

Bring in the table and put on it what's necessary. Bring in the lampstand too, and set up its lamps.

5 And put the gold altar for burning perfumes in front of the ark of the law, hanging the curtain over the doorway of the House.

Place the gold altar of incense in front of the Ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen at the entrance to the Tabernacle.

6 And put the altar of burned offerings before the doorway of the House of the Tent of meeting.

Set up the altar of burnt offering opposite the entrance to the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.

7 And let the washing-vessel, with water in it, be put between the Tent of meeting and the altar.

Place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

8 And put up the hangings forming the open space all round it, with the curtain over its doorway.

Set up the courtyard that's around it, and put up the curtain for the courtyard entrance.

9 And take the holy oil and put it on the House and everything in it, and make it and everything in it holy:

Use the anointing oil to anoint the Tabernacle and everything in it. Dedicate it and all its furniture to make it holy.

10 And put oil on the altar of burned offering, and make it and all its vessels holy; this altar is to be most holy.

Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils. Dedicate the altar and it will be especially holy.

11 And put oil on the washing-vessel and its base, and make them holy.

Anoint and dedicate the basin with its stand.

12 Then let Aaron and his sons come to the door of the Tent of meeting; and after washing them with water,

Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them there with water.

13 You are to put on Aaron the holy robes; and you are to put oil on him, and make him holy, so that he may be my priest.

Then you are to put on Aaron the holy clothes, anoint him, and dedicate him, so that he may serve me as a priest.

14 And take his sons with him and put coats on them;

Have his sons come forward and dress them with tunics.

15 And put oil on them as you did on their father, so that they may be my priests: the putting on of oil will make them priests for ever, from generation to generation.

Anoint them in the same way as you anointed their father, so that they can also serve me as priests. Their anointing makes their line priests forever, for generations to come.”

16 And Moses did this; as the Lord gave him orders, so he did.

Moses carried out all the Lord's instructions.

17 So on the first day of the first month in the second year the House was put up.

The Tabernacle was put up on the first day of the first month of the second year.

18 Moses put up the House; placing its bases in position and lifting up its uprights, putting in the rods and planting the pillars in their places;

When Moses put up the Tabernacle, he placed its stands, attached its frames, connected its crossbars, and erected its posts.

19 Stretching the outer tent over it, and covering it, as the Lord had given him orders.

Then he spread the tent over the Tabernacle and placed the covering over the tent, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

20 And he took the law and put it inside the ark, and put the rods at its side and the cover over it;

Moses took the Testimony and put it in the Ark. He attached the poles to the Ark, and he placed the atonement cover on the top of the Ark.

21 And he took the ark into the House, hanging up the veil before it as the Lord had given him orders.

Then he carried the Ark into the Tabernacle. He put up the veil, and made sure the Ark of the Testimony was behind it, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

22 And he put the table in the Tent of meeting, on the north side outside the veil.

Moses placed the table inside the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the Tabernacle, outside the veil.

23 And he put the bread on it in order before the Lord, as the Lord had said.

He laid out the bread on it in the presence of the Lord, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

24 The support for the lights he put in the Tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side:

He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the Tabernacle

25 Lighting the lights before the Lord, as the Lord had given him orders.

and put up the lamps in the presence of the Lord, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

26 And he put the gold altar in the Tent of meeting, in front of the veil:

Moses set up the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil,

27 Burning sweet perfumes on it, as the Lord had given him orders.

and he burned aromatic incense on it, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

28 And he put up the curtain at the doorway of the House.

Then he put up the screen at the entrance to the Tabernacle.

29 And at the door of the House of the Tent of meeting, he put the altar of burned offerings, offering on it the burned offering and the meal offering, as the Lord had given him orders.

He set up the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and presented the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had ordered him to do.

30 And between the altar and the Tent of meeting he put the vessel with water in it for washing.

He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing.

31 In it the hands and feet of Moses and Aaron and his sons were washed,

Moses, Aaron, and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet

32 Whenever they went into the Tent of meeting, and when they came near the altar, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

They washed whenever they went into the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord had ordered Moses to do.

33 And he put up the hangings forming the open space round the House and the altar, and put the curtain over the doorway. So Moses made the work complete.

Moses set up the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar, and he put up the curtain for the courtyard entrance. This marked the end of the work done by Moses.

34 Then the cloud came down covering the Tent of meeting, and the House was full of the glory of the Lord;

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

35 So that Moses was not able to go into the Tent of meeting, because the cloud was resting on it, and the House was full of the glory of the Lord.

Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

36 And whenever the cloud was taken up from the House, the children of Israel went forward on their journey:

Whenever the cloud rose from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set off again on their journey.

37 But while the cloud was there, they made no move till it was taken up.

If the cloud did not rise, they wouldn't set out until it did.

38 For the cloud of the Lord was resting on the House by day, and at night there was fire in the cloud, before the eyes of all the people of Israel, and so it was through all their journeys.

The cloud of the Lord stayed over the Tabernacle by day, and fire burned inside the cloud by night, so that it could be seen by every Israelite wherever they traveled.