Exodus 26

1 And thou shalt make the tabernacle [with] ten curtains of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of artistic work shalt thou make them.

“[Tell the people to] make the Sacred Tent using ten long strips of fine linen. They must take blue, purple, and red thread (OR, weave the strips from blue, purple, and red thread), and [a skilled craftsman] must embroider these strips with [designs that represent] the winged creatures [that are above the chest].

2 The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits — one measure for all the curtains.

Each strip is to be (14 yards/twelve meters) long and (2 yards/1.8 meters) wide.

3 Five of the curtains shall be coupled one to another, and [the other] five curtains coupled one to another.

[Tell them to] sew five strips together to make one set, and sew the other five strips together to make another set.

4 And thou shalt make loops of blue on the edge of the one curtain at the end of the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make [them] in the edge of the outermost curtain in the other coupling.

For each set, [they must] make loops of blue [cloth] and fasten them along the outer edge of the strip, at the end of each set.

5 Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make at the end of the curtain in the other coupling: the loops shall be opposite to one another.

[They must] put 50 loops on the edge of the first set, and 50 loops on the edge of the second set.

6 And thou shalt make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, that the tabernacle may be one [whole].

[Tell them to] make 50 gold clasps/fasteners, to fasten both of the sets together. As a result, the inside of the Sacred Tent will be [as though it was] one piece.

7 And thou shalt make curtains of goats' [hair] for a tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make them.

Also, [tell them to] make a cover for the Sacred Tent from eleven pieces of cloth made from goats’ hair.

8 The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits — one measure for the eleven curtains.

Each piece of cloth is to be (15 yards/13.5 meters) long and (2 yards/1.8 meters) wide.

9 And thou shalt couple five of the curtains by themselves, and six of the curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the front of the tent.

[Tell them to] sew five of these pieces of cloth together to make one set, and sew the other six pieces of cloth together to make another set. [They] must fold the sixth piece [of cloth] in half to make it double over the front of the Sacred Tent.

10 And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the coupling, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain in the other coupling.

[Tell them to] make 100 loops [of blue cloth], and to fasten 50 of them to the outer edge of the one set and fasten 50 to the outer edge of the other set.

11 And thou shalt make fifty clasps of copper, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent, that it may be one [whole].

[Tell them to] make fifty bronze clasps/fasteners and put them in the cloth loops to join the two sets together. As a result, the cover for the Sacred Tent will be [as though it was] one piece.

12 And that which remaineth hanging over of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the rear of the tabernacle.

[Let] the extra part of the cover, the part that extends beyond [the linen cloth], hang over the back of the Sacred Tent.

13 And the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.

The extra half yard/meter of each cover, the part that extends beyond [the linen cloth] on each side, must hang over the two sides of the Sacred Tent, to protect the sides.

14 And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins over [that].

[Tell them to] make two more covers for the Sacred Tent. One is to be made from rams’ skins that have been (tanned/dyed red), and the top cover is to be made from goatskin leather.”

15 And the boards for the tabernacle thou shalt make of acacia-wood, standing up;

“[Tell them to] make frames from acacia wood, frames that will be set up [from which to hang the Sacred Tent covers].

16 ten cubits the length of the board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of one board.

Each frame is to be (five yards/four meters) long and (27 in./66 cm.) wide.

17 One board shall have two tenons, connected one with the other: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

[They] must make two projections at the bottom of each frame. These will be to fasten the frames to the bases underneath them. They must make these projections at the bottom of each frame.

18 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward.

Make 20 frames for the south side of the Sacred Tent.

19 And thou shalt make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards; two bases under one board for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons.

[Tell them to] make 40 silver bases to go underneath them. Two bases will go under each frame. The projections [at the bottom] of each frame are [to be made] to fit into the bases.

20 And for the other side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards.

[Similarly], [tell them to] make twenty frames for the north side of the Sacred Tent.

21 And their forty bases of silver; two bases under one board, and two bases under another board.

[They] must make 40 silver bases for them also, with two bases to be put under each frame.

22 And for the rear of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards.

For the rear of the Sacred Tent, on the west side, [tell them to] make six frames.

23 And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear;

Also, [tell them to] make two extra frames, one for each corner of the rear of the Sacred Tent, [to provide extra support].

24 and they shall be joined beneath, and together shall be united at the top thereof to one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.

The two corner frames must be joined from the bottom to the top (OR, joined at both the bottom and the top). At the top of each of the two corner frames there must be a gold ring for holding the crossbar.

25 And there shall be eight boards, and their bases, of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one board, and two bases under another board.

In that way, [for the rear of the Sacred Tent] there will be eight frames, and there will be 16 bases, two under each frame.

26 And thou shalt make bars of acacia-wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

[Tell them to] make 15 crossbars from acacia wood.

27 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward;

Five of them will be for the frames on the north side of the Sacred Tent, five will be for the south side, and five for the frames at the rear of the Sacred Tent, the west side.

28 and the middle bar in the midst of the boards reaching from one end to the other.

Tell them to fasten the crossbars on the north, south, and west sides of the Sacred Tent to the middle of the frames. The two long ones must extend from one end of the Sacred Tent to the other, and the crossbar on the west side must extend from one side of the Sacred Tent to the other.

29 And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make [of] gold their rings, the receptacles of the bars, and shalt overlay the bars with gold.

[Tell them to] cover the frames with gold, and make gold rings to fasten the crossbars to the frames. The crossbars must [also] be covered with gold.

30 And thou shalt set up the tabernacle according to its fashion, as hath been shewn thee on the mountain.

Erect the Sacred Tent in the way that I have shown you [here] on [this] mountain.”

31 And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus; of artistic work shall it be made, with cherubim.

“[Tell them to] make a curtain from fine linen. A skilled craftsman must embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread, making [designs to represent] the winged creatures [that are above the chest].

32 And thou shalt attach it to four pillars of acacia-wood overlaid with gold, their hooks of gold; they shall be on four bases of silver.

[Tell them to] suspend/hang the curtain from four posts made from acacia wood and covered with gold. Set [each] post in a silver base.

33 And thou shalt bring the veil under the clasps, and bring in thither, inside the veil, the ark of the testimony; and the curtain shall make a division to you between the holy [place] and the holiest of all.

[They] must suspend/hang the [top of the] curtain by hooks that are fastened to the roof of the Sacred Tent. Behind the curtain, in the [room called the] Very Holy Place, [they] must put the chest containing the [two stone slabs on which I have written my] commandments. That curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place.

34 And thou shalt put the mercy-seat on the ark of the testimony in the holiest of all.

On top of the chest in the Very Holy Place [they] must put the lid which will be the place where [blood will be sprinkled to] forgive people’s sins.

35 And thou shalt set the table outside the veil, and the lamp-stand opposite to the table on the side of the tabernacle southward; and thou shalt put the table on the north side.

[In the room that is] outside of the Very Holy Place, [they] must put the table [for the sacred] bread on the north side, and put the lampstand on the south side.

36 And thou shalt make for the entrance of the tent a curtain of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus, of embroidery.

[Tell them to] make a curtain to [cover] the entrance of the Sacred Tent. They must make it from fine linen, and a skilled weaver must embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.

37 And thou shalt make for the curtain five pillars of acacia[-wood], and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be of gold; and thou shalt cast five bases of copper for them.

To hold up this curtain, [they] must make five posts from acacia wood. [They] must cover them with gold, and fasten gold clasps/fasteners to them. Also [they] must make a bronze base for each of these posts.”