Exodus 40

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 On the day of the first month, on the first of the month, shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

“On the first day of the first month next year, [tell the people to] set up the Sacred Tent.

3 And thou shalt put in it the ark of the testimony, and shalt cover the ark with the veil.

Put inside it the sacred chest [that contains the stone slabs on which are engraved] the Ten Commandments, and hang the curtain in front of it.

4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it. And thou shalt bring in the candlestick and light its lamps.

Bring the table into the Sacred Tent, and place on it all the things that are to be used with it. Bring in the lampstand and fasten the lamps to it.

5 And thou shalt set the golden altar for the incense before the ark of the testimony; and hang up the curtain of the entrance to the tabernacle.

Put the gold altar for [burning] incense in front of the sacred chest, and set up the curtain at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

6 And thou shalt set the altar of burnt-offering before the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

Put the altar for burning sacrifices in front of the Sacred Tent.

7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and shalt put water in it.

Put the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the altar, and fill it with water.

8 And thou shalt fix the court round about, and hang up the curtain at the gate of the court.

Hang the curtains that will surround the courtyard, and hang the curtain at its entrance.

9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is in it, and shalt hallow it, and all its utensils; and it shall be holy.

Then take the oil for anointing, and anoint the Sacred Tent and everything that is in it, to (set it apart/dedicate it) to me. Then it will be holy/sacred.

10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of burnt-offering, and all its utensils; and thou shalt hallow the altar, and the altar shall be most holy.

Also anoint the altar for offering sacrifices that will be completely burned, and all the things that will be used with it, and set it apart. Then it also will be holy/sacred.

11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and its stand, and hallow it.

Also anoint the washbasin and its base, to set it apart.

12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons near, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and bathe them with water.

Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them [ritually] with water.

13 And thou shalt clothe Aaron with the holy garments, and anoint him, and hallow him, that he may serve me as priest.

Then put on Aaron his sacred clothes to (set him apart/dedicate him), in order that he can serve me as a priest.

14 And thou shalt bring his sons near, and clothe them with vests.

Also bring his sons there. Put their sacred tunics/gowns on them

15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall be to them an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

and anoint them just as you anointed their father, in order that they also may serve me by working as priests. By anointing them [and their descendants], you will cause them and their descendants to be priests throughout all coming generations.”

16 And Moses did so: as Jehovah had commanded him, so did he.

Moses/I did all these things exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.

17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first of the month, that the tabernacle was set up.

On the first day of the first month of the next year (OR, second year [after they/we left Egypt]), the people set up the Sacred Tent.

18 And Moses set up the tabernacle, and put in its bases, and fixed its boards, and put in its bars, and set up its pillars.

Following Moses’/my instructions, they set up the Sacred Tent and its bases, set up the frames, attached the crossbars, and put up the posts [for the curtains].

19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above over it; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

Then they spread out the coverings over the Sacred Tent, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.

20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and put the staves in the ark, and put the mercy-seat above on the ark.

Then he/I took the two stone slabs [on which the commandments were written] and put them in the sacred chest. He/I put the carrying poles [in the rings] on the chest and put the lid on top of the chest.

21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and hung up the veil of separation, and covered the ark of the testimony; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

Then he/I took the chest into [the Very Holy Place inside] the Sacred Tent and hung the curtain. In that way, he/I prevented the people who were outside from seeing the chest. He/I did all this exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.

22 And he put the table in the tent of meeting, on the side of the tabernacle northward, outside the veil,

He/I set the table inside the Sacred Tent, on the north side, outside the curtain.

23 and arranged the bread in order upon it before Jehovah; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

He/I placed on the table the bread that was offered to Yahweh, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.

24 And he put the candlestick in the tent of meeting, opposite to the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.

He/I set the lampstand inside the Sacred Tent, on the south side, opposite the table.

25 And he lighted the lamps before Jehovah; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

Then he/I fastened the lamps to the lampstand in Yahweh’s presence, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.

26 And he put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil.

He/I set the golden altar for burning incense inside the Sacred Tent, in front of the curtain [that separated the Holy Place from the Very Holy Place],

27 And he burnt on it fragrant incense; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

and he/I burned some sweet-smelling incense on it, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.

28 And he hung up the curtain of the entrance to the tabernacle.

He/I hung the curtain at the entrance to the Sacred Tent.

29 And he put the altar of burnt-offering at the entrance to the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt-offering and the oblation; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

At the entrance to the Sacred Tent, he/I set the altar for offering sacrifices that were to be burned completely. Then he/I offered on it the meat that was to be burned completely and the grain offering, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.

30 And he set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing.

He/I set the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the [bronze] altar, and he/I filled the washbasin with water.

31 And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet out of it:

Every time Moses/I and Aaron and his sons went into the Sacred Tent or went to the altar, they/we washed their/our hands and feet [ritually], exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

32 when they went into the tent of meeting, and when they drew near to the altar, they washed; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

33 And he set up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the curtain of the gate of the court. And so Moses finished the work.

Following Moses’/my instructions, they hung the curtains that surrounded the courtyard and the altar, and they hung the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses/I finished that work.

34 And the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle.

Then the [tall bright] cloud covered the Sacred Tent, and Yahweh’s (glory/brilliant light) filled the Sacred Tent.

35 And Moses could not enter into the tent of meeting, for the cloud abode on it, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle.

Because that light was very bright, Moses/I was not able to enter the Sacred Tent.

36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel journeyed in all their journeys.

From that day, whenever the Israeli people wanted to move to another place, they went only when the bright cloud rose from above the Sacred Tent.

37 And if the cloud were not taken up, then they did not journey until the day that it was taken up.

If the cloud did not rise, they stayed where they were and did not go on until the cloud rose.

38 For the cloud of Jehovah was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Wherever they traveled, the bright cloud that [indicated] Yahweh’s [presence] was above the Sacred Tent during the day, and a [bright] fire was inside the cloud at night, with the result that all the Israeli people [MTY] could see it [at any time].