Exodus 40

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.

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

3 And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail.

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 the lamps thereof.

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 altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door 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 the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.

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

7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.

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

8 And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.

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] therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: 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 the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar 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 his foot, and sanctify it.

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

12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash 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 put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

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, and clothe them with coats:

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 minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be 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 Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD 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 [day] of the month, [that] the tabernacle was reared 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 reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his 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 abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD 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 set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon 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 set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD 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 the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.

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

23 And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD 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 the congregation, over against 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 the LORD; as the LORD 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 the congregation before the vail:

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 sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.

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

28 And he set up the hanging [at] the door of the tabernacle.

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

29 And he put the altar of burnt offering [by] the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD 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 the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash [withal].

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 thereat:

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 the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.

33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. 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 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD 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 was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD 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 went onward 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 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till 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 the LORD [was] upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight 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].