Exodus 40

1 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 “On the first day of the month, in the first month, you raise up the Dwelling Place 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 have set the Ark of the Testimony [in] there, and have covered over 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 have brought in the table, and set its arrangement in order, and have brought in the lampstand, and caused its lamps to go up.

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 you have put the golden altar for incense before the Ark of the Testimony, and have put the covering of the opening to the Dwelling Place,

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 have put the altar of the burnt-offering before the opening of the Dwelling Place of the Tent of Meeting,

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

7 and have put the laver between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and have put water [in] there.

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

8 And you have set the court all around, and have placed the covering of the gate of the court,

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

9 and have taken the anointing oil, and anointed the Dwelling Place, and all that [is] in it, and hallowed it, and all its vessels, and it has been 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 you have anointed the altar of the burnt-offering, and all its vessels, and sanctified the altar, and the altar has been 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 you have anointed the laver and its base, and sanctified it.

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

12 And you have brought Aaron and his sons near to the opening of the Tent of Meeting, and have bathed them with water;

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

13 and you have clothed Aaron with the holy garments, and anointed him, and sanctified him, and he has acted as priest to Me.

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 you bring his sons near, and have clothed them with coats,

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

15 and anointed them as you have anointed their father, and they have acted as priests to Me, and their anointing has been to them for a continuous 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 does according to all that YHWH has commanded him; so he has done.

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

17 And it comes to pass, in the first month, in the second year, on the first of the month, the Dwelling Place has been raised 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 raises up the Dwelling Place, and sets its sockets, and places its boards, and places its bars, and raises 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 spreads the tent over the Dwelling Place, and puts the covering of the tent on it above, as YHWH has commanded Moses.

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

20 And he takes and puts the Testimony into the Ark, and sets the poles on the Ark, and puts the propitiatory covering on the Ark above;

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 brings the Ark into the Dwelling Place, and places the veil of the covering, and covers over the Ark of the Testimony, as YHWH has 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 puts the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the side of the Dwelling Place northward, at the outside of the veil,

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

23 and sets in order the arrangement of bread on it, before YHWH, as YHWH has commanded Moses.

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

24 And he puts the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the side of the Dwelling Place southward,

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

25 and causes the lamps to go up before YHWH, as YHWH has commanded Moses.

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

26 And he sets 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 makes incense on it—spice-incense—as YHWH has commanded Moses.

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

28 And he sets the covering [at] the opening of the Dwelling Place,

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

29 and he has set the altar of the burnt-offering [at] the opening of the Dwelling Place of the Tent of Meeting, and causes the burnt-offering to go up on it, and the present, as YHWH has 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 puts the laver between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and puts water [in] there 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 have washed their hands and their feet at the same;

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 in their going into the Tent of Meeting, and in their drawing near to the altar, they wash, as YHWH has commanded Moses.

33 And he raises up the court all around the Dwelling Place, and around the altar, and places the covering of the gate of the court; and Moses completes 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 covers the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of YHWH has filled the Dwelling Place;

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

35 and Moses has not been able to go into the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud has dwelt on it, and the glory of YHWH has filled the Dwelling Place.

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

36 And in the going up of the cloud from off the Dwelling Place the sons of Israel journey 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 does not go up then they do not journey, until the day of its going 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 YHWH [is] on the Dwelling Place by day, and fire is in it by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel in 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].