Exodus 40

1 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying—

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 On the first day of the month, in the first month, shalt thou rear the habitation, 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 therein, the ark of the testimony, —and shalt screen 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 what is to be arranged thereupon, —and thou shalt bring in the lampstand, and mount 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 place the altar of gold for incense, before the ark of the testimony, —and put up the screen for the opening of the habitation;

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 place the altar for the ascending-sacrifice, —before the opening of the habitation of the tent of meeting;

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

7 and thou shalt place the laver between the tent of meeting, and the altar, and shalt put therein water,

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

8 And thou shalt put up the court round about, and hang up the screen of 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 oil of anointing, and anoint the habitation and all that is therein, —and shalt hallow it. and all the furniture thereof so shall it 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 ascending sacrifice, and all its utensils, —and hallow the altar, so shall the altar 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 shalt hallow it.

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

12 And thou shalt bring near Aaron and his sons, unto the opening of the tent of meeting, —and shalt bathe them in the 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 shalt anoint him and hallow him so shall he minister as priest unto 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 His sons also, shalt thou bring near, —and shalt clothe them with tunics;

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

15 and shalt anoint them as thou didst anoint their father, and they shall minister as priests unto me, —so shall their anointing remain to them for an age-abiding priesthood, to 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, —according to all that Yahweh had commanded him, so did he.

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

17 Thus came it to pass, in the first month, in the second year, on the first of the month, that the habitation was reared.

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 Yea Moses reared the habitation, and placed its sockets, and fixed its boards, and fastened its bars, —and reared 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 Then spread he abroad the tent upon the habitation, and put the covering of the tent upon it, above, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.

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

20 And he took and placed the testimony within the ark, and put the staves upon the ark, —and placed the propitiatory upon 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 brought in the ark into the habitation, and put up the screening veil, and screened over the ark of the testimony, —As Yahweh 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 placed the table in the tent of meeting, —on the side of the habitation northward, —outside the veil;

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

23 and set in order thereupon the arrangement of bread before Yahweh, —As Yahweh 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 lampstand, in the tent of meeting, over against the table, —on the side of the habitation southward;

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

25 and mounted the lamps before Yahweh, —As Yahweh 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 altar of gold 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 burned thereupon the fragrant incense, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.

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

28 And he put up the screen of the entrance pertaining to the habitation;

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

29 and, the altar of ascending-sacrifice, put he at the entrance of the habitation of the tent of meeting, —and he caused to ascend thereupon the ascending-sacrifice, and the meal-offering, —As Yahweh 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 put the laver, between the tent of meeting, and the altar, —and put therein water for bathing;

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 thenceforth bathed thereat, —their hands and their feet;

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 were entering into the tent of meeting, and when they were drawing near unto the altar, then used they to bathe, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.

33 And he reared the court round about to the habitation and to the altar, and put up the screen of the gate of the court, —and 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 did the cloud cover the tent of meeting, —and, the glory of Yahweh, filled the habitation;

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 meeting, because the cloud had made its habitation thereupon, —and the glory of Yahweh, filled the habitation.

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

36 And whensoever the cloud ascended from off the habitation, then did the sons of Israel set forward, in all their journeyings;

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 did not ascend, then did they not set forward—until the day when it did ascend.

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 Yahweh, was upon the habitation by day, and, a fire, came to be by night therein, —in the sight of all the house of Israel in all their journeyings.

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].