< Exodus 31 >
1 Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me, “Note that I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, [for special tasks].
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
Behold, I have called by name Beseleel the son of Urias the son of Or, of the tribe of Juda.
3 I have caused him to be completely controlled/empowered by my Spirit, and I have given him special ability [to make things] and have enabled him to know how to do very skilled work.
And I have filled him [with] a divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to invent in every work,
4 He can engrave skillful designs in gold, silver, and bronze.
and to frame works, to labor in gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and spun scarlet,
5 He can cut (jewels/valuable stones) and enclose them [in tiny gold settings/frames]. He can carve things from wood and do other skilled work.
and works in stone, and for artificers' work in wood, to work at all works.
6 Note that I have also appointed Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, to work with him. I have also given special ability to other men, in order that they can make all the things that I have commanded you [to be made].
And I have appointed him and Eliab the [son] of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan, and to every one understanding in heart I have given understanding; and they shall make all things as many as I have appointed you, —
7 That includes the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest and its lid, all the other things that will be inside the Sacred Tent,
the tabernacle of witness, and the ark of the covenant, and the propitiatory that is upon it, and the furniture of the tabernacle,
8 the table and all the things that are used with it, the pure gold lampstand and all the things that are used to take care of it, the altar [for burning] incense,
and the altars, and the table and all its furniture,
9 the altar for offering sacrifices that will be burned and all the things that will be used with it, the washbasin and its base,
and the pure candlestick and all its furniture, and the laver and its base,
10 all the beautiful sacred clothes for Aaron and his sons to wear when they work as priests,
and Aaron's robes of ministry, and the robes of his sons to minister to me as priests,
11 the oil for anointing, and the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Place. [The skilled workers] must make all these things exactly as I have told you to do.”
and the anointing oil and the compound incense of the sanctuary; according to all that I have commanded you shall they make them.
12 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
13 “Tell the Israeli people, ‘Obey my instructions regarding the (rest days/Sabbath days). Those days will remind you [and your descendants], throughout all future generations, that I, Yahweh, have (set you apart/chosen you) to be my people.
Do you also charge the children of Israel, saying, Take heed and keep my sabbaths; [for] they are a sign with me and among you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord that sanctifies you.
14 You must obey [my rules about] the Sabbath days because they are holy/sacred. Those who treat those days in an irreverent way by working on those days must be executed [to show that] I no longer consider them to belong to my people.
And you shall keep the sabbaths, because this is holy to the Lord for you; he that profanes it shall surely be put to death: every one who shall do a work on it, that soul shall be destroyed from the midst of his people.
15 You may work for six days [each week], but the seventh day [of each week] is a solemn day of rest, dedicated to me, Yahweh. Anyone who does any work on a day of rest is to be executed [because I no longer want them to be able to associate with my people].
Six days you shall do works, but the seventh day is the sabbath, a holy rest to the Lord; every one who shall do a work on the seventh day shall be put to death.
16 You Israeli people must respect the rest day, and you [and your descendants] must (celebrate it/keep it holy) throughout all future generations. [It will remind you] of the agreement that I have made with you that will last forever.
And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbaths, to observe them throughout their generations.
17 It will remind you Israeli people and remind me [of that agreement] because I, Yahweh, created the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day I stopped doing that work and relaxed.’”
It is a perpetual covenant with me and the children of Israel, it is a perpetual sign with me; for in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day he ceased, and rested.
18 When Yahweh finished talking with Moses/me on the top of Sinai Mountain, he gave him/me the two stone slabs on which he had engraved his commandments with his own fingers.
And he gave to Moses when he left off speaking to him in mount Sina the two tables of testimony, tables of stone written [upon] with the finger of God.