Exodus 40
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And the Lord said to Moses,
2 “On the first day of the first month next year, [tell the people to] set up the Sacred Tent.
On the first day of the first month you are to put up the House of the Tent of meeting.
3 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.
And inside it put the ark of the law, hanging the veil before it.
4 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.
And put the table inside, placing all the things on it in order; and put in the support for the lights, and let its lights be burning.
5 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.
And put the gold altar for burning perfumes in front of the ark of the law, hanging the curtain over the doorway of the House.
6 Put the altar for burning sacrifices in front of the Sacred Tent.
And put the altar of burned offerings before the doorway of the House of the Tent of meeting.
7 Put the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the altar, and fill it with water.
And let the washing-vessel, with water in it, be put between the Tent of meeting and the altar.
8 Hang the curtains that will surround the courtyard, and hang the curtain at its entrance.
And put up the hangings forming the open space all round it, with the curtain over its doorway.
9 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.
And take the holy oil and put it on the House and everything in it, and make it and everything in it holy:
10 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.
And put oil on the altar of burned offering, and make it and all its vessels holy; this altar is to be most holy.
11 Also anoint the washbasin and its base, to set it apart.
And put oil on the washing-vessel and its base, and make them holy.
12 Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Sacred Tent, and wash them [ritually] with water.
Then let Aaron and his sons come to the door of the Tent of meeting; and after washing them with water,
13 Then put on Aaron his sacred clothes to (set him apart/dedicate him), in order that he can serve me as a priest.
You are to put on Aaron the holy robes; and you are to put oil on him, and make him holy, so that he may be my priest.
14 Also bring his sons there. Put their sacred tunics/gowns on them
And take his sons with him and put coats on them;
15 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.”
And put oil on them as you did on their father, so that they may be my priests: the putting on of oil will make them priests for ever, from generation to generation.
16 Moses/I did all these things exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.
And Moses did this; as the Lord gave him orders, so he did.
17 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.
So on the first day of the first month in the second year the House was put up.
18 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].
Moses put up the House; placing its bases in position and lifting up its uprights, putting in the rods and planting the pillars in their places;
19 Then they spread out the coverings over the Sacred Tent, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.
Stretching the outer tent over it, and covering it, as the Lord had given him orders.
20 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.
And he took the law and put it inside the ark, and put the rods at its side and the cover over it;
21 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.
And he took the ark into the House, hanging up the veil before it as the Lord had given him orders.
22 He/I set the table inside the Sacred Tent, on the north side, outside the curtain.
And he put the table in the Tent of meeting, on the north side outside the veil.
23 He/I placed on the table the bread that was offered to Yahweh, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.
And he put the bread on it in order before the Lord, as the Lord had said.
24 He/I set the lampstand inside the Sacred Tent, on the south side, opposite the table.
The support for the lights he put in the Tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side:
25 Then he/I fastened the lamps to the lampstand in Yahweh’s presence, exactly as Yahweh had commanded.
Lighting the lights before the Lord, as the Lord had given him orders.
26 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],
And he put the gold altar in the Tent of meeting, in front of the veil:
27 and he/I burned some sweet-smelling incense on it, exactly as Yahweh had commanded him/me.
Burning sweet perfumes on it, as the Lord had given him orders.
28 He/I hung the curtain at the entrance to the Sacred Tent.
And he put up the curtain at the doorway of the House.
29 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.
And at the door of the House of the Tent of meeting, he put the altar of burned offerings, offering on it the burned offering and the meal offering, as the Lord had given him orders.
30 He/I set the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the [bronze] altar, and he/I filled the washbasin with water.
And between the altar and the Tent of meeting he put the vessel with water in it for washing.
31 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.
In it the hands and feet of Moses and Aaron and his sons were washed,
Whenever they went into the Tent of meeting, and when they came near the altar, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
33 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.
And he put up the hangings forming the open space round the House and the altar, and put the curtain over the doorway. So Moses made the work complete.
34 Then the [tall bright] cloud covered the Sacred Tent, and Yahweh’s (glory/brilliant light) filled the Sacred Tent.
Then the cloud came down covering the Tent of meeting, and the House was full of the glory of the Lord;
35 Because that light was very bright, Moses/I was not able to enter the Sacred Tent.
So that Moses was not able to go into the Tent of meeting, because the cloud was resting on it, and the House was full of the glory of the Lord.
36 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.
And whenever the cloud was taken up from the House, the children of Israel went forward on their journey:
37 If the cloud did not rise, they stayed where they were and did not go on until the cloud rose.
But while the cloud was there, they made no move till it was taken up.
38 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].
For the cloud of the Lord was resting on the House by day, and at night there was fire in the cloud, before the eyes of all the people of Israel, and so it was through all their journeys.
