Exodus 40

1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 “On the first day of the first month of the new year you must set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting.

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

3 You must place the ark of the testimony in it, and you must shield the ark with the curtain.

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 You must bring in the table and set in order the things that belong on it. Then you must bring in the lampstand and set up the lamps.

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 You must put the golden incense altar before the ark of the testimony, and you must put the curtain at the entrance 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 You must put the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting.

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

7 You must put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and you must put water in it.

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

8 You must set up the courtyard around it, and you must hang up the curtain at the courtyard entrance.

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

9 You must take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything that is in it. You must set it apart and all its furnishings to me; then it will 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 You must anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils. You must set apart the altar to me and it will become very holy to me.

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 You must anoint the bronze basin and its base and set it apart to me.

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

12 You are to bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and you must wash them with water.

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

13 You are to clothe Aaron with the garments that are set apart to me, anoint him and set him apart so that he may serve as my priest.

Then put on Aaron his sacred clothes to (set him apart/dedicate him), in order that he can serve me as a priest.

14 You are to bring his sons and clothe them with coats.

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

15 You must anoint them as you anointed their father so that they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will make for them a permanent priesthood throughout their people's 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 This is what Moses did; he followed all that Yahweh had commanded him. He did all these things.

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

17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.

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 Moses set up the tabernacle, put its bases in place, set up its frames, attached its bars, and set up its pillars and posts.

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 He spread the covering over the tabernacle and put tent over it, as Yahweh had commanded him.

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

20 He took the covenant decrees and put them into the ark. He also placed the poles on the ark and put the atonement lid on it.

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 He brought the ark into the tabernacle. He set up the curtain for it to shield the ark of the testimony, as Yahweh had commanded him.

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 He put the table into the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain.

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

23 He placed the bread in order on the table before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded him.

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

24 He put the lampstand into the tent of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle.

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

25 He lit the lamps before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded him.

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

26 He put the golden incense altar into the tent of meeting in front of the curtain.

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 He burned fragrant incense on it, as Yahweh had commanded him.

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

28 He hung the curtain at the tabernacle entrance.

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

29 He put the altar for the burnt offering at the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. He offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as Yahweh had commanded him.

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 He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and he put water in it for washing.

He/I set the washbasin between the Sacred Tent and the [bronze] altar, and he/I filled the washbasin with water.

31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet from the basin

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 whenever they would go into the tent of meeting and whenever they would go up to the altar. They washed themselves, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

33 Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar. He set up the curtain at the courtyard entrance. In this way, 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 the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and Yahweh's glory filled the tabernacle.

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

35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and because Yahweh's glory filled the tabernacle.

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

36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey.

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 rise up from the tabernacle, then the people would not travel. They would stay until the day that it was lifted up.

If the cloud did not rise, they stayed where they were and did not go on until the cloud rose.

38 For Yahweh's cloud was over the tabernacle by day, and his fire was over it by night, in plain view of all the people of Israel throughout their journey.

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].