1 T he Lord said to Moses,

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 “ Set up the holy tent, the meeting tent, on the first day of the first month.

“On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

3 P ut the special box of the Law there. And hang the curtain in front of it.

You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil.

4 B ring in the table and set its objects on it. Bring in the lamp-stand and light its lamps.

You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and light its lamps.

5 S et the gold altar of special perfume in front of the box of the Law. Hang the curtain for the door of the meeting tent.

You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle.

6 S et the altar of burnt gifts in front of the door of the holy tent, the meeting tent.

Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

7 S et the washing pot between the meeting tent and the altar and put water in it.

And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

8 H ang the curtains all around the open space and hang the curtain at the gate of the open space.

You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.

9 T hen take the oil and pour it upon the meeting tent and all that is in it. Set it apart with all its objects, and it will be holy.

“And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy.

10 P our the oil upon the altar of burnt gifts and all its objects. Set the altar apart, and it will be most holy.

You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy.

11 P our the oil upon the washing pot and its stand, to set it apart.

And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it.

12 “ Then bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the meeting tent. And wash them with water.

“Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water.

13 P ut the holy clothing on Aaron. Then pour oil upon him and set him apart to work for Me as a religious leader.

You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.

14 B ring his sons and put long coats on them.

And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics.

15 T hen pour oil upon them as you have done to their father, so they may serve Me as religious leaders. Pouring oil upon them will make them ready to be religious leaders, they and all their children-to-come.”

You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”

16 M oses did all that the Lord told him to do.

Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

17 O n the first day of the first month of the second year, the meeting tent was set up.

And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

18 M oses set up the meeting tent, laid the bases, set up its pieces of wood, put in its cross-pieces and set up its pillars.

So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars.

19 H e spread the covering over the meeting tent. And he put the top covering over it, just as the Lord had told Moses.

And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

20 T hen he took the Law and put it into the special box. He put the long pieces of wood on the special box of the agreement. And he put the mercy-seat on top of the special box.

He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

21 H e brought the special box into the meeting tent and hung the curtain. He put the curtain in front of the special box of the agreement, just as the Lord had told Moses.

And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

22 T hen he put the table in the meeting tent, on the north side of the tent, outside the curtain.

He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil;

23 H e set the bread in its place on the table before the Lord, just as the Lord had told Moses.

and he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

24 T hen he put the lamp-stand in the meeting tent, away from the table, on the south side of the tent.

He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle;

25 H e set up the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had told Moses.

and he lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

26 H e put the gold altar in the tent of meeting, in front of the curtain.

He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil;

27 A nd he burned sweet-smelling perfume on it, just as the Lord had told Moses.

and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

28 T hen he hung the curtain at the door of the meeting tent.

He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle.

29 H e set the altar of burnt gifts in front of the door of the meeting tent. And he gave the burnt gift and the grain gift on it, just as the Lord had told Moses.

And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

30 H e put the washing pot between the tent of meeting and the altar, with water in it for washing.

He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing;

31 M oses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet there.

and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it.

32 T hey washed when they came into the tent of meeting and when they came near the altar, just as the Lord had told Moses.

Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

33 H e made the open space all around the meeting tent and the altar. And he hung the curtain for the gate of the open space. So Moses finished the work. The Cloud over the Meeting Tent

And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. The Cloud and the Glory

34 T hen the cloud covered the meeting tent. The shining-greatness of the Lord filled the holy tent.

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

35 M oses was not able to go into the meeting tent because the cloud had rested upon it and the shining-greatness of the Lord filled the holy tent.

And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

36 W hen the cloud was lifted from the meeting tent, the people of Israel would go on their way through all their traveling days.

Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.

37 B ut when the cloud was not lifted, they did not move on until the day when it was lifted.

But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.

38 F or the cloud of the Lord rested on the meeting tent during the day. And fire was in the cloud during the night. It was seen by all the people of Israel as they traveled.

For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.