Exodus 25

¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

² 'Tel the Israelites to set aside a contribution for me; you wil accept a contribution from everyonewhose heart prompts him to give it.

³ And this is what you wil accept from them: gold, silver and bronze;

⁴ materials dyed violet-purple, red-purple and crimson, fine linen, goats' hair;

⁵ rams' skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood;

⁶ oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and fragrant incense;

⁷ cornelian and other stones to be set in the ephod and breastplate.

⁸ Make me a sanctuary so that I can reside among them.

⁹ You will make it al according to the design for the Dwel ing and the design for its furnishings which Ishall now show you.

¹⁰ 'You must make me an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide andone and a half cubits high.

¹¹ You wil overlay it, inside and out, with pure gold and make a gold moulding al round it.

¹² You wil cast four gold rings for it and fix them to its four supports: two rings on one side and tworings on the other.

¹³ You wil also make shafts of acacia wood and overlay them with gold

¹⁴ and pass the shafts through the rings on the sides of the ark, by which to carry it.

¹⁵ The shafts wil stay in the rings of the ark and not be withdrawn.

¹⁶ Inside the ark you wil put the Testimony which I am about to give you.

¹⁷ 'You wil also make a mercy-seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubitswide,

¹⁸ and you wil model two great winged creatures of beaten gold, you wil make them at the two ends ofthe mercy-seat.

¹⁹ Model one of the winged creatures at one end and the other winged creature at the other end; youwil model the winged creatures of a piece with the mercy-seat at either end.

²⁰ The winged creatures must have their wings spread upwards, protecting the mercy-seat with theirwings and facing each other, their faces being towards the mercy-seat.

²¹ You wil put the mercy-seat on the top of the ark, and inside the ark you will put the Testimony which Iam about to give you.

²² There I shall come to meet you; from above the mercy-seat, from between the two winged creatureswhich are on the ark of the Testimony, I shall give you al my orders for the Israelites.

²³ 'You must also make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide and one and a halfcubits high.

²⁴ You wil overlay it with pure gold, and make a gold moulding al round it.

²⁵ You wil fit it with struts of a hand's breadth and make a gold moulding round the struts.

²⁶ You wil make four gold rings for it and fix the four rings at the four corners where the four legs are.

²⁷ The rings must lie close to the struts to hold the shafts for carrying the table.

²⁸ You must make the shafts of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. The table must be carried bythese.

²⁹ You must make dishes, cups, jars and libation bowls for it; you must make these of pure gold,

³⁰ and on the table, in my presence, you wil always put the loaves of permanent offering.

³¹ 'You wil also make a lamp-stand of pure gold; the lamp-stand must be of beaten gold, base andstem. Its cups, calyxes and petals, must be of a piece with it.

³² Six branches must spring from its sides: three of the lamp-stand's branches from one side, three ofthe lamp-stand's branches from the other.

³³ The first branch must carry three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyx and petals;the second branch, too, must carry three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyx and bud, andsimilarly for all six branches springing from the lamp-stand.

³⁴ The lamp-stand itself must carry four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyx and bud:

³⁵ one calyx under the first two branches springing from the lamp-stand, one calyx under the next pairof branches and one calyx under the last pair of branches -- thus for al six branches springing from the lamp-stand.

³⁶ The calyxes and the branches wil be of a piece with the lamp-stand, and the whole made from asingle piece of pure gold, beaten out.

³⁷ You wil also make seven lamps for it and mount the lamps in such a way that they light up the spacein front of it.

³⁸ The snuffers and trays must be of pure gold.

³⁹ You wil use a talent of pure gold for the lamp-stand and al its accessories;

⁴⁰ and see that you work to the design which was shown you on the mountain.'