Exodus 40

The Tabernacle Erected

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,²“On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.³And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.⁴And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.⁵And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle.⁶You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting,⁷and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.⁸And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

⁹“Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy.¹⁰You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy.¹¹You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it.¹²Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water¹³and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest.¹⁴You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them,¹⁵and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

¹⁶This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did.¹⁷In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected.¹⁸Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars.¹⁹And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.²⁰He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark.²¹And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses.²²He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil,²³and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.²⁴He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle,²⁵and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.²⁶He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil,²⁷and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.²⁸He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle.²⁹And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.³⁰He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing,³¹with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet.³²When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses.³³And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

³⁴Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.³⁵And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.³⁶Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.³⁷But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up.³⁸For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.