Exodus 26

The tabernacle

1Make the tabernacle with 10 curtains of very good material, white, blue, purple and red. Tell a wise worker that he must make pictures of angels in the curtains. 2All the curtains must be the same size, 12½ metres long and 1¾ metres wide. 3Join five of the curtains together. Do the same with the other five curtains. 4On the edge of the last curtain in the set, fix rings of blue material. Do the same thing on the last curtain of the other set. 5Make 50 rings on one curtain and 50 rings on the last curtain of the other set. Make the rings on one curtain opposite to the rings on the other curtain. 6Then make 50 small pieces of gold to fasten the curtains together. Then the tabernacle will be one piece of work.

7Make 11 curtains from goat’s hair to cover the tabernacle. 8All the curtains must be the same size. They must be 13½ metres long and 1¾ metres wide. 9Fix five of the curtains together to make one set. Fix the other six curtains together to make a second set. Hang the sixth curtain over the end curtain of the first set. This will be at the front of the tent. 10Make 50 rings of material along the edge of the last curtain in the first set. Then make 50 rings along the edge of the last curtain in the second set. 11Then make 50 small pieces of bronze. Use them to fasten the tent together. Then the tent will be one piece of work. 12The curtains for the tent will be longer than the curtains for the tabernacle. The extra half of the curtain will hang at the back of the tabernacle. 13The curtains of the tent will be half a metre longer on both sides. The extra material will cover the sides of the tabernacle. 14Use red sheep skins to cover the tent. Then use badger skins to cover the sheep skins.

15Make boards out of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 16Each board must be 4½ metres long and ¾ of a metre wide. 17Make two extra pieces on each board, next to each other. Make all the boards of the tabernacle like this. 18Make 20 boards for the south side of the tabernacle. 19Then make 40 pieces of silver, with a hole in each piece. The boards will stand in the holes. There must be two holes for each board. The extra pieces on each board will fit into the holes. 20Make 20 boards for the north side of the tabernacle 21and 40 pieces of silver, two under each board. 22Make six boards for the west end of the tabernacle. 23Then make two boards for the corners at the back of the tabernacle. 24You must fix them together at the lower edge and at the top. Use a ring to fix them together. Make both the corners the same. 25So there will be 8 boards and 16 pieces of silver, two under each board.

26You must also cut pieces of acacia wood to fix across the boards of the tabernacle. Cut five pieces for the boards on one side 27and five pieces for the boards on the other side. Cut five pieces for the boards on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 28The piece of wood in the centre must reach from one end to the other. Fix it at the middle of the boards. 29Cover the boards with gold and make gold rings. These rings will hold the pieces of wood that you fix across the boards. Then cover the pieces of wood also with gold.

30Make the tabernacle the same as the plan that I showed to you, on the mountain.

31Make a curtain out of blue, purple, red and soft white material. A wise man must put into it a picture of angels. 32Hang it up with gold rings from four sticks of acacia wood. Cover these sticks with gold. Then fix them on four pieces of silver that have holes in the centre. 33Hang up the curtain and put the Ark of the Covenant behind the curtain. So the Holy Place will be separate from the Most Holy Place. The curtain will hang between them. 34Put the special lid on the Ark of the Covenant, in the most Holy Place. 35Put the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle. Put the lampstand on the opposite side of the tabernacle, on the south side.

36Make a curtain for the door of the tent. Make it out of blue, purple and red material and out of special white material. Someone who can do wise work with material must make the curtain. 37Make gold rings for this curtain and make five sticks out of acacia wood. Cover the sticks with gold and make five pieces of bronze to hold them.