Exodus 25

Gifts offered for the dwelling

25 The Lord said to Moses: ² Tell the Israelites to collect gift offerings for me. Receive my gift offerings from everyone who freely wants to give. ³ These are the gift offerings that you should receive from them: gold, silver, and copper; ⁴ blue, purple, and deep red yarns; fine linen; goats’ hair; ⁵ rams’ skins dyed red; beaded leather; acacia wood; ⁶ oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense; ⁷ gemstones; and gems for setting in the priest’s vest and chest piece. ⁸ They should make me a sanctuary so I can be present among them. ⁹ You should follow the blueprints that I will show you for the dwelling and for all its equipment.

Instructions for building the chest containing the covenant

¹⁰ Have them make an acacia-wood chest. It should be forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ¹¹ Cover it with pure gold, inside and out, and make a gold molding all around it. ¹² Cast four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ¹³ Make acacia-wood poles and cover them with gold. ¹⁴ Then put the poles into the rings on the chest’s sides and use them to carry the chest. ¹⁵ The poles should stay in the chest’s rings. They shouldn’t be taken out of them. ¹⁶ Put the covenant document that I will give you into the chest.

¹⁷ Then make a cover of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. ¹⁸ Make two winged heavenly creatures of hammered gold, one for each end of the cover. ¹⁹ Put one winged heavenly creature at one end and one winged heavenly creature at the other. Place the winged heavenly creatures at the cover’s two ends. ²⁰ The heavenly creatures should have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. The winged heavenly creatures should face each other toward the cover’s center. ²¹ Put the gold cover on top of the chest and put the covenant document that I will give you inside the chest. ²² There I will meet with you. From there above the cover, from between the two winged heavenly creatures that are on top of the chest containing the covenant, I will deliver to you all that I command you concerning the Israelites.

Instructions for the table

²³ Make an acacia-wood table, three feet long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. ²⁴ Cover it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it. ²⁵ Make a frame around it that is four inches wide and a gold molding around the frame. ²⁶ Make four gold rings for the table. Fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. ²⁷ The rings that house the poles used for carrying the table should be close to the frame. ²⁸ Make the poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. The table should be carried with these poles. ²⁹ Make its plates, dishes, jars, and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them of pure gold. ³⁰ Set the bread of the presence on the table so it is always in front of me.

Instructions for the lampstand

³¹ Make a lampstand of pure hammered gold. The lampstand’s base, branches, cups, flowers, and petals should all be attached to it. ³² It should have six branches growing out from its sides, three branches on one side of the lampstand and three branches on the other side of the lampstand. ³³ One branch will have three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a flower and petals, and the next branch will also have three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a flower and petals. So it will be for the six branches that grow out of the lampstand. ³⁴ In addition, on the lampstand itself there will be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its flower and petals. ³⁵ There will be a flower attached under the first pair of branches, a flower attached under the next pair of branches, and a flower attached under the last pair of branches. So it will be for the six branches that grow out of the lampstand. ³⁶ Their flowers and their branches will be permanently attached to it. The whole lampstand should be one piece of pure hammered gold. ³⁷ Make its seven lamps and set up its lamps so that they direct their light in front of the lampstand. ³⁸ You should also make its tongs and fire pans out of pure gold. ³⁹ All these items should be made from pure gold weighing one kikkar. ⁴⁰ See to it that you make them according to the blueprint for them that you were shown on the mountain.