The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
1 God spoke to Moses:
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The Lord said to Moses,
2 "Tell the Israelites that they are to set aside offerings for me. Receive the offerings from everyone who is willing to give.
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“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.
3 These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze;
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And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze,
4 blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats' hair;
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blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair,
5 tanned rams' skins; dolphin skins; acacia wood;
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tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood,
6 lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense;
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oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,
7 onyx stones and other stones for setting in the Ephod and the Breastpiece.
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onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
8 Let them construct a Sanctuary for me so that I can live among them.
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And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
9 You are to construct it following the plans I've given you, the design for The Dwelling and the design for all its furnishings. The Chest
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Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.
10 "First let them make a Chest using acacia wood: make it three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide and deep
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“They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
11 . Cover it with a veneer of pure gold inside and out and make a molding of gold all around it.
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You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it.
12 Cast four gold rings and attach them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other.
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You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
13 Make poles from acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold
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You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
14 and insert them into the rings on the sides of the Chest for carrying the Chest.
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And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.
15 The poles are to stay in the rings; they must not be removed.
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The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
16 "Place The Testimony that I give you in the Chest.
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And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.
17 "Now make a lid of pure gold for the Chest, an Atonement-Cover, three and three-quarters feet long and two and one-quarter feet wide.
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“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
18 "Sculpt two winged angels out of hammered gold for either end of the Atonement-Cover,
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And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 one angel at one end, one angel at the other. Make them of one piece with the Atonement-Cover.
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Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.
20 Make the angels with their wings spread, hovering over the Atonement-Cover, facing one another but looking down on it.
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The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21 Set the Atonement-Cover as a lid over the Chest and place in the Chest The Testimony that I will give you.
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And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
22 I will meet you there at set times and speak with you from above the Atonement-Cover and from between the angel-figures that are on it, speaking the commands that I have for the Israelites. The Table
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There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.
23 "Next make a Table from acacia wood. Make it three feet long, one and one-half feet wide and two and one-quarter feet high.
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“You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
24 Cover it with a veneer of pure gold. Make a molding all around it of gold.
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You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it.
25 Make the border a handbreadth wide all around it and a rim of gold for the border.
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And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim.
26 Make four rings of gold and attach the rings to the four legs
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And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs.
27 parallel to the table top. They will serve as holders for the poles used to carry the Table.
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Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table.
28 Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold. They will be used to carry the Table.
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You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these.
29 "Make plates, bowls, jars, and jugs for pouring out offerings. Make them of pure gold.
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And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.
30 "Always keep fresh Bread of the Presence on the Table before me. The Lampstand
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And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.
31 "Make a Lampstand of pure hammered gold. Make its stem and branches, cups, calyxes, and petals all of one piece.
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“You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.
32 Give it six branches, three from one side and three from the other;
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And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it;
33 put three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, three on the next, and so on - the same for all six branches.
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three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
34 On the main stem of the Lampstand, make four cups shaped like almonds, with calyx and petals,
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And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers,
35 a calyx extending from under each pair of the six branches,
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and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand.
36 the entire Lampstand fashioned from one piece of hammered pure gold.
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Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold.
37 "Make seven of these lamps for the Table. Arrange the lamps so they throw their light out in front.
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You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it.
38 Make the candle snuffers and trays out of pure gold.
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Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold.
39 "Use a seventy-five-pound brick of pure gold to make the Lampstand and its accessories.
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It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent of pure gold.
40 Study the design you were given on the mountain and make everything accordingly.
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And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025