Moses Sets Up the Holy Tent

Exodus Chapter 40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “On the first day of the first month, set up the Holy Tent, that is, the Meeting Tent. Put the Box of the Agreement in the Holy Tent. Cover the Box with the curtain. Then bring in the table. Put the things on the table that should be there. Then put the lampstand in the Tent. Put the lamps on the lampstand in the right places. Put the golden altar for offering incense in the Tent in front of the Box of the Agreement. Then put the curtain at the entrance to the Holy Tent.

“Put the altar for burning offerings in front of the entrance of the Holy Tent, that is, the Meeting Tent. Put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar. Put water in the bowl. Set up the wall of curtains around the courtyard. Then put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.

“Use the anointing oil and anoint the Holy Tent and everything in it. When you put the oil on these things, you will make them holy. 10 Anoint the altar for burning offerings. Anoint everything on the altar. You will make the altar holy. It will be very holy. 11 Then anoint the bowl and the base under it to make these things holy.

12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Wash them with water. 13 Then put the special clothes on Aaron. Anoint him with the oil and make him holy. Then he can serve me as a priest. 14 Then put the clothes on his sons. 15 Anoint the sons in the same way you anointed their father. Then they can also serve me as priests. When you anoint them, they will become priests. That family will continue to be priests for all time to come.” 16 Moses obeyed the Lord. He did everything that the Lord commanded him.

17 So the Holy Tent was set up at the right time. It was the first day of the first month during the second year from the time they left Egypt. 18 Moses set up the Holy Tent just as the Lord had said. He put the bases down first. Then he put the frames on the bases. Then he put the braces on and set up the posts. 19 After that Moses put the outer tent over the Holy Tent. Then he put the covering over the outer tent. He did these things just as the Lord had commanded.

20 Moses took the Agreement and put it in the Holy Box. He put the poles on the Box and put the mercy-cover on it. 21 Then Moses put the Holy Box into the Holy Tent. He hung the curtain in the right place to protect it. In this way he protected the Box of the Agreement behind the curtain just as the Lord had commanded him. 22 Then Moses put the table in the Meeting Tent on the north side of the Holy Tent. He put it in the Holy Place, in front of the curtain. 23 Then he put the bread on the table before the Lord. He did this just as the Lord had commanded him. 24 Then Moses put the lampstand in the Meeting Tent on the south side of the Tent, across from the table. 25 Then Moses put the lamps on the lampstand before the Lord. He did this just as the Lord had commanded him.

26 Then Moses put the golden altar in the Meeting Tent, in front of the curtain. 27 Then he burned sweet-smelling incense on the altar. He did this as the Lord had commanded him. 28 Then Moses put the curtain at the entrance to the Holy Tent.

29 Moses put the altar for burning offerings at the entrance to the Holy Tent, that is, the Meeting Tent. Then Moses offered a burnt offering on that altar. He also offered grain offerings to the Lord. He did these things just as the Lord had commanded him.

30 Then Moses put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar. He put water in the bowl for washing. 31 Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons used this bowl to wash their hands and feet. 32 They washed themselves every time they entered the Meeting Tent. They also washed themselves every time they went near the altar. They did these things just as the Lord commanded Moses.

33 Then Moses set up the curtains around the courtyard of the Holy Tent. He put the altar in the courtyard. Then he put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. So he finished all the work.

The Glory of the Lord

34 Then the cloud covered the Meeting Tent and the Glory of the Lord filled the Holy Tent. 35 Moses could not go into the Meeting Tent because the cloud had settled on it, and the Glory of the Lord had filled the Holy Tent.

36 When the cloud rose from the Holy Tent, the Israelites would begin to travel. 37 But when the cloud stayed on the Holy Tent, the people did not try to move. They stayed in that place until the cloud rose. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the Holy Tent during the day, and at night there was a fire in the cloud. So all the Israelites could see the cloud while they traveled.


Voluntary Sacrifices and Offerings

Leviticus 1 [a] So the Lord called out to Moses from inside the Meeting Tent and said, “Tell the Israelites: When you bring an offering to the Lord, the offering must be one of your tame animals—it can be a sheep, a goat, or one of your cattle.

“If you offer one of your cattle as a burnt offering, it must be a bull that has nothing wrong with it. You must take the animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent where the Lord will accept the offering. You must put your hand on the animal’s head while it is being killed. So the Lord will accept it as your burnt offering to make you pure.

“You[b] must kill the young bull in front of the Lord. Then Aaron’s sons, the priests, will bring the blood to the altar that is near the entrance of the Meeting Tent. He will splash the blood on all four sides of the altar. You must remove the skin from that animal and then cut the animal into pieces. Aaron’s sons, the priests, will put the fire on the altar and arrange the wood on the fire. They will lay the pieces of the animal, including the head and fat, on top of the burning wood. You must wash the legs and inner parts of the animal with water. Then the priest will bring all these parts to the altar to be offered as a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.

10 “If you offer a sheep or a goat as a burnt offering, it must be a male that has nothing wrong with it. 11 You must kill the animal on the north side of the altar in front of the Lord. Then Aaron’s sons, the priests, will splash the animal’s blood on all four sides of the altar. 12 You must cut the animal into pieces and remove the head and the fat. The priest will then lay them on the wood that is on the fire of the altar. 13 You must wash the legs and inner parts of the animal with water. Then the priest will bring all these parts to the altar to be offered as a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.

14 “If you offer a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, that bird must be a dove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest will bring the offering to the altar. There the priest will remove the bird’s head, drain out the blood on the side of the altar, and burn the bird on the altar. 16 He will remove the bird’s tail and inner parts[c] and throw them onto the pile of ashes east of the altar. 17 Then the priest will tear the bird open by its wings, but he must not divide it completely into two parts. So he will bring the bird to the altar to be offered as a burnt offering, a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 1:1 This continues the story in Ex. 40:34-35 where the Glory of the Lord filled the Meeting Tent and Moses was unable to enter. See “glory” in the Word List.
  2. Leviticus 1:5 You Or “They (the priests).” Also in verse 11.
  3. Leviticus 1:16 tail … inner parts Or “crop and its feathers.”