The craftsmen begin the work
1So Bezalel and Oholiab, and everyone skilled to whom Yahweh had given wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of building the sanctuary, worked just as Yahweh had commanded. 2Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and everyone skilled in whose heart Yahweh had placed wisdom, everyone whose heart moved him to come and do the work. 3They received from Moses all the offering the Israelites had brought for the work of building the sanctuary, and the people kept bringing freewill offerings morning after morning. 4So all the skilled workers doing all the work of the sanctuary left what they were doing, 5and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for the work Yahweh commanded to be done.” 6So Moses gave an order, and word was sent throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything more as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing more, 7for what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
The curtains of the tabernacle
8All the skilled workers among those doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely woven linen, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. 9Each curtain was twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide; all the curtains were the same size. 10He joined five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he joined to one another. 11He made loops of blue yarn along the edge of the end curtain of the first set, and he did the same on the edge of the end curtain of the second set. 12He made fifty loops on the one curtain and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the second set, with the loops lined up with one another. 13He made fifty gold clasps and joined the curtains to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle became one whole. 14He made curtains of goat hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. 15Each curtain was thirty cubits long and four cubits wide; the eleven curtains were all the same size. 16He joined five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. 17He made fifty loops on the edge of the end curtain of the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the second set. 18He made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together, so that it became one whole. 19He made a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red, and above that a covering of fine leather.
The frames and crossbars
20He made the frames for the tabernacle out of acacia wood, standing upright. 21Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 22Each frame had two tenons, set parallel to each other; he made all the frames of the tabernacle this way. 23He made the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side, 24and forty silver bases under the twenty frames — two bases under each frame, one under each of its two tenons. 25For the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty frames, 26with their forty silver bases — two bases under each frame. 27For the rear of the tabernacle, to the west, he made six frames, 28and he made two frames for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear. 29They were joined at the bottom and fit together at the top into a single ring; he made both of them this way, for both corners. 30There were eight frames, with their sixteen silver bases — two bases under each frame. 31He made crossbars of acacia wood — five for the frames on the one side of the tabernacle, 32five crossbars for the frames on the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the frames at the rear of the tabernacle, to the west. 33He made the middle crossbar run through the center of the frames from end to end. 34He overlaid the frames with gold, made their rings of gold to hold the crossbars, and overlaid the crossbars with gold.
The veil and the screen
35He made the veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen, worked with cherubim by a skilled craftsman. 36He made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold, with gold hooks, and cast four silver bases for them. 37He made a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen, the work of an embroiderer, 38with its five posts and their hooks. He overlaid their tops and their bands with gold, but their five bases were bronze.
