Exodus 25:17
ESV
"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.
NIV
"Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
NASB
And you shall make an atoning cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.
CSB
Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide.
NLT
Then make the Ark’s cover — the place of atonement — from pure gold. It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.
KJV
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
NKJV
“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width.
What does Exodus 25:17 mean?
One of the ark's most remarkable features is its lid. Most elements of the ark are common. The main body of the ark is a large rectangular chest (Exodus 25:10–11) made of wood covered in gold. Attached to this are four rings to support poles for transport (Exodus 25:12–15). This ornate box would carry stone tablets recording the Mosaic covenant (Exodus 19:5–6; 24:12; 2 Chronicles 5:10). Eventually, it would also store a jar of manna (Exodus 16:33–34) and Aaron's staff (Numbers 17:10).The ark's lid is identified by the Hebrew word kappō'ret. This term is effectively only found in the Old Testament and later works discussing the object. Kappō'ret is only used eighteen times in Exodus, seven times in Leviticus (Leviticus 16:2–15) and twice elsewhere (Numbers 7:89; 1 Chronicles 28:11). This is translated variously as "propitiatory," "place of atonement," and "atonement cover." The best-known translation is "mercy seat." It is here where priests would apply blood for Israel's atonement (Leviticus 16:14–16). Symbolically, God would look "down" on the Law (Exodus 25:21) which man broke, but instead He would see the sacrificial blood.
To match the size of the ark, this cover is about 113 by 69 centimeters, or 45 by 27 inches. It holds two ornate sculptures (Exodus 25:18–20) and forms a sort of "throne" for the presence of God (Exodus 25:22). Unlike the sides and bottom of the ark, the mercy seat is not overlaid wood; the cover and cherubim sculptures are a single piece of metal.
