Exodus chapter 36
English Standard Version
2And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5and said to Moses, "The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do." 6So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, "Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary." So the people were restrained from bringing, 7for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.
8And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked. 9The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size.
10He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set. Likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set. 12He made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another. 13And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole.
14He also made curtains of goats ' hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains. 15The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains were the same size. 16He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17And he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain. 18And he made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together that it might be a single whole. 19And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams ' skins and goatskins.
20Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 21Ten cubits was the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 22Each frame had two tenons for fitting together. He did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. 23The frames for the tabernacle he made thus: twenty frames for the south side. 24And he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons. 25For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames 26and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame and two bases under the next frame. 27For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames. 28He made two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. 29And they were separate beneath but joined at the top, at the first ring. He made two of them this way for the two corners. 30There were eight frames with their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under every frame two bases.
31He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 32and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 33And he made the middle bar to run from end to end halfway up the frames. 34And he overlaid the frames with gold, and made their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
35He made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; with cherubim skillfully worked into it he made it. 36And for it he made four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver. 37He also made a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework, 38and its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals, and their fillets were of gold, but their five bases were of bronze.
New International Version
2Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing 5and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done."
6Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
8All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands. 9All the curtains were the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. 10They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five. 11Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set. 12They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 13Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.
14They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 15All eleven curtains were the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. 16They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set. 17Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 18They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit. 19Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.
20They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, 22with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 23They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 24and made forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 25For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames 26and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 27They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 28and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end. 29At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike. 30So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.
31They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 32five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 33They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames. 34They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.
35They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 36They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases. 37For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer; 38and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.
New American Standard Bible
2Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skillful person in whom the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it. 3They received from Moses every contribution which the sons of Israel had brought to perform the work in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him voluntary offerings every morning. 4And all the skillful people who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work which they were performing, 5and they said to Moses, 'The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to perform.' 6So Moses issued a command, and circulated a proclamation throughout the camp, saying, 'No man or woman is to perform work any longer for the contributions of the sanctuary.' So the people were restrained from bringing any more. 7For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.
8All the skillful people among those who were performing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twisted linen and violet, purple, and scarlet material, with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer, Bezalel made them. 9The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains had the same measurements. 10He joined five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he joined to one another. 11And he made loops of violet on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set; he did likewise on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set. 12He made fifty loops in the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set; the loops were opposite each other. 13He also made fifty clasps of gold, and joined the curtains to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle was a unit.
14Then he made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains in all. 15The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the width of each curtain; the eleven curtains had the same measurements. 16He joined five curtains by themselves, and the other six curtains by themselves. 17Moreover, he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the first set, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set. 18He also made fifty clasps of bronze to join the tent together so that it would be a unit. 19And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of fine leather above.
20Then he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright. 21Ten cubits was the length of each board, and one and a half cubits the width of each board. 22There were two tenons for each board, fitted to one another; he did this to all the boards of the tabernacle. 23So he made the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side; 24and he made forty bases of silver under the twenty boards; two bases under one board for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons. 25Then for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards, 26and their forty bases of silver; two bases under one board, and two bases under another board. 27And for the back of the tabernacle, to the west, he made six boards. 28He made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the back. 29They were double beneath, and together they were complete to its top, to the first ring; he did this with both of them for the two corners. 30There were eight boards with their bases of silver, sixteen bases, two bases under every board.
31Then he made bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle, 32and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the back side to the west. 33And he made the middle bar to pass through in the center of the boards from end to end. 34Then he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
35Moreover, he made the veil of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; he made it with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer. 36And he made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four bases of silver for them. 37He also made a curtain for the doorway of the tent, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver; 38and he made its five pillars with their hooks, and he overlaid their tops and their bands with gold; but their five bases were of bronze.
Christian Standard Bible
2So Moses summoned Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person in whose heart the Lord had placed wisdom, all whose hearts moved them, to come to the work and do it. 3They took from Moses’s presence all the contributions that the Israelites had brought for the task of making the sanctuary. Meanwhile, the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning.
4Then all the artisans who were doing all the work for the sanctuary came one by one from the work they were doing 5and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than is needed for the construction of the work the Lord commanded to be done."
6After Moses gave an order, they sent a proclamation throughout the camp: "Let no man or woman make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." So the people stopped. 7The materials were sufficient for them to do all the work. There was more than enough.
8All the skilled artisans among those doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains. Bezalel made them of finely spun linen, as well as blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with a design of cherubim worked into them. 9Each curtain was forty-two feet long and six feet wide; all the curtains had the same measurements. 10He joined five of the curtains to each other, and the other five curtains he joined to each other. 11He made loops of blue yarn on the edge of the last curtain in the first set and did the same on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 12He made fifty loops on the one curtain and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain in the second set, so that the loops lined up with each other. 13He also made fifty gold clasps and joined the curtains to each other, so that the tabernacle became a single unit.
14He made curtains of goat hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven of them. 15Each curtain was forty-five feet long and six feet wide. All eleven curtains had the same measurements. 16He joined five of the curtains together, and the other six together. 17He made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set and fifty loops on the edge of the corresponding curtain in the second set. 18He made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together as a single unit. 19He also made a covering for the tent from ram skins dyed red and a covering of fine leather on top of it.
20He made upright supports of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21Each support was fifteen feet long and twenty-seven inches wide. 22Each support had two tenons for joining one to another. He did the same for all the supports of the tabernacle. 23He made supports for the tabernacle as follows: twenty for the south side, 24and he made forty silver bases to put under the twenty supports, two bases under the first support for its two tenons, and two bases under each of the following supports for their two tenons; 25for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty supports, 26with their forty silver bases, two bases under the first support and two bases under each of the following ones; 27and for the back of the tabernacle, on the west side, he made six supports. 28He also made two additional supports for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 29They were paired at the bottom and joined together at the top in a single ring. This is what he did with both of them for the two corners. 30So there were eight supports with their sixteen silver bases, two bases under each one.
31He made five crossbars of acacia wood for the supports on one side of the tabernacle, 32five crossbars for the supports on the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for those at the back of the tabernacle on the west. 33He made the central crossbar run through the middle of the supports from one end to the other. 34He overlaid them with gold and made their rings out of gold as holders for the crossbars. He also overlaid the crossbars with gold.
New Living Translation
2So Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and all the others who were specially gifted by the Lord and were eager to get to work. 3Moses gave them the materials donated by the people of Israel as sacred offerings for the completion of the sanctuary. But the people continued to bring additional gifts each morning. 4Finally the craftsmen who were working on the sanctuary left their work. 5They went to Moses and reported, 'The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded us to do!'
6So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: 'Men and women, don’t prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!' So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. 7Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project.
8The skilled craftsmen made ten curtains of finely woven linen for the Tabernacle. Then Bezalel decorated the curtains with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. 9All ten curtains were exactly the same size — 42 feet long and 6 feet wide. 10Five of these curtains were joined together to make one long curtain, and the other five were joined to make a second long curtain. 11He made fifty loops of blue yarn and put them along the edge of the last curtain in each set. 12The fifty loops along the edge of one curtain matched the fifty loops along the edge of the other curtain. 13Then he made fifty gold clasps and fastened the long curtains together with the clasps. In this way, the Tabernacle was made of one continuous piece.
14He made eleven curtains of goat-hair cloth to serve as a tent covering for the Tabernacle. 15These eleven curtains were all exactly the same size — 45 feet long and 6 feet wide. 16Bezalel joined five of these curtains together to make one long curtain, and the other six were joined to make a second long curtain. 17He made fifty loops for the edge of each large curtain. 18He also made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the long curtains together. In this way, the tent covering was made of one continuous piece. 19He completed the tent covering with a layer of tanned ram skins and a layer of fine goatskin leather.
20For the framework of the Tabernacle, Bezalel constructed frames of acacia wood. 21Each frame was 15 feet high and 27 inches wide, 22with two pegs under each frame. All the frames were identical. 23He made twenty of these frames to support the curtains on the south side of the Tabernacle. 24He also made forty silver bases — two bases under each frame, with the pegs fitting securely into the bases. 25For the north side of the Tabernacle, he made another twenty frames, 26with their forty silver bases, two bases under each frame. 27He made six frames for the rear — the west side of the Tabernacle — 28along with two additional frames to reinforce the rear corners of the Tabernacle. 29These corner frames were matched at the bottom and firmly attached at the top with a single ring, forming a single corner unit. Both of these corner units were made the same way. 30So there were eight frames at the rear of the Tabernacle, set in sixteen silver bases — two bases under each frame.
31Then he made crossbars of acacia wood to link the frames, five crossbars for the north side of the Tabernacle 32and five for the south side. He also made five crossbars for the rear of the Tabernacle, which faced west. 33He made the middle crossbar to attach halfway up the frames; it ran all the way from one end of the Tabernacle to the other. 34He overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. Then he overlaid the crossbars with gold as well.
35For the inside of the Tabernacle, Bezalel made a special curtain of finely woven linen. He decorated it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. 36For the curtain, he made four posts of acacia wood and four gold hooks. He overlaid the posts with gold and set them in four silver bases.
37Then he made another curtain for the entrance to the sacred tent. He made it of finely woven linen and embroidered it with exquisite designs using blue, purple, and scarlet thread. 38This curtain was hung on gold hooks attached to five posts. The posts with their decorated tops and hooks were overlaid with gold, and the five bases were cast from bronze.
King James Version
1Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded. 2And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: 3And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. 4And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; 5And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make.
6And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. 7For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. 8And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them. 9The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size. 10And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another. 11And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. 12Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another. 13And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.
14And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. 15The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size. 16And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. 18And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one. 19And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.
20And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up. 21The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half. 22One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 23And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: 24And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. 25And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards, 26And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 27And for the sides of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. 28And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 29And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners. 30And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets. 31And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 32And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward. 33And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from the one end to the other. 34And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
35And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work. 36And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver. 37And he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework; 38And the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass.
New King James Version
2Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. 3And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. 4Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, 5and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.”
6So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing, 7for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much.
8Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim they made them. 9The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the curtains were all the same size. 10And he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11He made loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set; likewise he did on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. 12Fifty loops he made on one curtain, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain on the end of the second set; the loops held one curtain to another. 13And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps, that it might be one tabernacle.
14He made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. 15The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains were the same size. 16He coupled five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. 17And he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain of the second set. 18He also made fifty bronze clasps to couple the tent together, that it might be one. 19Then he made a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red, and a covering of badger skins above that.
20For the tabernacle he made boards of acacia wood, standing upright. 21The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width of each board a cubit and a half. 22Each board had two tenons for binding one to another. Thus he made for all the boards of the tabernacle. 23And he made boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. 24Forty sockets of silver he made to go under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. 25And for the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty boards 26and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. 27For the west side of the tabernacle he made six boards. 28He also made two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 29And they were coupled at the bottom and coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus he made both of them for the two corners. 30So there were eight boards and their sockets—sixteen sockets of silver—two sockets under each of the boards.
31And he made bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, 32five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle on the far side westward. 33And he made the middle bar to pass through the boards from one end to the other. 34He overlaid the boards with gold, made their rings of gold to be holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
What does Exodus chapter 36 mean?
Moses has begun relaying God's instructions about building the tabernacle (Exodus 25—31). The Israelites were asked to donate materials for the project. Bezalel and Oholiab begin training and supervising Israelites to help in this work (Exodus 35:30—36:1).Israel does more than respond to the call for donations; they give overwhelmingly. Not long ago, Moses was away long enough (Exodus 24:18) for the people to lose confidence. So, they pressured Aaron to make them an idol (Exodus 32:1–6). They demanded a tangible connection to their God. Some of their passion for the tabernacle project is probably that same motive. This time, however, they have a plan written and approved by God Himself. Israelites donate so much raw material that Moses tells them to stop giving (Exodus 36:2–7).
The remainder of the chapter duplicates the instructions given in Exodus 26. This time, the details are framed as what Israel did, rather than what they were commanded. After Israel's tragic mistake with the idol (Exodus 32:19–20), there is heavy emphasis on following the Lord's commands exactly as they were given (Exodus 36:8–38).
