The KJV Audio Bible

Read Exodus 40.

Exodus 40 closes out the book with the actual assembly of the tabernacle, after many chapters-worth of instructions and preparations. The LORD spoke to Moses and commanded that the tabernacle be set up on the first day of the first month of the second year. He gave detailed instructions for the order of assembly: The ark of the testimony was to be placed inside and screened by the veil, the table was to be brought in with its arrangement of bread, the candlestick was to be set up with its lamps lit, and the golden altar of incense was to stand before the ark, with the hanging set up at the door. The altar of burnt offering was to be placed in front of the tabernacle entrance, and the laver was to be positioned between the tent of the congregation and the altar and then filled with water. Finally, the court was to be set up around the whole structure, with its hanging at the gate.

Moses was also instructed to anoint the tabernacle and everything in it with holy anointing oil, consecrating the furnishings and vessels so that they would be holy. He was to anoint and sanctify the altar of burnt offering, making it most holy, and anoint the laver and its base as well. Aaron and his sons were to be brought to the door of the tabernacle, washed with water, clothed in the priestly garments, and anointed, consecrating them to serve as priests to the LORD.

Moses then carried out every one of these instructions precisely as the LORD had commanded him. On the first day of the first month of the second year, the tabernacle was raised up. Moses set up the boards, sockets, bars, and pillars, spread the covering over the tent, and put everything in its designated place — the testimony in the ark, the staves on the ark, the mercy seat above it, the table with its bread, the candlestick with its lamps, the golden altar of incense, the hanging of the door, the altar of burnt offering with its offerings, the laver with water for washing, and the hangings of the court. In each case, Moses did as the LORD had commanded him.

Moses then anointed and sanctified the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and he anointed and sanctified the altar and laver. Aaron and his sons were brought forward, washed, clothed in their garments, and anointed, so that Moses consecrated them for the priesthood just as the LORD had commanded.

Once the tabernacle was completed, a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle so powerfully that Moses was unable to enter it. From that point on, the cloud served as a visible guide for the Israelites throughout their journeys. When the cloud lifted from the tabernacle, the people would set out on their travels; but, when it remained, they stayed in place. Exodus ends by stating that the cloud of the LORD rested on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, visible to the whole house of Israel throughout their journeys.

Read Exodus 39.

Exodus 39 opens with the tabernacle craftsmen making the finely woven garments for ministering in the holy place, along with the holy garments for Aaron, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. The ephod was fashioned from gold thread twisted together with blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine linen, skillfully worked. Gold was hammered into thin sheets and cut into wires to be woven in with the colored threads. Two shoulder pieces were attached to join the ephod together, and a finely woven band of the same materials was used to fasten it in place.

The onyx stones for the shoulder pieces were then set in gold filigree settings and engraved like signets with the names of the sons of Israel, serving as memorial stones, again fulfilling the LORD's instructions to Moses.

Next came the breastplate, made with the same rich materials as the ephod and folded double to form a square, a span in length and width. Four rows of precious stones were mounted on it, three stones per row, each engraved with the name of one of the twelve tribes, like signets. Chains of pure gold were twisted like cords, and gold rings and settings were made to attach the breastplate securely to the ephod — two gold cords connecting it at the top to the shoulder pieces, and blue cord connecting rings at the bottom to the ephod's band, so that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, exactly as the LORD had commanded.

The robe worn under the ephod was woven entirely of blue cloth, with an opening at the top like the opening of a coat of mail, bound with a woven edge so it wouldn't tear. Around its hem the workers made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet thread with fine linen, alternating with bells of pure gold, so that gold bells and pomegranates alternated all around the hem of the robe, to be worn for the ministry — again as the LORD had commanded.

The craftsmen also made the tunics of fine linen for Aaron and his sons, the mitre and ornamental bonnets of fine linen, the linen undergarments, and the sash of fine twisted linen embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, all according to the LORD's command to Moses.

Finally, the gold plate for the holy crown was made of pure gold and engraved like a signet with the words "HOLINESS TO THE LORD." It was fastened to the mitre with a blue cord, set on the front of the mitre, just as the LORD had instructed Moses.

With all this detailed work finished, all the work of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites had done everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. They brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, bars, pillars, and bases; the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of fine leather; the vail for the screen; the ark of the covenant with its poles and the mercy seat; the table with its utensils and the shewbread; the pure gold lampstand with its lamps and utensils and oil; the golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; the bronze altar with its grate, poles, and utensils; the basin with its stand; the hangings for the courtyard with their pillars and bases, and the screen for the gate of the court with its cords and pegs; and all the furnishings for the service of the tabernacle. All the work had been done exactly as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Exodus 39 closes with Moses inspecting all the work and finding that it had indeed been done just as the LORD had commanded, and Moses blessed the people for their faithful work.

Read Exodus 38.

Exodus 38 continues the account of the tabernacle's construction, turning to the altar of burnt offering and the various furnishings of the courtyard. Bezaleel built the altar of shittim wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide (square in shape) and three cubits high, overlaying it with brass. He made horns for its four corners and covered the whole structure in brass and then fashioned all its utensils — pots, shovels, basins, fleshhooks, and firepans — out of the same metal. A brass grate was set beneath the altar's ledge, with brass rings at its four corners to hold the staves used for carrying it, and the staves themselves were made of shittim wood overlaid with brass. The altar was hollow, built with boards.

Next, Bezaleel made the laver of brass along with its base, using the brass mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Exodus 38 then describes the construction of the court surrounding the tabernacle. On the south side, the hangings measured 100 cubits, supported by 20 pillars with 20 brass sockets, with silver hooks and fillets for the pillars. The north side matched this in every measurement and material. On the west side, the hangings were 50 cubits, hung on 10 pillars with 10 sockets, and the east side was also 50 cubits. The east side was divided so that the gate of the court had hangings of 15 cubits on one side with three pillars and three sockets, and 15 cubits on the other side, likewise with three pillars and three sockets. All the hangings of the court were made of fine twined linen, while the gate's screen was made of blue, purple, and scarlet material along with fine twined linen, richly embroidered, and measured 20 cubits long and five cubits high, matching the height of the other court hangings. All the pillars of the court had silver-connected fillets, silver hooks, and brass sockets. All the pins used for the tabernacle and the court around it were made of brass.

The final portion of Exodus 38 gives a detailed accounting of the materials used in building the tabernacle, recorded at the commandment of Moses for the service of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, had done all that the LORD commanded Moses. Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, assisted him as a skilled engraver, craftsman, and embroiderer.

The gold used for the work of the sanctuary, gathered as an offering, amounted to 29 talents and 730 shekels, measured by the shekel of the sanctuary. The silver collected from those who were numbered in the congregation totaled 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, based on a rate of a half shekel per person for every man 20 years old and upward, counted from the more than 600,000 men in the census. Of this silver, 100 talents were used to cast the sockets of the sanctuary and of the veil, while the remaining amount was used to make the hooks for the pillars, overlay their tops, and fashion their fillets. The brass offering totaled 70 talents and 2,400 shekels, which was used to make the sockets for the entrance of the tabernacle, the brass altar with its grate and utensils, the sockets for the court and its gate, and all the pins for both the tabernacle and the surrounding court.

Read Exodus 37.

Exodus 37 details the craftsmanship of Bezaleel, the skilled artisan whom God had appointed to construct the sacred furnishings of the tabernacle. He began with the ark of the covenant, building it of shittim (acacia) wood measured at two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. He overlaid it inside and out with pure gold and crowned it with a golden crown around its top edge. He cast four gold rings for its four corners and fitted them with shittim wood staves overlaid in gold, so the ark could be carried without the poles ever being removed.

Bezaleel then fashioned the mercy seat to rest atop the ark. It was made of pure gold and measured the same length and width as the ark itself. From that same piece of gold, he hammered out two cherubim, one on each end of the mercy seat, shaping them so their wings stretched upward and overshadowed the seat, with their faces turned toward one another and looking down on it.

Next he built the table of shewbread from acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high, overlaying it with pure gold and adding a golden crown and border around it. He made a rim for the table and crowned that as well, then cast four gold rings and attached them near the legs to hold the carrying staves, which he also overlaid with gold. For the table's service, he crafted dishes, spoons, covers, and bowls, all of pure gold.

Bezaleel then made the candlestick (the lampstand) of pure gold, hammered out as a single piece complete with its base, shaft, and six branches extending from its sides, three on each side. Each branch was adorned with cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with knops and flowers, and the central shaft itself bore four such almond-blossom cups. He also made the candlestick's seven lamps, along with its snuffers and snuff dishes, all from a single talent of pure gold.

Finally, Bezaleel constructed the altar of incense from shittim wood, a cubit long and a cubit wide (square) and two cubits high, with horns rising from its corners as part of the same piece. He overlaid its top, sides, and horns with pure gold and added a golden crown around it, along with two gold rings beneath the crown on opposite sides to hold the carrying staves, which were also made of shittim wood overlaid with gold. Exodus 37 closes with the preparation of the holy anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense, both crafted according to the skill of the apothecary.

Read Exodus 36.

Exodus 36 opens with Bezaleel and Aholiab, along with every skilled craftsman whom the LORD had gifted with wisdom, beginning the work of constructing the sanctuary exactly as the LORD had commanded. Moses called these skilled workers together and gave them all the offerings the people of Israel had brought for the work of the sanctuary.

The people continued bringing freewill offerings morning after morning, so generously that the craftsmen eventually came to Moses and reported that the people were bringing far more than was needed to complete the work. Moses then issued a command throughout the camp that no one should bring any more offerings, and the people were restrained from giving further, for what they had already contributed was more than sufficient for all the work required.

Exodus 36 then turns to the actual construction of the tabernacle. The skilled workers made ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread woven with an artistic design of cherubim and joined them together in two sets of five, connected by loops of blue and taches of gold to form one complete covering. They made a second covering of eleven curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle, joined in a similar way with loops and taches of brass. Above that, they added a covering of rams' skins dyed red and a further covering of badgers' skins.

The boards for the tabernacle were made of shittim wood (standing upright), each fitted with two tenons and set in silver sockets — two sockets under each board. They made twenty boards for the south side and twenty for the north side, each with their corresponding silver sockets. They made six boards for the west side, with two additional boards for the corners, doubled from beneath and coupled together at the top with a ring. Bars of shittim wood were made to hold the boards together, five bars for each side and for the back, with the middle bar passing through the center of the boards. All the boards and bars were overlaid with gold, and gold rings held the bars in place.

Finally, the chapter describes the making of the veil. It was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine twined linen with cherubim worked into it. They hung it on four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold and set in sockets of silver. A similar hanging was made for the door of the tabernacle, embroidered with needlework, and hung on five pillars overlaid with gold with gold hooks, their sockets cast of brass. In this way, Exodus 36 closes with the tabernacle's framework and coverings essentially complete, ready for the furnishings described in the following chapter.

Read Exodus 35.

Exodus 35 opens with Moses gathering the whole congregation of Israel together and reminding them of the Sabbath command, declaring that no work was to be done on the seventh day, not even the kindling of a fire, on penalty of death for anyone who broke it.

Moses then relayed the LORD's instructions for a freewill offering to furnish materials for the tabernacle. He asked that anyone whose heart was willing bring gold, silver, and brass; blue, purple, and scarlet thread with fine linen and goats' hair; rams' skins dyed red and badgers' skins; shittim wood; oil for the light; spices for anointing oil and sweet incense; and onyx stones with other gems for the ephod and breastplate.

The people responded generously. Everyone whose spirit was willing came forward, and both men and women brought bracelets, earrings, rings, and jewels of gold, along with dedicated offerings of the materials Moses had listed. Those who had blue, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goats' hair, skins, and wood brought them, and the women who were skilled spun yarn from the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine linen, and from goats' hair. The rulers of the people brought onyx stones, gems for the ephod and breastplate, spices, and oil for the light, anointing oil, and incense. Every man and woman whose heart moved them brought a willing offering to the LORD for the work of the tabernacle.

Next, Moses told the people that the LORD had specifically called Bezaleel (of the tribe of Judah) and filled him with the spirit of God, giving him wisdom, understanding, and skill in every kind of craftsmanship — working in gold, silver, and brass, cutting stones, carving wood, and every artistic craft. God had also appointed Aholiab (of the tribe of Dan) to work with him, and had given both men (along with all who were naturally wise-hearted) the ability to do all the work required for building the sanctuary, exactly as the LORD had commanded.

Exodus 35 closes by describing how these skilled workers and craftsmen came forward to begin the work.

Read Exodus 34.

Exodus 34 opens with the LORD instructing Moses to cut two new tablets of stone to replace the ones he had shattered and to come up Mount Sinai the next morning to meet with God. No one else was permitted to ascend the mountain with him, and even the flocks and herds were forbidden to graze near its base. Moses obeyed, rising early and carrying the two stone tablets up the mountain as commanded.

There the LORD descended in a cloud and stood with Moses, proclaiming His own name and character: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin — while still holding the guilty accountable, with the consequences of sin extending to future generations. Moses immediately bowed to the ground in worship. He pleaded with God to go along in the midst of the people despite their stubbornness, to pardon their sin, and to claim Israel as His own inheritance.

In response, the LORD renewed His covenant with Israel, promising to perform wonders unlike anything done anywhere on earth and to drive out the nations occupying the land — the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. He warned Moses and the people about making treaties with the inhabitants of the land or tolerating their religious practices, since this would lead Israel into idolatry and intermarriage with those who worshiped other gods. They were expressly forbidden to make molten images.

God then laid out a series of religious observances Israel was to keep: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the dedication of the firstborn, rest on the Sabbath, the Feast of Weeks marking the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. All the men of Israel were required to appear before the LORD three times a year. God gave additional instructions regarding sacrifices — that none were to be offered alongside leaven, that the Passover offering was not to remain until morning, and that the best of the firstfruits belonged in the house of the LORD. Exodus 34 also repeats the prohibition against boiling a young goat in its mother's milk.

The LORD directed Moses to write down these words because they marked the terms of His covenant with Israel. Moses remained on the mountain with the LORD for forty days and forty nights, neither eating nor drinking, and he wrote the words of the covenant (the Ten Commandments) on the tablets.

When Moses came down from Sinai carrying the two tablets, his face was shining from having spoken with God, though he didn't realize it. Aaron and the other Israelites were afraid to approach him because of this glow, but Moses called them near and relayed all that the LORD had commanded him. Afterward, he covered his face with a veil. From then on, whenever Moses went in to speak with the LORD, he removed the veil, and, when he came out, he would deliver God's instructions to the people with his face still shining; he would then veil his face again until his next audience with God.

Read Exodus 33.

After the incident of the golden calf (Exodus 32), the LORD told Moses to leave Sinai and lead the people to the promised land. But He declared that He Himself would not go with them; if He did, He would consume them along the way because of their stubbornness. Upon hearing this, the people mourned and stripped off their ornaments (as God had instructed).

Moses then took the tabernacle and pitched it outside the camp, calling it the "Tabernacle of the congregation," where anyone seeking the LORD could go. Moses entered the tabernacle, a pillar of cloud descended and stood at the entrance, and the LORD spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. The people, watching this, worshiped at the doors of their own tents. Afterward, Moses returned to the camp, while his young assistant Joshua stayed at the tabernacle.

Moses then interceded boldly on behalf of the people, pressing the LORD to reconsider His decision not to accompany them. He reminded the LORD that he had found grace in His sight, and he asked to know God's ways so that he might continue to find favor. He argued that it was the presence of the LORD going with them that distinguished Israel from every other nation on earth. The LORD relented and assured Moses that His presence would go with him and that He would give him rest because Moses had found grace in His sight and was known to Him by name.

Moses then made a bold personal request, asking the LORD to show him His glory. The LORD responded that He would make all of His goodness pass before Moses and would proclaim His name before him, showing grace and mercy to whom He chose. However, the LORD said that Moses could not see His face and live because no one could see His face and survive. Instead, the LORD instructed Moses to stand on a rock, where God would cover him with His hand as His glory passed by. God would then remove His hand, allowing Moses to see His back, but His face would remain unseen.

Read Exodus 32.

While Moses remained on mount Sinai receiving the law from the LORD, the Israelites grew impatient waiting for him to return. They gathered before Aaron and demanded that he make them gods to lead them, since they didn't know what had become of Moses. Aaron told the people to bring him the golden earrings worn by their wives, sons, and daughters, and he took the gold and fashioned it into a molten calf. The people then declared that this calf was the god who had brought them out of Egypt, and Aaron built an altar before it and proclaimed a feast to the LORD. The next day, the people rose early, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, ate and drank, and engaged in disrespectful merrymaking.

The LORD told Moses what was happening in the camp below and expressed His anger at the people's swift corruption, calling them a stiffnecked people. He told Moses to let Him alone so that His wrath might consume them, while offering to make of Moses a great nation. Moses interceded on behalf of the people, pleading with God to remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and reminding Him that the Egyptians would mock Him if He destroyed the people He had just delivered. The LORD relented from what He had talked about doing to His people.

Moses then went down the mountain carrying the two tables of the testimony, written by the finger of God on both sides. As he and Joshua approached the camp, they heard noise. Joshua thought it sounded like war, but Moses recognized it as the sound of singing. When Moses got close and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger exploded, and he threw the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, scattered it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.

Moses confronted Aaron, asking what the people had done to him that he should bring so great a sin upon them. Aaron explained that the people were set on evil and had asked him to make them gods, and he claimed that he had merely cast the gold into the fire and the calf had come out. Moses saw that the people were unrestrained, to their shame among their enemies, and he stood at the gate of the camp calling for those who were on the LORD's side to come to him. All the sons of Levi gathered to him, and Moses instructed them (at the LORD's command) to go through the camp and slay their brothers, companions, and neighbors. About three thousand men fell that day, and Moses told the Levites they had consecrated themselves to the LORD through this act.

The next day, Moses told the people they had sinned a great sin, but he said he would go up to the LORD to seek atonement for them. He returned to the LORD and confessed the people's sin, even offering that God might blot him personally out of His book rather than leave the people unforgiven. The LORD replied that He would blot out of His book only those who had sinned against Him, and He told Moses to lead the people to the place He had spoken of, promising that His Angel would go before them. Yet God also declared that in the day of His visitation He would punish their sin. Exodus 32 closes with the LORD plaguing the people because of the calf that Aaron had made.

Read Exodus 31.

Exodus 31 opens with the LORD speaking to Moses and naming the craftsmen he had chosen to build the tabernacle and its furnishings. He called Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah, and filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all manner of workmanship — to design works in gold, silver, and brass, to cut and set stones, to carve timber, and to work in every kind of craftsmanship. Alongside him, the LORD appointed Aholiab of the tribe of Dan, to assist him. God also declared that He had put wisdom into the hearts of all who were "wise hearted," so that they could make everything He had commanded.

The items they were tasked with constructing included the tabernacle itself, the ark of the testimony, the mercy seat, all the furniture of the tent, the table and its vessels, the pure candlestick and its furniture, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with its vessels, the laver and its base, the finely wrought priestly garments (for both Aaron and his sons), the anointing oil, and the sweet incense for the holy place. They were to do all of this exactly according to what the LORD had commanded.

The LORD then turned to the matter of the Sabbath, instructing Moses to tell the children of Israel to keep it as a sign between Him and them throughout their generations so that they would know that He was the LORD who sanctified them. He commanded that the Sabbath be kept holy, warning that anyone who defiled it or did work on it would be put to death and cut off from among the people. The Israelites were to work six days but rest on the seventh as a day of holiness to the LORD. This Sabbath observance was established as a perpetual covenant and an everlasting sign between God and the children of Israel, grounded in creation: In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.

Exodus 31 closes with the LORD finishing his words with Moses on Mount Sinai and giving him the two tables of testimony — stone tablets written by the finger of God.