Building Israel’s holiest object
1Bezalel made the Box of the Ten Commandments [1] from acacia wood. He shaped it into a rectangle nearly four feet long and more than two feet wide and high. [2]2He covered it with gold plates, inside and out, and decorated it with gold molding all the way around. 3He made gold rings for all four bottom corners of the box, one ring on each corner. 4Then he made two poles from acacia wood, which he covered with gold. 5He put the poles into the rings on each side of the box. Priests would use these poles to carry the box when they broke camp and traveled.
6He made a gold lid for the box. This is where Israel would find forgiveness, atonement for their sins. [3] 7Bezalel hammered gold into the shapes of two images of celestial beings called cherubim. He put them at both ends of the lid. 8He had them face each other. And he attached them to the lid so they became part of it. 9They stood their wings spreading up and over the lid of the box, covering it beneath their wings. They faced one another, each looking toward the center of the lid.
Building the Table of God’s Presence
10He made a table [4] out of acacia wood. The table stood 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high (92 cm x 46 cm x 69 cm). 11He covered the entire table with gold and added a decorative edge around the tabletop.12He made the gold rim around the table three inches (8 cm) wide. 13He created four gold rings and attached them to the four corners of the table, where the legs met the tabletop. 14He put the rings, made to hold two poles for carrying the table, near the decorative edging.
15Then Bezalel made the poles. He made them out of acacia wood, and covered them in gold. 16He made all the utensils for the table out of gold: plates, bowls, jars, along with the pitchers for pouring liquid offerings.
Creating the lampstand
17Next, Bezalel made the lampstand of pure, hammered gold. He gave it a base, a center stem, cups to hold lamps, and decorations of flower buds and petals. 18He designed the lampstand with six branches extending out from the center stem, three branches on each side, left and right.19Each one of the six branches on this lampstand had three cups that would hold oil lamps. He shaped these cups to look like almond blossoms, with buds and petals. 20He put four lamp cups on the center stem of the lamp. He made them look like almond blossoms, too, with buds and petals. 21He put an almond blossom under each pair of the six branches coming out of the stem. 22And he made the buds and branches from one piece of hammered gold.
23He made seven gold lamps for this lampstand. 24He made the entire lampstand and everything needed to operate it from about 75 pounds (35 kg) of pure gold.
Building the altar of incense
25Bezalel used acacia wood to build an altar for burning incense. He gave it a square top, 18 inches (46 cm) long and wide. The altar stood 36 inches (92 cm) high. He added horns [5] at the four corners of the top, built into the altar.26He covered the entire altar with pure gold, from top to bottom, including the horns. He added gold decorative molding around the altar. 27He made two golden rings for the altar. He put them under the molding on opposite sides of the altar. These were for carrying this altar. Poles slipped through the rings so people could lift the poles and carry the altar. 28He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold.
29Bazalel then made holy oil by mixing olive oil with pure, aromatic spices—using his skills as a perfumer.
