Knox Bible

1

And now he called the whole assembly of the Israelites into his presence, and told them, Here are the Lord’s commands.

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You have six days before you now to work in; when the seventh comes, you must keep it holy, since it is the sabbath, the Lord’s day of rest; no one must do any work that day, on pain of death,

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you must not even light a fire in any of your dwelling-places on the sabbath day.

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Then Moses went on to tell all the Israelites what prescriptions the Lord had given him,✻

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how they were to set apart contributions, to be offered to the Lord freely and with a ready heart; contributions of gold and silver and bronze,

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threads of blue and purple and scarlet twice-dyed, and lawn, and goats’ hair,

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and rams’ fleeces dyed red, and skins dyed violet; acacia wood,

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and oil to feed lamps, spices for the anointing-oil, and sweet-smelling incense;

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onyx-stones, too, and jewels, to be set in the priestly mantle and its burse.

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If any of you is a skilled a craftsman, he said, let him come forward to carry out the Lord’s bidding.

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There is a tabernacle to be made, with its covering and its canopy, rings and boards and poles and pegs and sockets;

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an ark with poles to carry it, a throne over it, and a veil to hang in front of it;

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a table with its poles and its appurtenances, bread, too, to be set forth there;

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a lamp-stand on which the lights are to rest, with its lamps and its other appurtenances, and oil to keep the light burning;

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an altar for offering incense, with its poles; oil for anointing, and incense made from spices; a screen for the tabernacle entrance;

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an altar for burnt-sacrifice, with its grating of bronze, its poles and other appurtenances; a basin with its stand;

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curtains for the court, with the posts they hang from and their sockets, a hanging for the door of the court,

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pegs and ropes to make fast both the tabernacle and its enclosure;

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the vestments that are worn in the service of the sanctuary, and those sacred vestments in which Aaron and his sons will perform their priestly office before the Lord.

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No sooner had the sons of Israel left Moses’ presence, than all alike began making their contributions to the Lord,

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with readiness and devotion of heart, to help build the tabernacle that should bear record of him. Whatever was needed for the performance of worship, or for sacred vestments,

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men and women made haste to give; armlets and ear-pendants, rings and bracelets; all the gold ware they had was set apart to be given to the Lord.

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And whoever had thread of blue or purple or scarlet twice-dyed, lawn or goats’ hair, rams’ fleeces dyed red, or skins dyed violet,

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or silver, or bronze, offered them to the Lord; and acacia wood for all its manifold uses.

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There were women, too, skilled in spinning, who had their own contribution to make of blue, or purple, or scarlet, or lawn,

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or goats’ hair, and made them of their own accord.

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It was the rulers who gave onyx-stones and jewels for the mantle and its burse,

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and the spices and oil for feeding the lamps, and preparing the ointment, and making the sweet-smelling incense.

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All alike, men and women, devoutly brought their gifts, so as to speed on the work which the Lord, through Moses, had enjoined on them; there was not one Israelite that did not freely consecrate his offerings to the Lord’s service.

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And now Moses said to the sons of Israel, Here is the name of the man the Lord has singled out to help me, Beseleel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Juda.

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The Lord has filled this man with his divine spirit, making him wise, adroit, and skilful in every kind of craftsmanship,

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so that he can design and execute whatever is needed, in gold, silver, bronze,

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and sculptured gems, and carpenter’s work. All the craftsman’s wit can discover

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the Lord has put into his heart. Here is Oöliab, too, son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan;

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both of these he has endowed with skill, to carry out woodwork, and tapestry, and embroidery, with threads of blue and purple and scarlet twice-dyed and lawn; the weaving shall be theirs, and they shall find out new devices.