Setting Up the Tabernacle
(Acts 7:44–47; Hebrews 9:1–10)

1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2“In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall raise the tabernacle of the testimony, 3and you shall place the ark in it, and you shall release the veil before it. 4And having brought in the table, you shall place the things which were solemnly commanded upon it. The lampstand shall stand with its lamps, 5and the altar of gold, in which the incense is burned, shall stand before the ark of the testimony. You shall place the tent at the entrance of the tabernacle, 6and before it, the altar of holocaust. 7The washtub shall stand between the altar and the tabernacle, and you shall fill it with water. 8And you shall encompass the atrium and its entrance with hangings. 9And, having taken up the oil of unction, you shall anoint the tabernacle along with its articles, so that they may be sanctified. 10The altar of holocaust and all its vessels, 11the washtub with its base, and all things, you shall consecrate with the oil of unction, so that they may be the Holy of holies. 12And you shall bring forward Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tabernacle of the testimony, and, having washed them with water, 13- - - 14- - - 15you shall clothe them in the holy vestments, so that they may minister to me, and so that their unction may accomplish an everlasting priesthood.” 16And Moses did all that the Lord had instructed.

17Therefore, in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was put in place. 18And Moses raised it up, and he positioned the panels as well as the bases and the bars, and he set up the columns, 19and he stretched out the roof over the tabernacle, imposing a cover above it, just as the Lord had decreed. 20And he placed the testimony in the ark, applying the bars beneath, and the oracle above. 21And when he had brought the ark into the tabernacle, he drew the veil before it, in order to fulfill the commandment of the Lord. 22And he placed the table in the tabernacle of the testimony, at the north side, beyond the veil, 23arranging before it the bread of the presence, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. 24And he placed the lampstand in the tabernacle of the testimony, away from the table, on the south side, 25setting the lamps in order, according to the precept of the Lord. 26He also positioned the altar of gold under the roof of the testimony, opposite the veil, 27and he heaped upon it the incense of aromatics, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28And he positioned the tent at the entrance of the tabernacle of the testimony, 29and the altar of holocaust in the vestibule of the testimony, offering the holocaust and the sacrifices upon it, just as the Lord had decreed. 30Likewise, he stationed the washtub between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, filling it with water. 31And Moses and Aaron, along with his sons, washed their hands and feet, 32whenever they would enter the covering of the covenant, and when they approached to the altar, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. 33And he raised up the atrium around the tabernacle and the altar, drawing the hanging at its entrance. After all these things were perfected,

The Cloud and the Glory
(Numbers 9:15–23)

34the cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it. 35Neither could Moses enter the covering of the covenant: the cloud was covering all things, and the majesty of the Lord was flashing. For the cloud had covered everything. 36Whenever the cloud departed from the tabernacle, the sons of Israel set out by their companies. 37But if it remained hanging over it, they remained in the same place. 38Certainly, the cloud of the Lord lay over the tabernacle by day, and the fire by night, being seen by all the people of Israel throughout all their resting places.