God's New Bible

The Second Book of Moses: Exodus

Catholic Public Domain Version 2009

- Chapter 35 -

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Therefore, when all the multitude of the sons of Israel had gathered together, he said to them: “These are the things that the Lord has ordered to be done:
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For six days you shall do work; the seventh day, the Sabbath and the rest of the Lord, will be holy to you; whoever will have done any work in it shall be killed.
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You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwelling places throughout the day of the Sabbath.”

Offerings for the Tabernacle

(Exodus 25:1–9)
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And Moses said to the entire crowd of the sons of Israel: “This is the word which the Lord has instructed, saying:
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Separate from among you the first-fruits to the Lord. Let all who are willing and have a ready soul offer these to the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass,
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hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen, the hair of goats,
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and the skins of rams, dyed red, and violet skins, setim wood,
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and oil to prepare lights and to produce ointment, and most sweet incense,
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onyx stones and gems, to adorn the ephod and the breastplate.

The Skilled Craftsmen

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And whoever among you is wise, let him come and make what the Lord has commanded:
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the tabernacle, certainly, and its roof, and also the covering, the rings, and the panels with the bars, the tent pegs and the bases,
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the ark and its bars, the propitiatory, and the veil that is drawn before it,
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the table with its bars and vessels, and the bread of the presence,
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the lampstand to hold up the lights, its vessels and lamps, and the oil to the nourish the fire,
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the altar of incense and its bars, and the oil of unction, and the incense of aromatics, the tent at the door of the tabernacle,
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the altar of holocaust and its grate of brass, with the bars and vessels, the washtub and its base,
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the curtains of the atrium, with the columns and the bases, the hanging at the doors of the vestibule,
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the tent pegs of the tabernacle and the atrium, with their little cords,
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the vestments, which are to be used in the ministry of the Sanctuary, the vestments of Aaron, the high priest, as well as those of his sons, in order to exercise the priesthood to me.”

The People Offer Gifts

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And all the multitude of the sons of Israel, departing from the sight of Moses,
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offered the first-fruits to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind, to accomplish the work of the tabernacle of the testimony. Whatever was needed for worship and for the holy vestments,
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men along with women provided: arm bands and earrings, rings and bracelets. And every vessel of gold was separated, to be donated to the Lord.
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If anyone had hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, fine linen and the hair of goats, the skins of rams, dyed red, and violet skins,
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metal of silver and brass, they offered it to the Lord, along with setim wood for various uses.
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But the skillful women also gave whatever they had spun: hyacinth, purple, and vermillion, as well as fine linen,(a)
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and the hair of goats, donating everything of their own accord.
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Yet truly, the leaders offered onyx stones and gems, for the ephod and the breastplate,
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and aromatics and oil, to maintain the lights, and to prepare ointment, and also to produce incense with a most sweet odor.
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All the men and women offered donations with a devout mind, so that the works might be done which the Lord had ordered by the hand of Moses. All the sons of Israel dedicated voluntary offerings to the Lord.

Bezalel and Oholiab

(Exodus 31:1–11)
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And Moses said to the sons of Israel: “Behold, the Lord has called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah,
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and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, and all teaching,
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to design and to fashion, with gold and silver and brass,
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and with engraving stones, and with the skill of a carpenter. Whatever can be skillfully invented,
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he has given to his heart. It is likewise with Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan.
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He has taught both of them wisdom, in order to do the work of carpentry, tapestry, and embroidery, from hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen, and every textile, and to discover whatever may be new.”

Footnotes

(a)35:25 The word ‘vermillion’ is derived from the Latin vermiculus, originally referring to dyes made from some type of grub or larvae. However, in ancient Egypt the color may have been made by grinding minerals containing mercury sulfide (also called cinnabar). So the hyacinth was made from flowers (as Flavius Josephus attests), the purple was made from mollusks in the sea, the scarlet (in Latin: coccum, referring to cochineal carmine) described in other verses was made from insects, and the vermillion may well have been made from minerals (cinnabar). The violet skins are not referred to as ‘dyed’ but seem to have been that color naturally. So then, the Tabernacle had colors from all of nature: from sea and land, from plants, insects, animals, and minerals.(Conte)