Exodus 27

And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

1God said, "Make an altar out of acacia wood. An altar is a table for burning gifts to God. It must be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. It must be three cubits high.

NoteA cubit is about eighteen inches. That is the length of a grown-up's arm, from elbow to fingertips. Acacia is a strong desert tree; the King James Bible calls it "shittim wood."

2And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.

2Make a horn shape on each of the four top corners. The horns must be part of the altar itself. Cover the whole altar with bronze.

NoteThe King James Bible says "brass." The metal meant here is bronze, made by mixing copper and tin.

3And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.

3Make pots for carrying away the ashes. Make shovels, bowls, big forks for lifting meat, and pans for hot coals. Make all these tools out of bronze.

4And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.

4Make a grate for the altar. It is a screen of bronze strips woven like a net. Put a bronze ring at each of its four corners.

5And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.

5Put the grate under the ledge that runs around the altar. It should sit halfway up the altar.

6And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.

6Also make poles out of acacia wood for the altar. Cover the poles with bronze.

7And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.

7Slide the poles through the rings. One pole will rest along each side of the altar. Then people can lift the altar and carry it.

8Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

8Build the altar out of boards, so the inside is empty. Make it just like the plan I showed you on the mountain.

9And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:

9Also make a yard around the tabernacle, God's special tent. On the south side, hang curtains made of fine twisted linen. They will be one hundred cubits long.

10And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.

10Hold those curtains up with twenty posts set in twenty bronze feet. The hooks and the bands on the posts must be silver.

11And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

11Do the same on the north side. Hang curtains one hundred cubits long. Use twenty posts in twenty bronze feet, with silver hooks and bands.

12And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

12On the west side, the curtains will be fifty cubits across. Use ten posts and ten feet.

13And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

13The east side of the yard, where the sun comes up, will be fifty cubits across.

14The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

14On one side of the doorway, hang curtains fifteen cubits long. Use three posts and three feet.

15And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

15On the other side of the doorway, hang curtains fifteen cubits long too. Use three posts and three feet.

16And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

16For the gate, the way into the yard, make a curtain twenty cubits long. Use blue, purple, and red yarn, and fine twisted linen. Sew pretty designs into it. Hang it on four posts set in four feet.

17All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.

17Every post around the yard must have silver bands and silver hooks. Each post must stand in a bronze foot.

18The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

18The yard will be one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide. Its linen curtains will be five cubits high. The posts will stand in bronze feet.

19All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

19Every tool used for work in the tabernacle must be made of bronze. So must every tent peg for the tent and for the yard.

20And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

20Tell the people of Israel to bring you pure olive oil for the light. The olives must be crushed to press the oil out. The lamp must keep burning all the time.

21In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

21The lamp stands inside the tent, in front of the curtain. Behind that curtain are the stone tablets with God's words. Aaron and his sons will care for the lamp there, before the LORD. They will keep it burning from evening until morning. This rule never ends. The people of Israel will keep it always.

Note"The testimony" means the two stone tablets with God's laws written on them. They were kept in a special box behind the curtain.