(Acts 7:44–47; Hebrews 9:1–10)
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And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
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“In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall raise the tabernacle of the testimony,(a)
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and you shall place the ark in it, and you shall release the veil before it.
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And having brought in the table, you shall place the things which were solemnly commanded upon it. The lampstand shall stand with its lamps,
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and 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,
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and before it, the altar of holocaust.
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The washtub shall stand between the altar and the tabernacle, and you shall fill it with water.
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And you shall encompass the atrium and its entrance with hangings.
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And, having taken up the oil of unction, you shall anoint the tabernacle along with its articles, so that they may be sanctified.
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The altar of holocaust and all its vessels,
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the washtub with its base, and all things, you shall consecrate with the oil of unction, so that they may be the Holy of holies.
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And you shall bring forward Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tabernacle of the testimony, and, having washed them with water,
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you shall clothe them in the holy vestments, so that they may minister to me, and so that their unction may accomplish an everlasting priesthood.”
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And Moses did all that the Lord had instructed.
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Therefore, in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was put in place.
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And Moses raised it up, and he positioned the panels as well as the bases and the bars, and he set up the columns,
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and he stretched out the roof over the tabernacle, imposing a cover above it, just as the Lord had decreed.
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And he placed the testimony in the ark, applying the bars beneath, and the oracle above.
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And when he had brought the ark into the tabernacle, he drew the veil before it, in order to fulfill the commandment of the Lord.
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And he placed the table in the tabernacle of the testimony, at the north side, beyond the veil,
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arranging before it the bread of the presence, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
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And he placed the lampstand in the tabernacle of the testimony, away from the table, on the south side,
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setting the lamps in order, according to the precept of the Lord.
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He also positioned the altar of gold under the roof of the testimony, opposite the veil,
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and he heaped upon it the incense of aromatics, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
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And he positioned the tent at the entrance of the tabernacle of the testimony,
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and the altar of holocaust in the vestibule of the testimony, offering the holocaust and the sacrifices upon it, just as the Lord had decreed.
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Likewise, he stationed the washtub between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, filling it with water.
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And Moses and Aaron, along with his sons, washed their hands and feet,
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whenever they would enter the covering of the covenant, and when they approached to the altar, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
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And he raised up the atrium around the tabernacle and the altar, drawing the hanging at its entrance. After all these things were perfected,
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the cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it.
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Neither 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.
The Cloud and the Glory
(Numbers 9:15–23)
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Whenever the cloud departed from the tabernacle, the sons of Israel set out by their companies.
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But if it remained hanging over it, they remained in the same place.
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Certainly, 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.(b)
Footnotes