Provision of Skilled People

¹ And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

² “See, I have called by name¹ Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah.

1. In other words, “specifically chosen”

³ And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and with skill¹ and with knowledge and with every kind of craftsmanship,

1. Or “understanding,” “discernment,” “cleverness”

⁴ to devise designs, to work with gold and with silver and with bronze,

⁵ and in stonecutting for setting and in cutting wood, for doing every kind of craftsmanship.

⁶ And, look, I have given with him Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, and I have put skill in the heart of all the skilled of heart, and they will make all that I have commanded you—

⁷ the tent of assembly and the ark of the testimony and the atonement cover that is on it and all the equipment of the tent,

⁸ and the table and all its equipment, and the pure gold lampstand and all its equipment, and the incense altar,

⁹ and the altar of burnt offering and all its equipment, and the basin and its stand,

¹⁰ and the garments of woven material, and ⌞the garments of the sanctuary⌟¹ for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons to serve as priests,

1. Literally “the garments of the holiness” or “the holy garments”

¹¹ and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the sanctuary. According to all that I have commanded you, they will make it.

Provision of Rest from Work

¹² And Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

¹³ “And you, speak to the ⌞Israelites⌟,¹ saying, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, because it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, in order to know that I am Yahweh, who consecrates you.

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”

¹⁴ And you must keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you; defilers¹ of it will surely be put to death, because anyone who does work on it—that person will be cut off from among his people.

1. Or “profaners,” those who treat it as common

¹⁵ On six days work can be done, and on the seventh ⌞is a Sabbath of complete rest⌟,¹ ⌞a holy day⌟² for Yahweh; anyone doing work on the Sabbath day will surely be put to death.

1. Literally “a Sabbath of ‘Sabbathation.’ ” “Sabbathation” is not a real word, but devised as an attempt to convey the sounds of the related nouns in the Hebrew phrase
2. Literally “holiness”

¹⁶ The ⌞Israelites⌟¹ will pay attention to the Sabbath in order to fulfill the Sabbath² throughout their generations as a lasting covenant.

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”
2. Or “keep the Sabbath to do/observe the Sabbath”

¹⁷ It is a sign between me and the ⌞Israelites⌟¹ forever, because in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh he ceased² and recovered.”³

1. Literally “sons/children of Israel”
2. Or “rested”
3. Or “breathed freely,” “got his breath”

¹⁸ And when he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave to Moses the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets, written with the finger of God.