Exodus 38 :: New International Version (NIV)

The Altar of Burnt Offering

(Exo 27:1–8 )

Exo 38:1They[fn] built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits[fn] high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.[fn]

Exo 38:2

Exo 38:2They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.

Exo 38:3

Exo 38:3They made all its utensils of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.

Exo 38:4

Exo 38:4They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar.

Exo 38:5

Exo 38:5They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating.

Exo 38:6

Exo 38:6They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

Exo 38:7

Exo 38:7They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.

The Basin for Washing

Exo 38:8

Exo 38:8They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The Courtyard

(Exo 27:9–19 )

Exo 38:9

Exo 38:9Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits[fn] long and had curtains of finely twisted linen,

Exo 38:10

Exo 38:10with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

Exo 38:11

Exo 38:11The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

Exo 38:12

Exo 38:12The west end was fifty cubits[fn] wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

Exo 38:13

Exo 38:13The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide.

Exo 38:14

Exo 38:14Curtains fifteen cubits[fn] long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases,

Exo 38:15

Exo 38:15and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases.

Exo 38:16

Exo 38:16All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen.

Exo 38:17

Exo 38:17The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.

Exo 38:18

Exo 38:18The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits[fn] long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits[fn] high,

Exo 38:19

Exo 38:19with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver.

Exo 38:20

Exo 38:20All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

The Materials Used

Exo 38:21

Exo 38:21These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law, which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.

Exo 38:22

Exo 38:22(Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the LORD commanded Moses;

Exo 38:23

Exo 38:23with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.)

Exo 38:24

Exo 38:24The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels,[fn] according to the sanctuary shekel.

Exo 38:25

Exo 38:25The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents[fn] and 1,775 shekels,[fn] according to the sanctuary shekel—

Exo 38:26

Exo 38:26one beka per person, that is, half a shekel,[fn] according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men.

Exo 38:27

Exo 38:27The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base.

Exo 38:28

Exo 38:28They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.

Exo 38:29

Exo 38:29The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.[fn]

Exo 38:30

Exo 38:30They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils,

Exo 38:31

Exo 38:31the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

(38:1)

Or He; also in verses 2-9

(38:1)

That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters

(38:1)

That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters long and wide

(38:9)

That is, about 150 feet or about 45 meters

(38:12)

That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters

(38:14)

That is, about 22 feet or about 6.8 meters

(38:18)

That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters

(38:18)

That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters

(38:24)

The weight of the gold was a little over a ton or about 1 metric ton.

(38:25)

That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons; also in verse 27

(38:25)

That is, about 44 pounds or about 20 kilograms; also in verse 28

(38:26)

That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams

(38:29)

The weight of the bronze was about 2 1/2 tons or about 2.4 metric tons.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.