Exodus 31
1 Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me, “Note that I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, [for special tasks].
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
“Behold, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah,
3 I have caused him to be completely controlled/empowered by my Spirit, and I have given him special ability [to make things] and have enabled him to know how to do very skilled work.
and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge in every craft,
4 He can engrave skillful designs in gold, silver, and bronze.
in order to design whatever must be fabricated from gold, and silver, and brass,
5 He can cut (jewels/valuable stones) and enclose them [in tiny gold settings/frames]. He can carve things from wood and do other skilled work.
from marble, and precious stones, and various woods.
6 Note that I have also appointed Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, to work with him. I have also given special ability to other men, in order that they can make all the things that I have commanded you [to be made].
And I have given to him, as his associate, Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan. And I have placed wisdom in the heart of every artisan, so that they may make everything as I have instructed you:
7 That includes the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest and its lid, all the other things that will be inside the Sacred Tent,
the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ark of the testimony, and the propitiatory which is over it, and all the vessels of the tabernacle,
8 the table and all the things that are used with it, the pure gold lampstand and all the things that are used to take care of it, the altar [for burning] incense,
and the table and its vessels, the most pure lampstand with its vessels, and the altars of incense
9 the altar for offering sacrifices that will be burned and all the things that will be used with it, the washbasin and its base,
and of holocaust and all their vessels, the washtub with its base,
10 all the beautiful sacred clothes for Aaron and his sons to wear when they work as priests,
the holy vestments for the ministry of Aaron the priest, and for his sons, so that they may execute their office of sacred rites,
11 the oil for anointing, and the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Place. [The skilled workers] must make all these things exactly as I have told you to do.”
the oil of unction, and the incense of aromatics in the Sanctuary. All the things that I have instructed you, they shall make.”
12 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
13 “Tell the Israeli people, ‘Obey my instructions regarding the (rest days/Sabbath days). Those days will remind you [and your descendants], throughout all future generations, that I, Yahweh, have (set you apart/chosen you) to be my people.
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: See that you keep my Sabbath. For it is a sign between me and you among your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord, who sanctifies you.
14 You must obey [my rules about] the Sabbath days because they are holy/sacred. Those who treat those days in an irreverent way by working on those days must be executed [to show that] I no longer consider them to belong to my people.
Keep my Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever will have polluted it, shall die a death. Whoever will have done any work in it, his soul shall perish from the midst of his people.
15 You may work for six days [each week], but the seventh day [of each week] is a solemn day of rest, dedicated to me, Yahweh. Anyone who does any work on a day of rest is to be executed [because I no longer want them to be able to associate with my people].
For six days you shall do work. On the seventh day, it is the Sabbath, a rest sanctified by the Lord. All who will have done work on this day shall die.
16 You Israeli people must respect the rest day, and you [and your descendants] must (celebrate it/keep it holy) throughout all future generations. [It will remind you] of the agreement that I have made with you that will last forever.
Let the sons of Israel keep the Sabbath, and let them celebrate it throughout their generations. It is an everlasting covenant
17 It will remind you Israeli people and remind me [of that agreement] because I, Yahweh, created the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day I stopped doing that work and relaxed.’”
between me and the sons of Israel, and a perpetual sign. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and in the seventh he ceased from work.”
18 When Yahweh finished talking with Moses/me on the top of Sinai Mountain, he gave him/me the two stone slabs on which he had engraved his commandments with his own fingers.
And the Lord, having completed speaking in this way on Mount Sinai, gave to Moses two stone tablets of testimony, written with the finger of God.
