Exodus 25

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¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Tell the sons of Israel to take a contribution for Me; from everyone whose heart moves him you shall take My contribution. ✦ ³This is the contribution which you are to take from them: gold, silver, and bronze, ✦ ⁴violet, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, ✦ ⁵rams’ skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, ✦ ⁶oil for lighting, balsam oil for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ✦ ⁷onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece. ✦ ⁸Have them construct a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. ✦ ⁹According to all that I am going to show you as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, so you shall construct it. ✦ ¹⁰“Now they shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. ✦ ¹¹You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it. ✦ ¹²You shall also cast four gold rings for it and fasten them on its four feet; two rings shall be on one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. ✦ ¹³And you shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ✦ ¹⁴You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. ¹⁵The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. ✦ ¹⁶You shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. ✦ ¹⁷“And you shall make an atoning cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ✦ ¹⁸You shall make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the atoning cover. ✦ ¹⁹Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the atoning cover at its two ends. ²⁰And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the atoning cover with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the atoning cover. ✦ ²¹Then you shall put the atoning cover on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. ✦ ²²There I will meet with you; and from above the atoning cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about every commandment that I will give you for the sons of Israel. ✦ ²³“You shall also make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long and one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. ✦ ²⁴You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold border around it. ✦ ²⁵And you shall make for it a rim of a hand width around it; and you shall make a gold border for the rim around it. ✦ ²⁶You shall also make four gold rings for it and put rings on the four corners which are on its four legs. ²⁷The rings shall be close to the rim, as holders for the poles to carry the table. ✦ ²⁸And you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that with them the table may be carried. ✦ ²⁹You shall also make its dishes, its pans, its jars, and its libation bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. ✦ ³⁰And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me continually. ✦ ³¹“Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand, its base and its shaft, are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its bulbs, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. ✦ ³²Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its other side. ³³Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms on the one branch, a bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the other branch, a bulb and a flower—the same for six branches going out from the lampstand; ✦ ³⁴and on the lampstand four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers. ³⁵A bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. ³⁶Their bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold. ✦ ³⁷Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and they shall mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it. ✦ ³⁸Its tongs and its trays shall be of pure gold. ✦ ³⁹It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. ⁴⁰See that you make them by the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Exod 25 ·15 Exod 37 ·12 Exod 30 ·9 Heb 9 ·9 1 Chr 28 ·7 Exod 26 ·7 Num 4 ·7 Exod 40 ·6

Christ at the center

The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.

How Exodus 25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical
On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical
Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.
DocumentaryPatterns of Evidence: The ExodusTim Mahoney · Paid · evangelical
Investigates the archaeological evidence for the Exodus. Note: it advances a minority biblical chronology that mainstream scholars dispute — engaging, but weigh its conclusions critically.

Pastoral

★ Start hereCommentaryExodus (New American Commentary)Douglas K. Stuart · Paid · evangelical
The best evangelical, semi-technical commentary on Exodus — accessible to pastors and serious students.
DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical
Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 25YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Exodus 25David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Exodus 25Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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