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And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
Exodus 26:31 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “You shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. The work of the skillful workman shall it be made.
  • BSB Make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen, with cherubim skillfully worked into it.
  • NKJV “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim.
  • NASB “You shall also make a veil of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer.
  • NLT “For the inside of the Tabernacle, make a special curtain of finely woven linen. Decorate it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

A veil of fine linen in blue, purple, and scarlet, woven with cherubim, was to be made. This curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

Overview

The richly woven veil, bearing cherubim like the inner curtains, marked the boundary of God's immediate presence. The cherubim recalled the guardians barring access to holiness since Eden. Hebrews and the Gospels show this veil's deep significance: at Christ's death it was torn, opening the way into God's presence (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19-20).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • Matt 27:51And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
  • 2 Chr 3:14And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.
  • Exod 36:35And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work.
  • Lev 16:2And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
  • Exod 26:1Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.
  • Exod 36:8And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.
  • Heb 9:3–8And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
  • 2 Chr 2:7–13Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.
  • Exod 40:21And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
  • Exod 35:25And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
  • Exod 25:18And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
  • Exod 35:6And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
  • Ps 137:5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
  • Exod 25:4And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
  • Exod 35:35Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
  • Exod 28:15And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
  • Lev 16:15Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
  • Eph 2:14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
  • Exod 38:23And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
  • Exod 40:3And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail.
  • Mark 15:38And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
  • Heb 10:20–21By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
  • Luke 23:45And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
  • Song 7:1How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 26:31YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 26:31 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.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.