And 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the wise-hearted men among those who did the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet, with cherubim, the work of the skillful workman, they made them.
- BSB All the skilled craftsmen among the workmen made the ten curtains for the tabernacle. They were made of finely spun linen, as well as blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with cherubim skillfully worked into them.
- NKJV Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim they made them.
- NASB All the skillful people among those who were performing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twisted linen and violet, purple, and scarlet material, with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer, Bezalel made them.
- NLT The skilled craftsmen made ten curtains of finely woven linen for the Tabernacle. Then Bezalel decorated the curtains 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
The skilled workers make the tabernacle's ten curtains of fine linen and colored yarn, embroidered with cherubim.
Overview
Construction now begins in careful obedience to the pattern God gave, starting with the inner curtains woven with figures of cherubim. The cherubim recalled the guardians of God's holy presence, signaling that this was sacred space. These details point to the heavenly reality the tabernacle copied, where God dwells in unapproachable holiness now opened in Christ (Hebrews 9:23-24).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Exod 25:22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
- Exod 26:1–37Moreover 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 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 35:10And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded;
- Exod 31:6And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
- 1 Kgs 6:23And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
- 1 Chr 15:1And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.
- 2 Chr 3:10And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
- Ezek 1:5–28Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
- Ezek 10:1–19Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 36:8 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.