"Set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the new year.
Place the Ark of the Covenant inside, and install the inner curtain to enclose the Ark within the Most Holy Place.
Then bring in the table, and arrange the utensils on it. And bring in the lampstand, and set up the lamps.
"Place the incense altar just outside the inner curtain, opposite the Ark of the Covenant. Set up the curtain made for the entrance of the Tabernacle.
Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the Tabernacle entrance.
Set the large washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar and fill it with water.
Then set up the courtyard around the outside of the tent, and hang the curtain for the courtyard entrance.
"Take the anointing oil and sprinkle it on the Tabernacle and on all its furnishings to make them holy.
Sprinkle the anointing oil on the altar of burnt offering and its utensils, sanctifying them. Then the altar will become most holy.
Next anoint the large washbasin and its pedestal to make them holy.
"Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tabernacle, and wash them with water.
Clothe Aaron with the holy garments and anoint him, setting him apart to serve me as a priest.
Then bring his sons and dress them in their tunics.
Anoint them as you did their father, so they may serve me as priests. With this anointing, Aaron's descendants are set apart for the priesthood forever, from generation to generation."
Moses proceeded to do everything as the LORD had commanded him.
So the Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the new year.
Moses put it together by setting its frames into their bases and attaching the crossbars and raising the posts.
Then he spread the coverings over the Tabernacle framework and put on the roof layers, just as the LORD had commanded him.
He placed inside the Ark the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, and then he attached the Ark's carrying poles. He also set the Ark's cover--the place of atonement--on top of it.
Then he brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle and set up the inner curtain to shield it from view, just as the LORD had commanded.
Next he placed the table in the Tabernacle, along the north side of the Holy Place, just outside the inner curtain.
And he arranged the Bread of the Presence on the table that stands before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded.
He set the lampstand in the Tabernacle across from the table on the south side of the Holy Place.
Then he set up the lamps in the LORD's presence, just as the LORD had commanded.
He also placed the incense altar in the Tabernacle, in the Holy Place in front of the inner curtain.
On it he burned the fragrant incense made from sweet spices, just as the LORD had commanded.
He attached the curtain at the entrance of the Tabernacle,
and he placed the altar of burnt offering near the Tabernacle entrance. On it he offered a burnt offering and a grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded.
Next he placed the large washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar. He filled it with water so the priests could use it to wash themselves.
Moses and Aaron and Aaron's sons washed their hands and feet in the basin.
Whenever they walked past the altar to enter the Tabernacle, they were to stop and wash, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Then he hung the curtains forming the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar. And he set up the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. So at last Moses finished the work.
Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled it.
Moses was no longer able to enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the Tabernacle was filled with the awesome glory of the LORD.
Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle and moved, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it.
But if the cloud stayed, they would stay until it moved again.
The cloud of the LORD rested on the Tabernacle during the day, and at night there was fire in the cloud so all the people of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.