CHAPTER 41 THE TABERNACLE AND THE PRIESTHOOD AND the LORD commanded Moses to tell the children of Israel to bring him offerings of gold, and silver, and brass, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, of rams' skins, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, oil, spices, and sweet incense, and stones to be set in the priests' garments. And they were to make an ark of shittim wood overlaid with gold, with gold rings in the four corners, and staves to put in the rings to bear it with: and in the ark they were to put the testimony which God should give them. And they were to make a mercy seat of pure gold, with two cherubims, one on each end, with their faces looking toward each other, and their wings stretched out over the mercy seat. And the mercy seat was to rest upon the ark. And God said, 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. And they were to make a table of shittim wood overlaid with gold, with rings and staves to bear it, and dishes and spoons of pure gold: and on the table was to be set the shewbread before God alway. And they were to make a candlestick of pure gold, with six branches coming out of the sides of it, three branches on each side: and its seven lamps were to be kept lighted. And there were to be tongs and snuffdishes of pure gold. And the tabernacle was to be made with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, fastened with loops of blue and gold. And over these were to be eleven curtains of goats' hair, and these were to be covered with rams' skins dyed red, and over these a covering of badgers' skins. And the boards and bars for the tabernacle were to be made of shittim wood overlaid with gold, with fastenings of silver. And they were to make a vail of fine twined linen, and hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood, to divide between the holy place and the most holy. And the ark of the testimony was to be brought within the vail, and the mercy seat put upon it in the most holy place. But the table and the candlestick were to be without the vail. [Sidenote: Exodus 26] And the hanging for the door of the tent was to be of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. And they were to make an altar of shittim wood, with horns on the corners, and staves to bear it, and to overlay it all with brass, and to make vessels of brass for the altar. And the tabernacle was to have a court round about it, enclosed by linen curtains hung on pillars of brass. And the gate of the court was to be hung with blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.