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Exodus 31

1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, understanding, knowledge, and every kind of craftsmanship, 4to devise designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5in cutting stones for settings and in carving wood, to work in every kind of craftsmanship. 6And I, look, I have appointed with him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. In the heart of every person skilled of heart I have put skill, so that they make everything I have commanded you: 7the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the atonement cover on it, and all the equipment of the tent; 8the table and its utensils, the pure lampstand and all its utensils, and the incense altar; 9the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand; 10the service garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments for priestly service; 11and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the holy place. According to everything I have commanded you, they are to make them.”

12Yahweh said to Moses, 13“And you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Above all, you are to keep my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am Yahweh who consecrates you. 14You are to keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it is surely to be put to death, for whoever does work on it—that person is to be cut off from among his people. 15For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does work on the Sabbath day is surely to be put to death. 16The sons of Israel are to keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a lasting covenant. 17It is a sign between me and the sons of Israel forever, for in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

18When he finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone written with the finger of God.

Translation notes 5

31:2–6 — Spirit and skilled hearts. The text attributes the craftspeople's abilities to God. The repetition of skill, design, and heart is retained rather than separating practical craftsmanship from divine empowerment. It does not name every worker as a prophet or priest.

31:10 — Service garments. The rare Hebrew expression is uncertain and has also been understood as woven garments or cloths for wrapping sacred furnishings. The following phrases explicitly name the priests' garments; the draft keeps the initial expression without deciding that it must describe a second complete wardrobe.

31:13–16 — Sabbath and consecration. The commands preserve the Sabbath's role as a covenant sign and the stated death and cut-off sanctions. The translation does not replace them with a modern practice rule or supply an expiration date for the covenant.

31:17 — Rested and was refreshed. Both Hebrew verbs are retained, including the human-like language applied to Yahweh. The translation does not remove that language to resolve a theological question about divine fatigue.

31:18 — Finger and tablets. The stone tablets and divine finger are explicit. This is a central background for Paul's contrast between stone tablets and human hearts in 2 Corinthians 3; the Exodus wording is not rewritten to anticipate Paul's later argument.