1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2"Set up the tent (the tent of meeting) on the first day of the first month of the year. 3Place the ark containing the words of my promise inside it, and hang the canopy over the ark. 4Bring in the table, and arrange everything on it. Bring in the lamp stand, and set up the lamps. 5Put the gold altar for incense in front of the ark. Put up the screen at the entrance to the tent. 6"Put the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7Put the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8Set up the surrounding courtyard, and put up the screen at the entrance to the courtyard. 9Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tent and everything in it. In this way you will dedicate it and all its furnishings. Then it will be holy. 10Anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all the utensils. In this way you will dedicate the altar, and it will be most holy. 11Anoint the basin and stand, and they will be dedicated. 12"Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them. 13Then dress Aaron in the holy clothes, and anoint him. In this way you will dedicate him to serve me as priest. 14Have his sons come forward, and dress them in their linen robes. 15Anoint them to serve me as priests, as you anointed their father. Their anointing will begin a permanent priesthood for them for generations to come." 16Moses did everything as the LORD commanded him.

17So the tent was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year [after the Israelites had left Egypt]. 18When Moses set up the tent, he put the sockets in place, put up the frames, inserted the crossbars, and set up the posts. 19He spread the outer tent over the inner tent and put the cover on top. Moses followed the LORD's instructions. 20He took the words of God's promise and put them in the ark. He put the poles on the ark and placed the throne of mercy on top of the ark. 21Then he brought the ark into the tent and hung the canopy over it to mark off where the ark was. Moses followed the LORD's instructions. 22Moses put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tent outside the canopy. 23He arranged the bread on the table in the LORD's presence, following the LORD's instructions. 24He placed the lamp stand in the tent of meeting opposite the table, on the south side of the tent. 25He set up the lamps in the LORD's presence, following the LORD's instructions. 26Moses put the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the canopy. 27He burned sweet-smelling incense on it, following the LORD's instructions. 28Then he put up the screen at the entrance to the tent. 29He put the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent (the tent of meeting). He sacrificed burnt offerings and grain offerings on it. Moses followed the LORD's instructions. 30He put the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 31Moses, Aaron, and his sons used this water to wash their hands and feet. 32They would wash whenever they went into the tent of meeting or whenever they approached the altar. Moses followed the LORD's instructions. 33He set up the courtyard around the tent and the altar and put up the screen at the entrance to the courtyard. Finally, Moses finished the work.

34Then the [column of] smoke covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tent. 35Moses couldn't go into the tent of meeting, because the smoke settled on it and the glory of the LORD filled the tent. 36In all their travels, whenever the [column of] smoke moved from the tent, the Israelites would break camp. 37But if the column didn't move, they wouldn't break camp. 38So the LORD's column stayed over the tent during the day, and there was fire in the smoke at night. In this way all the Israelites could see the column throughout their travels.