Exodus 25:1-22

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the children of Israel to take an offering for Me. From every man whose heart moves him [to give willingly] you shall take My offering. This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, fine twisted linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, [olive] oil for lighting, balsam for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and setting stones for the [priest’s] ephod and for the breastpiece. Have them build a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. [Heb 8:1, 2; 10:1] You shall construct it in accordance with everything that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture. “They shall make an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. You shall overlay the ark with pure gold, overlay it inside and out, and you shall make a gold border (frame) around its top. You shall cast four gold rings for it and attach them to the four feet, two rings on either side. You shall make [carrying] poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, by which to carry it. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it [so that the ark itself need not be touched]. You shall put into the ark the Testimony (Ten Commandments) which I will give you. “You shall make a mercy seat (cover) of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. You shall make two cherubim (winged angelic figures) of [solid] hammered gold at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing each other. The faces of the cherubim are to be looking downward toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony which I will give you. There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, I will speak [intimately] with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites.