Exodus — Chapter 35

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1And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These

2Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

3Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

4And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This

5Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever

6And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’

7And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,

8And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,

9And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

10And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded;

11The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,

12The ark, and the staves thereof,

13The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,

14The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,

15And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,

16The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,

17The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,

18The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,

19The cloths of service, to do service in the holy

20And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

21And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing,

22And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted,

23And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’

24Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought

25And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun,

26And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’

27And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

28And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

29The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

30And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

31And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

32And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

33And in the cutting of stones, to set

34And he hath put in his heart that he may teach,

35Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver,

1And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them, These are the words which Jehovah hath commanded, that ye should do them.

2Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest to Jehovah: whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death.

3Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

4And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which Jehovah commanded, saying,

5Take ye from among you an offering unto Jehovah; whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, Jehovah`s offering: gold, and silver, and brass,

6and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats` [hair],

7and rams` skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood,

8and oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,

9and onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

10And let every wise-hearted man among you come, and make all that Jehovah hath commanded:

11the tabernacle, its tent, and its covering, its clasps, and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

12the ark, and the staves thereof, the mercy-seat, and the veil of the screen;

13the table, and its staves, and all its vessels, and the showbread;

14the candlestick also for the light, and its vessels, and its lamps, and the oil for the light;

15and the altar of incense, and its staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle;

16the altar of burnt-offering, with its grating of brass, it staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base;

17the hangings of the court, the pillars thereof, and their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court;

18the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords;

19the finely wrought garments, for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest`s office.

20And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

21And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, [and] brought Jehovah`s offering, for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all the service thereof, and for the holy garments.

22And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, [and] brought brooches, and ear-rings, and signet-rings, and armlets, all jewels of gold; even every man that offered an offering of gold unto Jehovah.

23And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats` [hair], and rams` skins dyed red, and sealskins, brought them.

24Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought Jehovah`s offering; and every man, with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

25And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen.

26And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats` [hair].

27And the rulers brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

28and the spice, and the oil; for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

29The children of Israel brought a freewill-offering unto Jehovah; every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all the work, which Jehovah had commanded to be made by Moses.

30And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, Jehovah hath called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

31And he hath filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

32and to devise skilful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

33and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of skilful workmanship.

34And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of workmanship, of the engraver, and of the skilful workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any workmanship, and of those that devise skilful works.

1Moses assembled the whole community of the Israelites and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do.

2In six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on it will be put to death.

3You must not kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day.”

4Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, “This is the word that the Lord has commanded:

5‘Take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart bring an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze;

6blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen; goats’ hair;

7ram skins dyed red; fine leather; acacia wood;

8olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;

9onyx stones, and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece.

10Every skilled person among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded:

11the tabernacle with its tent, its covering, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases;

12the ark, with its poles, the atonement lid, and the special curtain that conceals it;

13the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the Bread of the Presence;

14the lampstand for the light and its accessories, its lamps, and oil for the light;

15and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle;

16the altar for the burnt offering with its bronze grating that is on it, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin and its pedestal;

17the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway to the courtyard;

18tent pegs for the tabernacle and tent pegs for the courtyard and their ropes;

19the woven garments for serving in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.’”

20So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses.

21Everyone whose heart stirred him to action and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

22They came, men and women alike, all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, and everyone came who waved a wave offering of gold to the Lord.

23Everyone who had blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats’ hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine leather brought them.

24Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it.

25Every woman who was skilled spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen,

26and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled spun goats’ hair.

27The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted for the ephod and the breastpiece,

28and spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.

29The Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring materials for all the work that the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

30Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

31He has filled him with the Spirit of God—with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work—

32to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze,

33and in cutting stones for their setting, and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft.

34And he has put it in his heart to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are craftsmen in all the work and artistic designers.

1Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said to them, “These are the words which Yahweh has commanded, that you should do them.

2‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death.

3You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.’”

4Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which Yahweh commanded, saying,

5‘Take from among you an offering to Yahweh. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, Yahweh’s offering: gold, silver, brass,

6blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair,

7rams’ skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood,

8oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense,

9onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.

10“‘Let every wise-hearted man among you come, and make all that Yahweh has commanded:

11the tabernacle, its outer covering, its roof, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

12the ark, and its poles, the mercy seat, the veil of the screen;

13the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the show bread;

14the lamp stand also for the light, with its vessels, its lamps, and the oil for the light;

15and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle;

16the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of brass, it poles, and all its vessels, the basin and its base;

17the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court;

18the pins of the tabernacle, the pins of the court, and their cords;

19the finely worked garments, for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.’”

20All the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

21They came, everyone whose heart stirred him up, and everyone whom his spirit made willing, and brought Yahweh’s offering, for the work of the Tent of Meeting, and for all of its service, and for the holy garments.

22They came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought brooches, earrings, signet rings, and armlets, all jewels of gold; even every man who offered an offering of gold to Yahweh.

23Everyone, with whom was found blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, and sea cow hides, brought them.

24Everyone who offered an offering of silver and brass brought Yahweh’s offering; and everyone, with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

25All the women who were wise-hearted spun with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen.

26All the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats’ hair.

27The rulers brought the onyx stones and the stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate;

28with the spice and the oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

29The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to Yahweh; every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all the work, which Yahweh had commanded to be made by Moses.

30Moses said to the children of Israel, “Behold, Yahweh has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

31He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of workmanship;

32and to make skillful works, to work in gold, in silver, in brass,

33in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all kinds of skillful workmanship.

34He has put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35He has filled them with wisdom of heart, to work all kinds of workmanship, of the engraver, of the skillful workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of those who do any workmanship, and of those who make skillful works.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

Moses calls for offerings and skilled workers for the Tabernacle; the people give so generously they have to be restrained.

Authorship & Background

Author: Moses (see Chapter 1 notes for full authorship details).
Historical Context: Exodus 35 marks the transition from instruction to execution. After the golden calf crisis (ch. 32), God's presence restored (ch. 33), and the covenant renewed (ch. 34), Moses now assembles the people to begin the actual construction of the tabernacle. Chapters 35–40 largely parallel chapters 25–31, but with a crucial difference: chapters 25–31 record God's commands; chapters 35–40 record Israel's obedience. The repetition is intentional — it demonstrates faithful execution of divine instruction.
The chapter opens with the Sabbath command (vv.1–3), reinforcing the principle established in 31:12–17: even sacred construction work must honor God's rest. Then Moses calls for freewill offerings (vv.4–19), and the people respond with extraordinary generosity — "every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing" (v.21). The emphasis on willing hearts appears repeatedly (vv.5, 21, 22, 26, 29), establishing that God's house is built not by compulsion but by joyful, Spirit-prompted generosity.
The chapter concludes with the formal announcement of Bezalel and Oholiab as the Spirit-filled craftsmen (vv.30–35), now presented publicly to the congregation. What God revealed privately to Moses in chapter 31 is now declared to all Israel. The people know who will lead the work and that God Himself has equipped them.
Section Summaries: vv.1–3 — Sabbath command reiterated: no work, no fire on the seventh day. vv.4–19 — Moses calls for freewill offerings of materials and skilled labor. vv.20–29 — The people respond with willing hearts; generous giving. vv.30–35 — Bezalel and Oholiab publicly announced as Spirit-filled craftsmen.

Map & Geography

  • Israel remains encamped at Mount Sinai. Moses assembles the congregation and begins collecting materials for the Tabernacle construction.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik highlights the contrast between the gold given for the calf (ch. 32) and the gold given for the tabernacle — same material, opposite purposes. He emphasizes that willing-hearted giving is the only kind God accepts.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "Willing Offerings" on v.21 (MTP Vol. 24, No. 1420) "Every one whose heart stirred him up. God does not drag gifts from unwilling hands. He stirs the heart first, and then the hand opens. If your giving is grudging, keep your gold — God does not want it. But if your heart is stirred, give freely, give largely, give joyfully. The stirring of the heart is itself a gift of grace. Thank God for the desire to give as much as for the ability to give."

Reflection

  • 1. The same people who gave gold for the calf (32:3) now give gold for the tabernacle (35:22). How does this demonstrate that redeemed desires can redirect resources from idolatry to worship? What resources in your life need redirecting?
  • 2. "Whosoever is of a willing heart" (v.5). God does not compel giving — He invites it. How willing is your heart? Do you give from joy or from obligation? What stirs your heart toward generosity?
  • 3. Both men and women contributed — materials, skills, and labor (vv.22-26, 29). Everyone had something to offer. What has God given you — time, talent, treasure — that you can contribute to His work?
  • 4. The Sabbath command precedes the call to give and build (vv.1-3). Why does God insist on rest before work? How does Sabbath-keeping protect you from making an idol of productivity — even "holy" productivity?
  • 5. Bezalel was filled with the Spirit for craftsmanship and given the ability to teach (v.34). How are you using your gifts not only to serve but to equip others? Who are you investing in?