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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Exodus 27

Israel's deliverance, covenant at Sinai, God's presence, and a people formed for worship.

Exodus overview
Old Testament

Exodus 27

1“You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits wide. The altar shall be square. Its height shall be three cubits.

2You shall make its horns on its four corners. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with bronze.

3You shall make its pots to take away its ashes; and its shovels, its basins, its meat hooks, and its fire pans. You shall make all its vessels of bronze.

4You shall make a grating for it of network of bronze. On the net you shall make four bronze rings in its four corners.

5You shall put it under the ledge around the altar beneath, that the net may reach halfway up the altar.

6You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze.

7Its poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when carrying it.

8You shall make it hollow with planks. They shall make it as it has been shown you on the mountain.

9“You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side.

10Its pillars shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.

11Likewise for the length of the north side, there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.

12For the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

13The width of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

14The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

15For the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

16For the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four.

17All the pillars of the court around shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of bronze.

18The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of bronze.

19All the instruments of the tabernacle in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be of bronze.

20“You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.

21In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute forever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Israel's deliverance, covenant at Sinai, God's presence, and a people formed for worship. Read Exodus 27 within the complete Exodus overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Exodus 27

Exodus 27 contains 21 verses and about 525 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: ““You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits wide. The altar shall be square. Its height shall be three cubits.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 21 closes: “In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include cubits, make, bronze, pillars, court, sockets. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Exodus 27

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Exodus 27:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

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