On the first day of the first month, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. Place the ark of the Testimony inside and shield it with the curtain. Bring in the table and arrange what belongs on it, set up the lampstand with its lamps, and place the golden altar of incense before the ark. Put the curtain at the entrance of the tent, place the altar of burnt offering before the entrance, and set the basin between the altar and the tent, filling it with water. Then set up the courtyard with its curtain at the entrance. Take the anointing oil and consecrate the tabernacle with all its furnishings, the altar with its utensils, and the basin with its stand, and they will be holy. Bring Aaron and his sons, wash them, dress them in the sacred garments, and anoint them for the priesthood, a priesthood that will endure through all generations."
Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded. On the first day of the first month in the second year, the tabernacle was set up. He placed the bases, frames, crossbars, and posts, spread the covering over the tent, and set everything in order as God instructed. He put the Testimony in the ark, attached the poles, set the atonement cover on it, and brought the ark inside, shielding it with the curtain. He set the table with bread before the Lord, placed the lampstand opposite it, and lit the lamps. He put the golden altar before the curtain and burned incense, set up the altar of burnt offering at the entrance, and offered burnt and grain offerings. He placed the basin between the altar and the tent, and Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet whenever they approached the altar or entered the tent. Finally, he set up the courtyard with its curtain at the entrance, and the work was finished.
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter because the cloud had settled upon it, and the Lord's glory filled it completely. From that day on, whenever the cloud lifted from the tabernacle, the Israelites set out on their journey, but if it did not lift, they stayed where they were until it did. Throughout all their travels, the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, visible to all Israel.