Exodus 35:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord 's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.

NIV: and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments.

NASB: And everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord’S contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service, and for the holy garments.

CSB: Everyone whose heart was moved and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its services, and for the holy garments.

NLT: All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord. They brought all the materials needed for the Tabernacle, for the performance of its rituals, and for the sacred garments.

KJV: And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

NKJV: Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

The tabernacle-building project begins with a reminder about Sabbath-keeping. The subtext is that even temple-building work is still "work," and cannot be done on the Sabbath. Using nearly the exact same words from prior passages, Scripture records the people donating materials. Moses assigns Bezalel and Oholiab as project managers, training and overseeing as Israelites create sacred objects.

The Lord gave Moses extensive designs for the tabernacle (Exodus 25—31). He has just renewed the covenant (Exodus 34) broken by Israelite sin (Exodus 32). Now, Moses begins repeating these instructions to the people. The next several chapters will record Israel following God's directions closely, completing the sanctuary.

The book of Exodus establishes God's covenant relationship with the full-fledged nation of Israel. The descendants of Abraham prosper after settling in Egypt, only to be enslaved by a fearful, hateful Egyptian Pharaoh. God appoints Moses to lead the people out of this bondage. Moses serves as God's spokesman, as the Lord brings plagues and judgments on Egypt, leading to the release of Israel.