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Friday, August 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Amplified Bible

Exodus 40:20

He took the Testimony [the stones inscribed with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], and placed the poles [through the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ark;   Decalogue;   Law;   Mercy-Seat;   Tabernacle;   Thompson Chain Reference - Dedication;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Desert, Journey of Israel through the;   Mercy-Seat;   Tabernacle;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Dedication;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Tabernacle;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Samuel, First and Second, Theology of;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Tabernacle;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Canon of Scripture;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Exodus, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ethics;   Leviticus;   Tabernacle;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Commandments, the Ten;   Mercy Seat;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Events of the Encampment;   Tabernacle, the;   Worship, the;   Last Days at Sinai;   Moses, the Man of God;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ark of the Covenant;   Canon of the Old Testament;   Ten Commandments, the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Decalogue;   Leviticus;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He took and put the testimony into the teivah, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
King James Version
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
Lexham English Bible
And he took and he put the testimony into the ark, and he placed the poles on the ark, and he put the atonement cover on the ark, above it.
New Century Version
Moses put the stone tablets that had the Agreement written on them into the Ark. He put the poles through the rings of the Ark and put the lid on it.
New English Translation
He took the testimony and put it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark, and then put the atonement lid on the ark.
New American Standard Bible
Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and attached the poles to the ark, and put the atoning cover on top of the ark.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he tooke and put the Testimonie in the Arke, and put the barres in the ringes of the Arke, and set the Merciseate on hie vpon the Arke.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark and attached the poles to the ark and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.
Contemporary English Version
The stones with the Ten Commandments written on them were stored in the sacred chest, the place of mercy was put on top of it, and the carrying poles were attached.
Complete Jewish Bible
He took and put the testimony inside the ark, put the poles on the ark, and set the ark-cover above, on the ark.
Darby Translation
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and put the staves in the ark, and put the mercy-seat above on the ark.
Easy-to-Read Version
Moses took the Agreement and put it in the Holy Box. He put the poles on the Box and put the mercy-cover on it.
English Standard Version
He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark.
George Lamsa Translation
And he took the testimony and put it into the ark and set the poles on the ark and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
Good News Translation
Then he took the two stone tablets and put them in the Covenant Box. He put the poles in the rings of the Box and put the lid on it.
Christian Standard Bible®
Moses took the testimony and placed it in the ark, and attached the poles to the ark. He set the mercy seat on top of the ark.
Literal Translation
And he took and gave the testimony into the ark. And he put the poles on the ark. And he gave the mercyseat on the ark from above.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he toke the wytnesse, and layed it in the Arke, and put ye staues in the Arke, and set the Mercyseate aboue vpon the Arke,
American Standard Version
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark:
Bible in Basic English
And he took the law and put it inside the ark, and put the rods at its side and the cover over it;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he toke the testimonie, and put it in the arke, and set the barres to the arke, and put the mercie seate an hye vpon the arke.]
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the ark-cover above upon the ark.
King James Version (1611)
And he tooke and put the testimony into the Arke, and set the staues on the Arke, and put the Mercie-seat aboue vpon the Arke.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he took the testimonies, and put them into the ark; and he put the staves by the sides of the ark.
English Revised Version
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark:
Berean Standard Bible
Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He puttide also the witnessyng in the arke, and he settide barris with ynne, and Goddis answeryng place aboue.
Young's Literal Translation
And he taketh and putteth the testimony unto the ark, and setteth the staves on the ark, and putteth the mercy-seat on the ark above;
Update Bible Version
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above on the ark:
Webster's Bible Translation
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staffs on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark:
World English Bible
He took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
New King James Version
He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.
New Living Translation
He took the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant and placed them inside the Ark. Then he attached the carrying poles to the Ark, and he set the Ark's cover—the place of atonement—on top of it.
New Life Bible
Then he took the Law and put it into the special box. He put the long pieces of wood on the special box of the agreement. And he put the mercy-seat on top of the special box.
New Revised Standard
He took the covenant and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy seat above the ark;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he took and placed the testimony within the ark, and put the staves upon the ark, - and placed the propitiatory upon the ark, above;
Douay-Rheims Bible
(40-17) And spread the roof over the tabernacle, putting over it a cover, as the Lord had commanded.
Revised Standard Version
And he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy seat above on the ark;
THE MESSAGE
He placed The Testimony in the Chest, inserted the poles for carrying the Chest, and placed the lid, the Atonement-Cover, on it. He brought the Chest into The Dwelling and set up the curtain, screening off the Chest of The Testimony, just as God had commanded Moses.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and attached the poles to the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

Contextual Overview

16Thus Moses did; in accordance with all that the LORD commanded him, so he did. 17Now it happened on the first day of the first month (Abib) in the second year [after the exodus from Egypt], that the tabernacle was erected. 18Moses erected the tabernacle, laid its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars and erected its support poles. 19He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, just as the LORD had commanded him. 20He took the Testimony [the stones inscribed with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], and placed the poles [through the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.21Moses brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil (partition) for the screen (curtain), and screened off the ark of the Testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him. 22Then he put the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. 23He set the bread [of the Presence] in order on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him. 24Then he put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 25Moses mounted and lighted the lamps [on the lampstand] before the LORD, just as the LORD commanded him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the testimony: Exodus 16:34, Exodus 25:16-21, Exodus 31:18, Psalms 40:8, Matthew 3:15

mercy: Exodus 40:3, Exodus 37:6-9, Romans 3:25, Romans 10:4, Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 10:19-21, 1 John 2:2

Reciprocal: Exodus 25:13 - General Exodus 25:17 - mercy seat Exodus 26:34 - put the mercy seat Exodus 32:15 - the testimony Exodus 37:1 - General Leviticus 16:2 - he come not Deuteronomy 10:2 - thou shalt Deuteronomy 10:5 - put the 1 Kings 6:19 - to set 1 Kings 8:6 - his place 1 Kings 8:8 - drew out the staves 1 Kings 8:9 - put there at Horeb 1 Chronicles 15:15 - bare the ark 1 Chronicles 28:11 - the place 2 Chronicles 5:10 - save 2 Chronicles 6:11 - I put the ark Psalms 78:5 - testimony Mark 15:38 - General Hebrews 9:4 - and the

Cross-References

Genesis 21:8
The child [Isaac] grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
Genesis 40:1
Now some time later, the cupbearer (butler) and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, Egypt's king.
Genesis 40:2
Pharaoh (Sesostris II) was extremely angry with his two officials, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers.
Genesis 40:13
within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head (present you in public) and restore you to your position; and you will [again] put Pharaoh's cup into his hand just as [you did] when you were his cupbearer.
Genesis 40:19
within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will hang you on a tree (gallows, pole), and [you will not so much as be given a burial, but] the birds will eat your flesh."
Genesis 40:23
Yet [even after all that] the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot [all about] him.
2 Kings 25:27
Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison;
Esther 1:3
in the third year of his reign he held a banquet for all his officials and his attendants. The army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the officials of the provinces were there in his presence.
Job 3:1
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
Matthew 14:6
But when Herod's birthday came, [his niece Salome], the daughter of Herodias danced [immodestly] before them and pleased and fascinated Herod,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he took and put the testimony into the ark,.... The ten commands, called the "testimony", because they testified and declared what was the will of God with respect to things to be done, or not done. The Targum of Jonathan says, he put the broken pieces of the tables into it; but what became of them, or were done with them, we nowhere read; and it does not appear that any other, but those that Moses hewed by the order of God, were put into the ark; see Deuteronomy 10:1

and set the staves on the ark; that it might be ready to be carried whenever a remove was necessary:

and put the mercy seat above upon the ark; together with the cherubim.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The testimony - i. e. the tables of stone with the Ten Commandments engraved on them Exodus 25:16; Exodus 31:18. Nothing else is said to have been put into the ark. These were found there by themselves in the time of Solomon 1 Kings 8:9; 2 Chronicles 5:10. The pot of manna was “laid up before the testimony” Exodus 16:34; Aaron’s rod was also placed “before the testimony” Numbers 17:10; and the book of the law was put at “the side of the ark” Deuteronomy 31:26. The expression “before the testimony” appears to mean the space immediately in front of the ark. Most interpreters hold that the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod were at first placed between the ark and the veil, and afterward within the ark Hebrews 9:4. It is very probable that the pot and the rod had been put into the ark before it was taken by the Philistines, but that they were not sent back with the ark and the tables. 1Sa 4:11; 1 Samuel 6:11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 40:20. And put the testimony into the ark — That is, the two tables on which the ten commandments had been written. See Exodus 25:16. The ark, the golden table with the shew-bread, the golden candlestick, and the golden altar of incense, were all in the tabernacle, within the veil or curtains, which served as a door, Exodus 40:22; Exodus 40:24; Exodus 40:26. And the altar of burnt-offering was by the door, Exodus 40:29. And the brazen laver, between the tent of the congregation and the brazen altar, Exodus 40:30; still farther outward, that it might be the first thing the priests met with when entering into the court to minister, as their hands and feet must be washed before they could perform any part of the holy service, Exodus 40:31-32. When all these things were thus placed, then the court that surrounded the tabernacle, which consisted of posts and hangings, was set up, Exodus 40:33.


 
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