New Living Translation
Exodus 25:18
18Then make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them on the two ends of the atonement cover.
Exodus 25:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
- New International Version (NIV)And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.
Context of Exodus 25:18
16When the Ark is finished, place inside it the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you. 17“Then make the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. Then make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them on the two ends of the atonement cover. 19Mold the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold. 20The cherubim will face each other and look down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they will protect it.
Read all of Exodus 25Exodus 25:18 word by word
וְעָשִׂ֛יתָ שְׁנַ֥יִם כְּרֻבִ֖ים זָהָ֑ב מִקְשָׁה֙ תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֹתָ֔ם מִשְּׁנֵ֖י קְצ֥וֹת הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 25:18
- Exodus 37:7He made two cherubim from hammered gold and placed them on the two ends of the atonement cover.
- Genesis 3:24After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
- 1 Samuel 4:4So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God.
- 1 Kings 6:23He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary.
- 1 Kings 8:6Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim.
- 1 Chronicles 28:18He designated the amount of refined gold for the altar of incense. Finally, he gave him a plan for the Lord’s “chariot”—the gold cherubim whose wings were stretched out over the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant.
- Ezekiel 10:2Then the Lord spoke to the man in linen clothing and said, “Go between the whirling wheels beneath the cherubim, and take a handful of burning coals and scatter them over the city.” He did this as I watched.
- Ezekiel 41:18All the walls were decorated with carvings of cherubim, each with two faces, and there was a carving of a palm tree between each of the cherubim.
- Hebrews 9:5Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.
Commentaries on Exodus 25:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Thou shalt make two cherubims - What these were we cannot distinctly say. It is generally supposed that a cherub was a creature with four heads and one body: and the animals, of which these emblematical forms consisted, were the noblest of their kinds; the lion among the wild beasts, the bull among the tame ones, the eagle among the birds, and man at the head of all; so that they might be, says Dr. Priestley, the representatives of all nature. Concerning…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17-22Verses 17-22 A mercy seat of pure gold - (Compare Exodus 37:6-9.) In external form, the mercy-seat was a plate of gold with the cherubim standing on it, the whole beaten out of one solid piece of metal Exodus 37:7; it was placed upon the ark and so took the place of a cover. “mercy” seat expresses well the distinct significance and recognized designation of the Hebrew name. Exodus 25:18-20 The cherubim of the mercy-seat were human figures, each having two…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-22Verses 10-22 The ark was a chest, overlaid with gold, in which the two tables of the law were to be kept. These tables are called the testimony; God in them testified his will. This law was a testimony to the Israelites, to direct them in their duty, and would be a testimony against them, if they transgressed. This ark was placed in the holy of holies; the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled, and the incense burned, before it, by the high priest; and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18The description of the cherubim only mentions that they had wings (25:20; see 2 Chronicles 3:10–13).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. two cherubim--The real meaning of these figures, as well as the shape or form of them, is not known with certainty--probably similar to what was afterwards introduced into the temple, and described in Eze 10:8-22. They stretched out their wings, and their faces were turned towards the mercy seat [Ex 25:20], probably in a bowing attitude. The prevailing opinion now is, that those splendid figures were symbolical not of angelic but of earthly and human…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 25:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries