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:

And he put the testimony in the ark, thrusting bars underneath, and the oracle above.

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:

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;

And he took the law and put it inside the ark, and put the rods at its side and the cover over it;

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.

And he placed the testimony in the ark, applying the bars beneath, and the oracle above.

Tulitque et posuit testimonium in arca ipsa, posuit quoque vectes super arcata, et propitiatorium super arcata superne.

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. 1-Samuel 4:11; 1-Samuel 6:11.

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, Exodus 40:32. 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.

And he took and put the (f) testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
(f) That is, the tables of the law; (Exodus 31:18, Exodus 34:29).

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.

Arrangement of the ark. "He took and put the testimony into the ark." העדוּת does not mean "the revelation, so far as it existed already, viz., with regard to the erection of the sanctuary and institution of the priesthood (ch. 25-31), and so forth," as Knobel arbitrarily supposes, but "the testimony," i.e., the decalogue written upon the two tables of stone, or the tables of the covenant with the ten words; "the testimony," therefore, is an abbreviated expression for "the tables of testimony" (Exodus 31:18, see at Exodus 25:16). After the ark had been brought into the dwelling, he "hung the curtain" (vail, see at Exodus 26:31; lit., placed it upon the hooks of the pillars), "and so covered over the ark of the testimony," since the ark, when placed in the back part of the dwelling, was covered or concealed from persons entering the dwelling or the holy place.