Exodus 25:19
וַעֲשֵׂה כְּרוּב אֶחָד מִקָּצָה מִזֶּה וּכְרוּב־אֶחָד מִקָּצָה מִזֶּה מִן־הַכַּפֹּרֶת תַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִים עַל־שְׁנֵי קְצוֹתָֽיו׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וַ֠עֲשֵׂה כְּר֨וּב אֶחָ֤ד מִקָּצָה֙ מִזֶּ֔ה וּכְרוּב־אֶחָ֥ד מִקָּצָ֖ה מִזֶּ֑ה מִן־הַכַּפֹּ֛רֶת תַּעֲשׂ֥וּ אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֖ים עַל־שְׁנֵ֥י קְצוֹתָֽיו׃
ἔσονται οἱ χερουβεὶμ ἐκτείνοντες τὰς πτέρυγας ἐπάνωθεν, συσκιάζοντες ἐν ταῖς πτέρυξιν αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου, καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν εἰς ἄλληλα· εῖς τὸ ἱλαστήριον ἔσονται τὰ πρόσωπα τῶν χερουβείν.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Cherub unus sit in latere uno, et alter in altero.
Haz un querubín en un extremo y el otro querubín en el otro extremo. Los querubines y el propiciatorio formarán una sola pieza.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Harás, pues, un querubín al extremo de un lado, y un querubín al otro extremo del lado opuesto: de la calidad de la cubierta harás los querubines en sus dos extremidades.
one cherub on one end and one on the other, all made from one piece of gold.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Exodus 25:19 instructs that one keruv ("cherub", H3742) be placed at one end and a second keruv at the other end, and specifies that the cherubim are to be made min-hakapporet ("from the atonement cover", H3727) — that is, of the same piece as the cover itself — positioned on its two qetzot ("ends", H7098).
Key words
- 'aseh ("make", H6213H) — qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular: a direct command addressed to one person (Moses).
- ta'asu ("you will make", H6213H) — qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural: the verb shifts to a plural subject within the same verse.
- keruv ("a cherub", H3742) — masculine singular, repeated twice, each time paired with 'echad ("one", H0259).
- qatzah ("an end", H7098) — feminine singular, used twice in the first half of the verse, then appearing as a plural construct qetzotav ("its ends") at the close.
- kapporet ("atonement cover", H3727) — feminine singular with the definite article, governed by the preposition min ("from", H4480A).
What the text says
The verse divides into two halves with different grammatical subjects for the verb "to make." The first half uses the singular imperative 'aseh, addressing a single individual, and describes placing one keruv miqqatzah mizzeh ("from the end, from this [side]") and a second keruv miqqatzah mizzeh at the other end — a mirrored phrase repeated verbatim for symmetry. The second half switches to the plural imperfect ta'asu, addressing multiple people, and states that the cherubim (hakeruvim, plural with the object marker 'et) are to be made min-hakapporet — "from the cover" — meaning the material of the cherubim originates from the same piece as the kapporet, rather than being separately fabricated and attached. The final phrase, 'al-shenei qetzotav ("on the two ends of it," with qetzot now feminine plural in construct and the pronominal suffix -av, "its"), returns to describing their placement, closing the structural frame opened at the start of the verse.
Differences between versions
The Vulgate condenses the verse sharply: "Cherub unus sit in latere uno, et alter in altero" ("Let one cherub be on one side, and the other on the other side"), using latere ("side") rather than reflecting the Hebrew qatzah ("end") and omitting any equivalent to min-hakapporet ("from the cover") — the notion that the cherubim share the cover's material is not rendered. The LXX text supplied here describes the cherubim's wings and faces turned toward the hilasterion ("mercy seat"), content that corresponds to the following verse (25:20) in the Hebrew rather than to 25:19, so no direct comparison of this verse's wording can be drawn from the LXX text given.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.