And you shall put it refers to the incense altar (verse 1). It is to be placed before the veil, literally “to the face of the paroketh,” or the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. In certain languages it will be helpful to make this information explicit, with “Put this altar just outside the curtain that hangs between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.” (See 26.33.) In this context it is better to say “outside” the veil (Good News Translation). That is by the ark of the testimony is literally “which is over [or, upon] the box of the reminder.” (This expression for the ark is discussed at 25.22.) New Revised Standard Version calls this “the ark of the covenant,” and Good News Translation has “the Covenant Box.”
Before the mercy seat (kapporeth) refers to the gold lid or cover that was to be placed on top of the “Covenant Box.” (See 25.17.) That is over the testimony may refer either to the “Box” itself or to the stone tablets that were to be placed inside it. (See 25.21.) Good News Translation, following the Septuagint and some of the Hebrew manuscripts, omits this clause about the mercy seat. It is, of course, clear enough what is meant. It will be helpful to begin a new sentence here and say “The sacred chest with the golden lid is kept behind that curtain.”
Where I will meet with you is ambiguous. The use of commas in Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version to set off the reference to the mercy seat does not sufficiently clarify what place the where refers to. Does it refer to the incense altar in the area outside the veil, or does it refer to the mercy seat inside the veil? By starting a new sentence here, Good News Translation seems to suggest that it is “outside the curtain.” It has already been stated, however, that the LORD will meet with Moses “above the mercy seat” and “between the two cherubim” (25.22). Therefore it is best to relate the where to the mercy seat inside the Holy of Holies. Contemporary English Version is much clearer: “The chest with the place of mercy is kept behind that curtain, and I will talk with you there.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Put this altar just outside the curtain that hangs between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The sacred chest with the golden lid is behind that curtain. That is the place where I will meet [or, talk] with you.
Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .