And you shall put in it is literally “And you [singular] shall place there.” The ark of the testimony, of course, refers to the “ark of the covenant” (New Revised Standard Version), as at 25.22. This expression focuses on the idea of “reminder,” which refers to the terms of the covenant written on the stone tablets. So Good News Translation has “the Covenant Box containing the Ten Commandments.”

And you shall screen the ark with the veil is literally “and you [singular] shall isolate the ark with the veil.” The word for veil is the same word used in 26.31, which is distinguished from the “screen” in 26.36. However, the word for screen here is the verb from which the noun “screen” is derived. It means to block off, or “screen off” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “shield” (New International Version).

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 .