Exodus 30

The Altar of Incense

1 You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.2 A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its widthit shall be squareand two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.3 And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.4 Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it.5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.6 And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.7 Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.8 And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.9 You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it.10 And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.

The Ransom Money

11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:12 When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the Lord.14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord.15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.

The Bronze Laver

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:18 You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it,19 for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it.20 When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die.21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to themto him and his descendants throughout their generations.

The Holy Anointing Oil

22 Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:23 Also take for yourself quality spicesfive hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels ), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,24 five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense;28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base.29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy.30 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.31 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.32 It shall not be poured on mans flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.

The Incense

34 And the Lord said to Moses: Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each.35 You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.36 And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.37 But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the Lord.38 Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.

EXODUS 30

The Altar //for Burning Incense

(Exodus 37.25-28)

The [Lord] said to Moses:

1 Build an altar of acacia wood where you can burn incense. 2 Make it 45 centimeters square and 90 centimeters high, and make each of its four corners stick up like the horn of a bull. 3 Cover it with pure gold and put a gold edging around it. 4 Then below the edging on opposite sides attach two gold rings through which you can put the poles for carrying the altar.

5 These poles are also to be made of acacia wood covered with gold.
6 Put the altar in front of the inside curtain of the sacred tent. The chest with the place of mercyt is kept behind that curtain, and I will talk with you there. 7-8 From now on, when Aaron takes care of the lamps each morning and evening, he must burn sweet-smelling incense to me on the altar. 9 Burn only the proper incense on the altar and never use it for grain sacrifices or animal sacrifices or drink offerings.

10 t Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing on its four cornerst the blood of an animal sacrificed for sin, and this practice must always be followed. The altar is sacred because it is dedicated to me.

The Money //for the Sacred Tent

11 The [Lord] said to Moses:
12 Find out how many grown men there are in Israel and require each of them to pay me to keep him safe from danger while you are counting them. 13-15 t Each man over 19, whether rich or poor, must pay me the same amount of money, weighed according to the official standards.

16 This money is to be used for the upkeep of the sacred tent, and because of it, I will never forget my people.

The Large Bronze Bowl

(Exodus 38.8)

17 The [Lord] said to Moses:

18-21  t Make a large bronze bowl and a bronze stand for it. Then put them between the altar for sacrifice and the sacred tent, so the priests can wash their hands and feet before entering the tent or offering a sacrifice on the altar. Each priest in every generation must wash himself in this way, or else he will die right there.

The Oil for Dedication //and Ordination

(Exodus 37.29)

22  t The [Lord] said to Moses:
23-25 Mix four liters of olive oil with the following costly spices: six kilograms of myrrh, three kilograms of cinnamon, three kilograms of cane, and six kilograms of cassia. Measure these according to the official standards. Then use this sacred mixture 26 for dedicating the tent and chest, 27 the table with its equipment, the lampstand with its equipment, the incense altar with all its utensils, 28 the altar for sacrifices, and the large bowl with its stand.

29 By dedicating them in this way, you will make them so holy that anyone who even touches them will become holy.
30 When you ordain Aaron and his sons as my priests, sprinkle them with some of this oil, 31 and say to the people of Israel: “This oil must always be used in the ordination service of a priest. It is holy because it is dedicated to the [Lord]. 32 So treat it as holy! Don't ever use it for everyday purposes or mix any for yourselves.

33 If you do, you will no longer belong to the [Lord]'s people.”

The Sweet-Smelling Incense