Exodus 30
30
The Altar for Burning Incense
1“Make an altar for burning incense. Make it out of acacia wood. 2It must be one and a half feet square and three feet high. Make a horn stick out from each of its upper four corners. 3Cover the top, sides and horns with pure gold. Put a strip of gold around it. 4Make two gold rings for the altar below the strip. Put the rings across from each other. They will hold the poles that are used to carry it. 5Make the poles out of acacia wood. Cover them with gold. 6Put the altar in front of the curtain that hangs in front of the ark. The ark is where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. The ark will have a cover. It will be the place where sin is paid for. There I will meet with you.
7“Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on the altar. He must do it every morning when he takes care of the lamps. 8He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at sunset. Incense must be burned regularly in front of the Lord. Do it for all time to come. 9Do not burn any other incense on the altar. Do not use the altar for burnt offerings or grain offerings. And do not pour drink offerings on it. 10Once a year Aaron must put the blood of a sin offering on the horns of the altar. He must do this to make the altar pure. He must do this on the day Israel’s sin is paid for. Do this for all time to come. The altar is a very holy place to me.”
Money to Pay for the People’s Lives
11Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 12“Make a list of the Israelites and count them. When you do, each one must pay the Lord for his life at the time he is counted. Then a plague will not come on them when you count them. 13Each one counted must pay a fifth of an ounce of silver. It must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. The payment is an offering to the Lord. 14Each one counted must be 20 years old or more. He must give an offering to the Lord. 15When you make the offering, rich people must not give more than a fifth of an ounce of silver. And poor people must not give less. The offering you give to the Lord will pay for your lives. 16Receive the money from the people of Israel. Use it for any purpose in the tent of meeting. It will remind the people that they are paying me for their lives.”
The Large Bowl for Washing
17Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 18“Make a large bronze bowl for washing. Make a bronze stand to put it on. Place the bowl between the tent of meeting and the altar. Put water in it. 19Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20When they enter the tent of meeting, they must wash with water so that they will not die. They will come to the altar to serve me. They will bring a food offering to the Lord. 21When they do, they must wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. For all time to come, that will be a law for Aaron and the priests in his family line.”
Anointing Oil
22Then the Lord said to Moses, 23“Get some fine spices. Get 12 pounds eight ounces of liquid myrrh. Get six pounds four ounces of sweet-smelling cinnamon and the same amount of sweet-smelling calamus. 24Also get 12 pounds eight ounces of cassia. All the spices must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. And get a gallon of olive oil. 25Have a person who makes perfume mix everything into a sacred anointing oil. It will smell sweet. 26Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting and the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. 27Anoint the table for the holy bread and all its things. Anoint the lampstand and the things that are used with it. Anoint the altar for burning incense. 28Anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all its tools. And anoint the large bowl together with its stand. 29You must set them apart so that they will be very holy. Anything that touches them will be holy.
30“Anoint Aaron and his sons. Set them apart so that they can serve me as priests. 31Say to the people of Israel, ‘This will be my sacred anointing oil for all time to come. 32Do not pour it on anyone else’s body. Do not make any other oil in the same way. It is sacred. So you must think of it as sacred. 33Suppose a person makes perfume in the same way. And suppose that person puts it on someone who is not a priest. Then that person must be separated from their people.’ ”
Incense
34Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get some sweet-smelling spices. Get some gum resin, onycha and galbanum. Also get some pure frankincense. Make sure everything is in equal amounts. 35Have a person who makes perfume mix it all up into a sweet-smelling incense. It must have salt in it. It will be pure and sacred. 36Grind some of it into powder. Place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting. There I will meet with you. The incense will be very holy to you. 37Do not make any incense for yourselves in the same way. Think of it as holy to the Lord. 38Whoever makes incense in the same way to enjoy its sweet smell must be separated from their people.”
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Exodus 30: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Exodus 30
30
1“Make from acacia wood an altar for burning incense.#30:1. This is in addition to the altar mentioned in chapter 27. 2It shall be square, measuring a cubit by a cubit, by two cubits high, with horns on its corners that are all one piece with the altar. 3Cover its top, its side, and its horns with pure gold, and make a gold trim to go all around it. 4On two of the altar's sides make two gold rings and attach them below the trim to hold the poles that carry it. 5Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold. 6Put the altar in front of the veil that hangs before the Ark of the Testimony and the atonement cover that is over the Testimony#30:6. “Testimony”: referring to the tablets of stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments. where I will meet with you.
7Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he takes care of the lamps. 8When he lights the lamps in the evening he must burn incense again so that incense will always be burned in the Lord's presence for generations to come. 9Don't offer on this altar any unapproved incense#30:9. “Unapproved incense”: in other words, incense not prepared according to the instructions given in verses 34-38. or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour out a drink offering upon it.
10Once a year Aaron must perform the atonement#30:10. “Atonement”: the Hebrew word is associated with the concept of “covering” sin, in other words, taking care of it. In this way people are reconciled to God and become “at one” with him. Note that the problem is not on God's side, but with rebellious humanity, estranged from God, treating him as an enemy. ritual by placing blood on the horns of the altar from the sin offering for atonement. This yearly atonement ritual must be carried out for generations to come. This is the Lord's holy altar.”
11The Lord told Moses, 12“When you take a census of the Israelites, each man must pay the Lord to buy back his life when he's counted. Then they won't suffer from the plague when they're counted. 13Each one who crosses over to those counted#30:13. Clearly there was some process by which as people moved from the “uncounted” group to the “counted” group the payment was made. must give a half shekel (using the sanctuary shekel standard, which weighs twenty gerahs). This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 14This offering to the Lord is required from everyone twenty years old and more. 15When you give this offering to buy back your lives the rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less. 16Take this money paid by the Israelites and use it for the expenses involved in the services of the Tent of Meeting. It will serve as a reminder for the Israelites to buy back your lives in the presence of the Lord.”
17The Lord told Moses, 18“Make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19Aaron and his sons will use it to wash their hands and feet. 20Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they are to wash with water so that they will not die. When they approach the altar to present burnt offerings to the Lord, 21they must also wash so that they will not die. This requirement is to be observed by them and their descendants for all generations.”
22The Lord told Moses, 23“Take the best quality spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, 250 shekels of sweet-smelling cinnamon, 250 shekels of aromatic reed, 24500 shekels of cassia (weights using the sanctuary shekel standard), and a hin of olive oil. 25Mix these together into holy anointing oil, an aromatic blend like the product of an expert perfumer. Use it as holy anointing oil. 26Use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, 27the table and all its equipment, the lampstand and its equipment, the altar of incense, 28the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin plus its stand. 29Dedicate them so that they will be especially holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.
30Anoint Aaron and his sons too and dedicate them to serve as priests for me. 31Tell the Israelites, ‘This is to be my holy anointing oil for all generations to come. 32Don't use it on ordinary people and don't make anything like it using the same formula. It is holy, and you must treat it as being holy. 33Anyone who mixes anointing oil like it, or puts it on someone other than a priest,#30:33. “Someone other than a priest”: literally, “a stranger.” will be expelled from their people.’”
34The Lord told Moses, “Take equal amounts of these aromatic spices: balsam resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense. 35Add some salt and make pure and holy incense blended like the product of an expert perfumer. 36Grind some of it into powder and place it in front of the Ark of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be especially holy to you. 37Don't make for yourselves any incense like it using the same formula. You are to consider this incense as holy to the Lord. 38Anyone who makes incense like this for themselves to enjoy will be expelled from their people.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com