Exodus 30
30
Instructions for the incense altar
1Make an acacia-wood altar for burning incense. 2The altar should be square, eighteen inches long and eighteen inches wide. It should be three feet high. Its horns should be permanently attached. 3Cover the altar with pure gold, including its top, all its sides, and its horns. You should also make a gold molding all around it. 4Make two gold rings and attach them under the molding on two opposite sides of the altar. They will house the poles used to carry the altar. 5Make acacia-wood poles and cover them with gold. 6Place the incense altar in front of the veil that hangs before the chest containing the covenant, in front of the cover that is on top of the covenant document where I will meet with you. 7Aaron will burn sweet-smelling incense on the incense altar every morning when he takes care of the lamps. 8And again when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he will burn incense. It should be a regular incense offering in the LORD’s presence in every generation. 9Don’t offer the wrong incense on the altar or an entirely burned offering or a grain offering. Don’t pour a drink offering on it. 10Once a year Aaron should perform a ritual of reconciliation on its horns with the blood of the purification offering for reconciliation. Once a year in every generation he should perform a ritual of reconciliation at the altar. It is most holy to the LORD.
Census and compensation
11The LORD spoke to Moses: 12When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each of them should pay compensation for their life to the LORD when they are counted. Then no plague will descend on them when they are counted. 13Every one who is counted should pay a half shekel according to the official shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs). The half shekel is a gift offering to the LORD. 14Every one who is counted, from 20 years old and above, should present a gift offering to the LORD. 15When you bring this gift offering to the LORD to pay compensation for your lives, the rich shouldn’t give more and the poor shouldn’t give less than the half shekel. 16Take the compensation money from the Israelites and use it to support the service of the meeting tent. It will serve for the Israelites as a reminder in the LORD’s presence of the compensation paid for your lives.
Instructions for the washbasin
17The LORD spoke to Moses: 18Make a copper basin for washing along with its copper stand. Put it between the meeting tent and the altar, and put water in it. 19Aaron and his sons will use it to wash their hands and their feet. 20When they go into the meeting tent or approach the altar to minister and to offer a food gift to the LORD, they must wash with water so that they don’t die. 21They must wash their hands and their feet so that they don’t die. This will be a permanent regulation for them, for Aaron and his descendants in every generation.
Instructions for oil and incense
22The LORD spoke to Moses: 23Now take for yourself high-quality spices: five hundred weight of solid myrrh; half as much of sweet-smelling cinnamon, that is, two hundred fifty; two hundred fifty weight of sweet-smelling cane; 24five hundred of cassia—measured by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin#30.24 One hin is approximately one gallon. of olive oil. 25Prepare a holy anointing oil, blending them like a skilled perfume maker to produce the holy anointing oil. 26Use it to anoint the meeting tent, the chest containing the covenant, 27the table and all its equipment, the lampstand and its equipment, the incense altar, 28the altar for entirely burned offerings and all its equipment, and the washbasin with its stand. 29Make them holy so that they may be perfectly holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. 30Then anoint Aaron and his sons and make them holy to serve me as priests. 31Say to the Israelites: This will be my holy anointing oil in every generation. 32Don’t allow anyone else to use this oil. Don’t make another oil like it by using the same formula. This oil is holy, and you should regard it as holy. 33Whoever blends an oil like it or whoever uses the oil on someone else will be cut off from the people.
34The LORD said to Moses: Take an equal amount of each of these spices: gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense. 35Like a skilled perfume maker, carefully blend them together and make incense, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36Beat some of it into a fine powder and put part of it in front of the covenant document in the meeting tent where I will meet with you. You should regard it as perfectly holy. 37When you make incense according to this formula, you shouldn’t make any of it for your own use. You should regard it as holy to the LORD. 38Whoever makes incense with this same formula to enjoy its fragrance will be cut off from the people.
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Exodus 30: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
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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