Exodus 30
30
The Altar for Burning Incense
1“Make an altar from acacia wood. You will use this altar for burning incense. 2You must make the altar square—1 cubit#30:2 cubit 20 5/8" (51.83 cm). long and 1 cubit wide. It must be 2 cubits#30:2 2 cubits 3' 4 13/16" (104 cm). high. There will be horns at the four corners. These horns must be made as one piece with the altar. 3Cover the top, the horns, and all four sides of the altar with pure gold. Then put gold trim all around the altar. 4Below this trim there should be two gold rings. There should be two gold rings on opposite sides of the altar. These gold rings will be used with poles to carry the altar. 5Make the poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. 6Put the altar just outside the special curtain that hangs in front of the Box of the Agreement. So the altar will be in front of the mercy-cover that is above the Agreement. This is the place where I will meet with you.
7“Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on the altar every morning. He will do this when he comes to care for the lamps. 8He must burn incense again when he checks the lamps in the evening so that incense will be burned before the Lord every day forever. 9Don’t use this altar for offering any other kind of incense or burnt offering or for any kind of grain offering or drink offering.
10“Once a year Aaron must make a special sacrifice. He will use the blood of the sin offering to erase the sins of the people. He will do this at the horns of this altar. This day will be called the Day of Atonement, and it will be a very special day for the Lord.”
The Temple Tax
11The Lord said to Moses, 12“Count the Israelites so that you will know how many people there are. Every time this is done, each man must make a payment for himself to the Lord so that nothing terrible will happen to the people. 13Each man who is counted must pay 1/2 shekel of silver. (That is 1/2 shekel by the official measure. This shekel weighs 20 gerahs.#30:13 gerahs 1/50 of an ounce (.6 g).) This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 14Every man who is at least 20 years old must be counted. And every man who is counted must give the Lord this offering. 15The rich must not give more than 1/2 shekel, and the poor must not give less than 1/2 shekel. All people will make the same offering to the Lord. This will be a payment for your life. 16Gather this money from the Israelites. Use the money for the service in the Meeting Tent. This payment will be a way for the Lord to remember his people. They will be paying for their own lives.”
The Washing Bowl
17The Lord said to Moses, 18“Make a bronze bowl and put it on a bronze base. You will use this for washing. Put the bowl between the Meeting Tent and the altar. Fill the bowl with water. 19Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet with the water from this bowl. 20Every time they enter the Meeting Tent, they must wash with that water so that they will not die. They must also wash every time they come near the altar to burn incense or to offer gifts to the Lord. 21They must wash their hands and their feet so that they will not die. This will be a law that continues forever for Aaron and his people who will live in the future.”
The Anointing Oil
22Then the Lord said to Moses, 23“Find the finest spices. Get 12 pounds#30:23 12 pounds Literally, “500 measures” (5.75 kg). of liquid myrrh, half that amount (that is, 6 pounds#30:23 6 pounds Literally, “250 measures” (2.9 kg).) of sweet-smelling cinnamon, and 12 pounds of sweet-smelling cane, 24and 12 pounds of cassia. Use the official measure to measure all these things. Also get 1 gallon#30:24 gallon Literally, “a hin” (3.2 l). of olive oil.
25“Mix all these things to make a special sweet-smelling anointing oil. 26Pour this oil on the Meeting Tent and on the Box of the Agreement. This will show that these things have a special purpose. 27Pour the oil on the table and on all the dishes on the table. And pour this oil on the lamp and on all its tools. Pour the oil on the incense altar. 28Also, pour the oil on the altar for burning offerings to God. Pour this oil on everything on that altar. Pour this oil on the bowl and on the base under the bowl. 29You will make all these things holy. They will be very special to the Lord. Anything that touches these things will also become holy.
30“Pour the oil on Aaron and his sons to show that they are separated from the rest of the people to serve as priests. 31Tell the Israelites that the anointing oil is holy—it must always be used only for me. 32This oil is holy and you must treat it as something special. Don’t use the same formula for making perfume and don’t let people use this oil like an ordinary perfume. 33Whoever makes a perfume like that and puts it on anyone except a priest#30:33 priest Literally, “stranger.” must be separated from the people.”
The Incense
34Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get these sweet-smelling spices: resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense. Be sure that you have equal amounts of these spices. 35Mix the spices together to make a sweet-smelling incense. Do this the same as a perfume maker would do it. Also mix salt with this incense. This will make it pure and special. 36Grind some of the incense until it becomes a fine powder. Put the powder in front of the Holy Box that holds the Agreement#30:36 Holy Box that holds the Agreement Literally, “Testimony.” See “Agreement” in the Word List. in the Meeting Tent. This is the place where I meet with you. You must use this incense powder only for its very special purpose. 37You must use it only in this special way for the Lord. You must also make it in a special way. Don’t make any other incense in this way. 38There may be people who will want to make some of this incense for themselves so that they can enjoy the smell. But whoever does this must be separated from their people.”
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Exodus 30: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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