Exodus 30
30
The Altar for Incense
(Exodus 37:25–29)
1 ⌞The Lord continued,⌟ “Build an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense. 2Make it 18 inches square and 36 inches high. The horns and altar must be made out of one piece ⌞of wood⌟. 3Cover all of it with pure gold—the top, the sides, and the horns. Put a gold molding around it. 4Make two gold rings, and put them below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles for carrying it. 5Make the poles out of acacia wood, and cover them with gold. 6Put the altar in front of the canopy which ⌞hangs⌟ over the ark containing the words of my promise. I will meet with you there in front of the throne of mercy that is on the ark.
7“Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on this altar every morning when he takes care of the lamps. 8Also, when Aaron lights the lamps at dusk, he must burn incense. For generations to come an incense offering must burn constantly in the Lord’s presence.
9“Never burn any unauthorized incense on this altar or any burnt offerings or grain offerings. Never pour a wine offering on it. 10Once a year Aaron must make peace with the Lord by putting blood on its horns. Once a year—for generations to come—blood from the offering must be placed on the altar to make peace with the Lord. It is most holy to the Lord.”
Counting the Israelites
11Then the Lord said to Moses, 12“When you take a census of the Israelites, each person must pay the Lord a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will happen to them when they are counted. 13As each person is counted, he must give one-fifth of an ounce of silver using the standard weight of the holy place.#30:13 Hebrew adds, “There are 20 gerahs to the standard shekel.” This one-fifth of an ounce of silver is a contribution to the Lord. 14Everyone counted who is at least 20 years old must give this contribution to the Lord. 15The rich must not give more than one-fifth of an ounce of silver, and the poor must not give less. This contribution is given to make peace with the Lord and make your lives acceptable to the Lord. 16Take the money the Israelites give to make peace with the Lord, and use it to pay the expenses of the tent of meeting. It will be a reminder for the Israelites in the Lord’s presence that the sins in their lives are removed.”
The Bronze Basin
(Exodus 38:8)
17The Lord said to Moses, 18“Make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and fill it with water. 19Aaron and his sons will use it for washing their hands and feet. 20Before they go into the tent of meeting, they must wash so that they will not die. Before they come near the altar to serve as priests and burn an offering by fire to the Lord, 21they will wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This will be a permanent law for him and his descendants for generations to come.”
The Oil for Anointing
22The Lord said to Moses, 23“Take the finest spices: 12½ pounds of powdered #30:23 Or “liquid.” myrrh; half as much, that is, 6¼ pounds of fragrant cinnamon; 6¼ pounds of fragrant cane; 2412½ pounds of cassia—all weighed using the standard weight of the holy place—and 4 quarts of olive oil. 25Have a perfumer make these into a holy oil, a fragrant mixture, used only for anointing. This will be the holy oil used for anointing.
26“Use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark containing the words of my promise, 27the table and all the dishes, the lamp stand and all the utensils, the altar for incense, 28the altar for burnt offerings and all its accessories, and the basin with its stand. 29In this way you will dedicate them for their holy purpose. Then they will be most holy, and anything that touches them will become holy. 30Anoint Aaron and his sons as well. In this way you will set them apart for their holy duties of serving me as priests.
31“Say to the Israelites, ‘For generations to come, this will be my holy oil used only for anointing. 32It must never be poured on the bodies of other people. Never make any perfumed oil using this formula. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. 33Whoever prepares a perfume like this or puts it on anyone who is not a priest must be excluded from the people.’ ”
The Incense for Use in the Tent
34The Lord said to Moses, “Take one part fragrant spices (two kinds of gum resin and aromatic mollusk shells), and mix them with one part pure frankincense. 35Have a perfumer make it into fragrant incense, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36Grind some of it into a fine powder, and put it in front of ⌞the ark containing⌟ the words of my promise in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. You must treat it as most holy. 37Never make any incense for yourselves using this formula. Treat it as holy to the Lord. 38Whoever prepares anything like it for his own enjoyment must be excluded from his people.”
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. 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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