Exodus 30
1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon; of acacia-wood shalt thou make it.
“[Tell the skilled workers to] make an altar from acacia wood, for burning incense.
2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be; and two cubits shall be the height thereof; the horns thereof shall be of one piece with it.
It is to be square, (18 in./45 cm.) on each side. It is to be (3 feet/90 cm.) high. [Tell them to] make [a projection that looks like] a horn on each of the top corners. The projections must be carved from the same block of wood that the altar [is made from].
3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
[They must] cover the top and the four sides, including the projections, with pure gold. Put a gold border around the altar, [near the top].
4 And two golden rings shalt thou make for it under the crown thereof, upon the two ribs thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make them; and they shall be for places for staves wherewith to bear it.
[They must] make two gold rings for carrying the altar. [They must] attach them to the altar below the border, one on each side of the altar. These rings are for the poles for carrying the altar.
5 And thou shalt make the staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold.
[Tell them to] make these [two] poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold.
6 And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the ark-cover that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
[They must] put this altar outside the curtain that hangs in front of the sacred chest and its lid. That is the place where I will talk with you.
7 And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of sweet spices; every morning, when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn it.
Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on this altar. He must burn some every morning when he takes care of the lamps,
8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at dusk, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
and he must burn some in the evening when he lights the lamps. The incense must be burned continually, throughout all future generations.
9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-offering, nor meal-offering; and ye shall pour no drink-offering thereon.
The priests must not burn on the altar any incense that I have not told you to burn, or burn any animal on it, or any grain offering for me, or pour any wine on it as an offering.
10 And Aaron shall make atonement upon the horns of it once in the year; with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement once in the year shall he make atonement for it throughout your generations; it is most holy unto the LORD.'
One time every year Aaron must perform the ritual for making this altar pure. He must do it by putting on its four projections some of the blood from the animal that was sacrificed (to remove the guilt of the people’s sins/so that the people would no longer be guilty for sins). This ritual is to be done by Aaron and his descendants throughout all future generations. This altar must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh.”
11 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
12 'When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
“When your [leaders] (take a census of/count) the Israeli people, each man [who is counted] must pay to me a price to save his life. They must do this in order that no disaster will happen to them while the people are being counted.
13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary — the shekel is twenty gerahs — half a shekel for an offering to the LORD.
Every man who is counted must pay to me (0.2 ounces/5.7 grams) of silver. They must use the official standard when they weigh the silver.
14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering of the LORD.
All the men who are at least 20 years old must pay this amount to me when the people are counted.
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of the LORD, to make atonement for your souls.
Rich men must not pay more than this amount, and poor men must not pay less than this amount, when they pay this money to save their lives.
16 And thou shalt take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for your souls.'
Your leaders must collect this money from the Israeli people and give it to [those who will] take care of the Sacred Tent. This money is the payment for the lives of those who take care of the Sacred Tent, (to enable me not to forget them/and then I will remember to protect them).”
17 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me,
18 'Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, whereat to wash; and thou shalt put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
“[Tell the skilled workers to] make a bronze washbasin and a bronze base for it. [They must] put it between the Sacred Tent and the altar, and fill it with water.
19 And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat;
Aaron and his sons must ritually wash their hands and their feet with this water
20 when they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to cause an offering made by fire to smoke unto the LORD;
before they enter the Sacred Tent and before they come to the altar to sacrifice offerings that will be burned on it. If [they do that], they will not die [because of disobeying my instructions].
21 so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.'
They must wash their hands and their feet, in order that they will not die. They and the males descended from them must obey this ritual throughout all generations.”
22 Moreover the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
23 'Take thou also unto thee the chief spices, of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty,
“[Tell the people to] collect some of the finest spices— (12 pounds/6 kg.) of (liquid myrrh/sweet-smelling sap named myrrh), (6 pounds/3 kg.) of sweet-smelling cinnamon, (6 pounds/3 kg.) of a sweet-smelling cane/reed,
24 and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin.
and (12 pounds/6 kg.) of (cassia/a sweet-smelling bark named cassia). [Be sure] that they use the official standard when they weigh these things. Tell an expert perfumer to mix these with (one gallon/four liters) of olive oil
25 And thou shalt make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
to make sacred oil for anointing.
26 And thou shalt anoint therewith the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony,
Use this oil for anointing the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest,
27 and the table and all the vessels thereof, and the candlestick and the vessels thereof, and the altar of incense,
the table and all the things that are used with it, the lampstand and all the things that are used to take care of it, the altar for [burning] incense,
28 and the altar of burnt-offering with all the vessels thereof, and the laver and the base thereof.
and the altar for offering sacrifices that will be burned, along with its bases and the washbasin and all the things that are used with it.
29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy; whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
Dedicate them by anointing them, in order that they will be completely holy/sacred. Anyone or anything that touches the altar will become taboo.
30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest's office.
And anoint Aaron and his sons. [By doing that], you will dedicate them to serve me [by being] priests.
31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying: This shall be a holy anointing oil unto Me throughout your generations.
And tell the Israeli people, ‘This oil will be my sacred anointing oil that must be used throughout all future generations.
32 Upon the flesh of man shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any like it, according to the composition thereof; it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
You must not pour it on the bodies of people who are not priests, and you must not make other oil to be like it by mixing the same amount of those things. This oil is sacred, and you must consider it to be sacred.’
33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.'
I will consider that anyone who makes ointment like this [for any other purpose], and anyone who puts any of this ointment on someone who is not a priest, no longer be allowed to associate with my people.”
34 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; sweet spices with pure frankincense; of each shall there be a like weight.
Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “[Tell the people to] take equal parts of several sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense—
35 And thou shalt make of it incense, a perfume after the art of the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.
and tell an expert perfumer to mix them together to make some perfume. Add some salt to keep it pure and make it holy.
36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with thee; it shall be unto you most holy.
Beat some of it into a fine powder. Then take some of it into the Sacred Tent and sprinkle it in front of the sacred chest. You must all consider this incense to be very holy.
37 And the incense which thou shalt make, according to the composition thereof ye shall not make for yourselves; it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
The people must not mix the same spices to make incense for themselves. This incense must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh.
38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereof, he shall be cut off from his people.'
I will consider that anyone who makes incense like this to use it for perfume will no longer be allowed to associate with my people.”
