Exodus 30

1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon, of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

“You shall also make an altar, for the burning of incense, from setim wood,

2 A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth, foursquare shall it be; and two cubits shall be its height; from itself shall its horns be.

having one cubit in length, and another in width, that is, four equal sides, and two cubits in height. Horns shall proceed from the same.

3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

And you shall clothe it with the purest gold, both its grating and the walls around it, and also the horns. And you shall make for it a crown of gold in a circle,

4 And two rings of gold shalt thou make for it beneath its crown, on its two corners shalt thou make them, upon both its sides; and they shall be as receptacles for the staves to bear it by means of them.

and two gold rings under the crown on each side, so that the bars may be set in them and the altar may be carried.

5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

Also, you shall make its bars of setim wood, and you shall overlay them with gold.

6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is before the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

And you shall set the altar opposite the veil, which hangs in front of the ark of the testimony, before the propitiatory with which the testimony is covered, where I will speak to you.

7 And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of spices; every morning when he dresseth the lamps, shall he burn it.

And Aaron shall burn incense upon it, a sweet fragrance, in the morning. When he lights the lamps, he shall burn it.

8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps toward evening, shall he burn it; a perpetual incense before the Lord, throughout your generations.

And when he assembles them in the evening, he shall burn an everlasting incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

9 Ye shall not offer thereon any strange incense, or burnt-sacrifice, or meat-offering; and a drink-offering shall ye not pour thereon.

You shall not offer upon it incense of another composition, nor an oblation, nor a victim; neither shall you offer libations.

10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon its horns once in a year; with the blood of the sin-offering of the day of atonement, once in the year, shall he make atonement upon it, throughout your generations; it is most holy unto the Lord.

And Aaron shall pray over its horns once a year, with the blood of what was offered for sin. And he shall make atonement over it in your generations. It shall be the Holy of holies to the Lord.”

11 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel of those who are to be numbered of them, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when they number them; that there be no plague among them, when they number them.

“When you have taken the sum of the sons of Israel, according to their number, each shall give a price for their souls to the Lord, and there will be no scourge among them, when they will be reviewed.

13 This shall they give, every one that passeth among those that are numbered, Half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary; twenty gerahs to the shekel; the half of the shekel shall be the tribute to the Lord.

Then all those who pass shall give by name: one half shekel, according to the measure at the temple. A shekel has twenty obols. The half part of a shekel shall be offered to the Lord.

14 Every one that passeth among those that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give the tribute unto the Lord.

He who has been numbered from twenty years and above shall give the price.

15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than the half of a shekel, as a tribute unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.

The rich shall not add to the half shekel, and the poor shall diminish nothing.

16 And thou shalt take the money of the atonement from the children of Israel, and shalt employ it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and it shall be unto the children of Israel as a memorial before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.

And the money received, which was collected from the sons of Israel, you shall deliver for the uses of the tabernacle of the testimony, so that it may be a memorial of them before the Lord, and he may act favorably toward their souls.”

17 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

18 Thou shalt also make a laver of copper, with its foot of copper, to wash withal: and thou shalt set it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put therein water.

“You shall also make a bronze washtub with its base to wash in; and you shall place it between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar. And when water has been added,

19 And Aaron and his sons shall wash out of it their hands and their feet.

Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet in it:

20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, shall they wash themselves with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

when they enter the tabernacle of the testimony, and when they approach to the altar so as to offer incense to the Lord upon it,

21 And they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be to them a statute for ever, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

otherwise, they may die. This shall be an everlasting law to him, and to his offspring, throughout their successions.”

22 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses,

23 And thou, take unto thyself principal spices: of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon, its half shall be two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,

saying: “Take for yourself aromatics: of the first and best myrrh, five hundred shekels, and of cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty shekels; of sweet flag similarly two hundred and fifty,

24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive-oil one hin.

but of cassia, five hundred shekels by the weight of the sanctuary, and of the oil of olives the measure of a hin.

25 And thou shalt make of it an oil of holy anointing, a mixture, compounded after the art of the apothecary: an oil of holy anointing shall it be.

And you shall make the holy oil of unction, an ointment composed with the skills of a perfumer,

26 And thou shalt anoint therewith the tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony,

and with it you shall anoint the tabernacle of the testimony, and the ark of the testament,

27 And the table and all its vessels, and the candlestick and its vessels, and the altar of incense,

and the table with its vessels, and the lampstand and its utensils, the altars of incense

28 And the altar of burnt-offering with all its vessels, and the laver and its foot.

and of holocaust, and all the items that pertain to their rituals.

29 And thou shalt sanctify them, and they shall be most holy; whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.

And you shall sanctify everything, and they shall be the Holy of holies. He who will touch them must be sanctified.

30 And Aaron and his sons shalt thou anoint, and consecrate them to be priests unto me.

You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and you shall sanctify them, so that they may exercise the priesthood for me.

31 And unto the children of Israel shalt thou speak, saying, An oil of holy anointing shall this be unto me throughout your generations.

Likewise, you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘This oil of unction will be holy to me throughout your generations.

32 Upon the flesh of man shall it not be poured, and after its proportion shall ye not make any thing like it; it is holy, and holy shall it be unto you.

The flesh of man shall not be anointed from it, and you shall not make any similar compound, for it has been sanctified and it shall be holy to you.

33 Whosoever compoundeth the like of it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall be cut off from his people.

Whatever man will have composed such a thing and have given it to a stranger, he shall be exterminated from his people.’”

34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee spices, balm, and onycha, and galbanum, spices, with pure frankincense: of each shall there be an equal weight.

And the Lord said to Moses: “Take to yourself aromatics: stacte, and onycha, galbanum of sweet odor, and the clearest frankincense, all these shall be of equal weight.

35 And thou shalt make it an incense, a mixture after the art of the apothecary, well mingled together, pure and holy.

And you shall make incense composed with the skills of a perfumer, diligently mixed, and pure, and most worthy of sanctification.

36 And thou shalt pour some of it fine, and offer of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee; most holy shall it be unto you.

And when you have crushed all these into a very fine powder, you shall place some of it before the tabernacle of the testimony, in the place where I will appear to you. The Holy of holies shall this incense be to you.

37 And as for the incense which thou shalt make, according to its proportion, shall ye not make any unto yourselves: holy shall it be unto thee for the Lord.

You shall not make such a compound for your own uses, because it is holy to the Lord.

38 Whosoever shall make the like of it, to smell thereon, shall be cut off from his people.

Whatever man will have made anything similar, so as to thoroughly enjoy its smell, he shall perish from his people.”