Exodus 30
1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon, of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
“[Tell the skilled workers to] make an altar from acacia wood, for burning incense.
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.
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, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; 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 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.
[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 shittim 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 vail that is before the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat 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 spices; every morning when he dresseth the lamps, shall he 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 toward evening, shall he 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 not offer thereon any strange incense, or burnt-sacrifice, or meat-offering; and a drink-offering shall ye not pour 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 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.
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 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 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 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.
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 those that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give the tribute unto 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 of a shekel, as a tribute unto the Lord, to make an 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 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.
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 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.
“[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 out of it their hands and their feet.
Aaron and his sons must ritually wash their hands and their feet with this water
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.
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 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.
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 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
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,
“[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 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive-oil one 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 of it an oil of holy anointing, a mixture, compounded after the art of the apothecary: an oil of holy anointing shall it be.
to make sacred oil for anointing.
26 And thou shalt anoint therewith the tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony,
Use this oil for anointing the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest,
27 And the table and all its vessels, and the candlestick and its vessels, 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 its vessels, and the laver and its foot.
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, and they shall 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 Aaron and his sons shalt thou anoint, and consecrate them to be priests unto me.
And anoint Aaron and his sons. [By doing that], you will dedicate them to serve me [by being] priests.
31 And unto the children of Israel shalt thou speak, saying, An oil of holy anointing shall this be 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, and after its proportion shall ye not make any thing like it; it is holy, and holy shall it be 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 the like of it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, 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 spices, balm, and onycha, and galbanum, spices, with pure frankincense: of each shall there be an equal 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 it an incense, a mixture after the art of the apothecary, well mingled together, 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 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.
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 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.
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 the like of it, to smell thereon, 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.”
