Exodus 30

1 “And you have made an altar [for] making incense; you make it of shittim wood;

“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.

2 a cubit its length and a cubit its breadth (it is square), and two cubits its height; its horns [are] of the same.

It is to be square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns must be of one piece.

3 And you have overlaid it with pure gold—its top, and around its sides, and its horns; and you have made a crown of gold for it all around;

Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it.

4 and you make two rings of gold for it, under its crown on its two ribs; you make [them] on its two sides, and they have become places for poles to carry it with them.

And make two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it.

5 And you have made the poles of shittim wood, and have overlaid them with gold;

Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

6 and you have put it before the veil, which [is] by the Ark of the Testimony, before the propitiatory covering which [is] over the Testimony, where I meet with you.

Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony —before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony—where I will meet with you.

7 And Aaron has made incense on it, incense of spices, morning by morning; in his making the lamps right, he makes incense [on] it,

And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.

8 and in Aaron’s causing the lamps to go up between the evenings, he makes incense [on] it; [it is] a continual incense before YHWH throughout your generations.

When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come.

9 You do not cause strange incense to go up on it—and burnt-offering and present; and you do not pour out a drink-offering on it;

On this altar you must not offer unauthorized incense or a burnt offering or grain offering; nor are you to pour a drink offering on it.

10 and Aaron has made atonement on its horns once in a year, by the blood of the sin-offering of atonements; once in a year he makes atonement for it, throughout your generations; it [is] most holy to YHWH.”

Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.”

11 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses,

12 “When you take up the census of the sons of Israel for their numbers, then they have each given an atonement [for] his soul to YHWH in their being numbered, and there is no plague among them in their being numbered.

“When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the LORD a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when they are numbered.

13 This they give, everyone passing over to those numbered, half a shekel, by the shekel of the holy place (the shekel [is] twenty gerahs); half a shekel [is] the raised-offering to YHWH;

Everyone who crosses over to those counted must pay a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD.

14 everyone passing over to those numbered, from a son of twenty years and upwards, gives the raised-offering of YHWH;

Everyone twenty years of age or older who crosses over must give this offering to the LORD.

15 the rich do not multiply, and the poor do not diminish from the half-shekel, to give the raised-offering of YHWH, to make atonement for your souls.

In making the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives, the rich shall not give more than a half shekel, nor shall the poor give less.

16 And you have taken the atonement-money from the sons of Israel, and have given it for the service of the Tent of Meeting; and it has been to the sons of Israel for a memorial before YHWH, to make atonement for your souls.”

Take the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will serve as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD to make atonement for your lives.”

17 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

And the LORD said to Moses,

18 “And you have made a laver of bronze (and its base of bronze), for washing; and you have put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and have put water [in] there,

“You are to make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Set it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it,

19 and Aaron and his sons have washed their hands and their feet from it;

with which Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet.

20 they wash [with] water in their going into the Tent of Meeting, and do not die; or in their drawing near to the altar to minister, to make incense [as] a fire-offering to YHWH,

Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made by fire to the LORD, they must wash with water so that they will not die.

21 then they have washed their hands and their feet, and they do not die, and it has been a continuous statute to them, to him and to his seed, throughout their generations.”

Thus they are to wash their hands and feet so that they will not die; this shall be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

22 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses,

23 “And you, take [these] principal spices for yourself: five hundred [shekels] of liquid myrrh, and the half of that—two hundred and fifty [shekels]—of spice-cinnamon, and two hundred and fifty [shekels] of spice-cane,

“Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half that amount (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane,

24 and five hundred [shekels] of cassia, by the shekel of the holy place, and a hin of olive oil;

500 shekels of cassia —all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil.

25 and you have made it a holy anointing oil, a compound mixture, work of a compounder; it is a holy anointing oil.

Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil.

26 And with it you have anointed the Tent of Meeting, and the Ark of the Testimony,

Use this oil to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony,

27 and the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and its vessels, and the altar of incense,

the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense,

28 and the altar of burnt-offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base;

the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand.

29 and you have sanctified them, and they have been most holy; all that is coming against them is holy;

You are to consecrate them so that they will be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy.

30 and you anoint Aaron and his sons, and have sanctified them for being priests to Me.

Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve Me as priests.

31 And you speak to the sons of Israel, saying, This is a holy anointing oil to Me, throughout your generations;

And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘This will be My sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.

32 it is not poured on [the] flesh of man, and you make nothing [else] like it in its proportion; it [is] holy—it is holy to you;

It must not be used to anoint an ordinary man, and you must not make anything like it with the same formula. It is holy, and it must be holy to you.

33 a man who compounds [any] like it, or who puts of it on a stranger, has even been cut off from his people.”

Anyone who mixes perfume like it or puts it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

34 And YHWH says to Moses, “Take to yourself spices—stacte, and onycha, and galbanum—spices and pure frankincense; they are part for part;

The LORD also said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense—in equal measures,

35 and you have made it an incense, a compound, work of a compounder, salted, pure, holy;

and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.

36 and you have beaten [some] of it small, and have put of it before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, to where I meet with you; it is most holy to you.

Grind some of it into fine powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.

37 As for the incense which you make, you do not make [any] for yourselves in its proportion; it is holy to you for YHWH;

You are never to use this formula to make incense for yourselves; you shall regard it as holy to the LORD.

38 a man who makes [any] like it—to be refreshed by it—has even been cut off from his people.”

Anyone who makes something like it to enjoy its fragrance shall be cut off from his people.”