Exodus 30
1 “And you have made an altar [for] making incense; you make it of shittim wood;
“[Tell the skilled workers to] make an altar from acacia wood, for burning 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, (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 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;
[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 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.
[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 you have made the poles of shittim wood, and have overlaid them with gold;
[Tell them to] make these [two] poles from acacia wood and cover 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.
[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 has made incense on it, incense of spices, morning by morning; in his making the lamps right, he makes incense [on] 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 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.
and he must burn some in the evening when he lights the lamps. The incense must be burned continually, throughout all future generations.
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;
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 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.”
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 YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
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 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 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;
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 everyone passing over to those numbered, from a son of twenty years and upwards, gives the raised-offering of YHWH;
All the men who are at least 20 years old must pay this amount to me when the people are counted.
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.
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 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.”
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 YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me,
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,
“[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 have washed their hands and their feet from it;
Aaron and his sons must ritually wash their hands and their feet with this water
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,
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 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.”
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 YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
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,
“[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 five hundred [shekels] of cassia, by the shekel of the holy place, and a hin of olive oil;
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 you have made it a holy anointing oil, a compound mixture, work of a compounder; it is a holy anointing oil.
to make sacred oil for anointing.
26 And with it you have anointed 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 its vessels, and the lampstand 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 and all its vessels, and the laver and its base;
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 you have sanctified them, and they have been most holy; all that is coming against them is 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 you anoint Aaron and his sons, and have sanctified them for being priests to Me.
And anoint Aaron and his sons. [By doing that], you will dedicate them to serve me [by being] priests.
31 And you speak to the sons of Israel, saying, This is a holy anointing oil to 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 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;
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 a man who compounds [any] like it, or who puts of it on a stranger, has even been 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 YHWH says to Moses, “Take to yourself spices—stacte, and onycha, and galbanum—spices and pure frankincense; they are part for part;
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 you have made it an incense, a compound, work of a compounder, salted, pure, 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 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.
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 As for the incense which you make, you do not make [any] for yourselves in its proportion; it is holy to you for YHWH;
The people must not mix the same spices to make incense for themselves. This incense must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh.
38 a man who makes [any] like it—to be refreshed by it—has even been 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.”
