Exodus 30
1 And thou shalt make an altar, for burning incense, of acacia wood, shalt thou make it:
“[Tell the skilled workers to] make an altar from acacia wood, for burning incense.
2 a cubit, the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof four square, shall it be, —and two cubits, the height thereof, of the same, [shall be] the horns thereof,
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 to it a border 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 to it, under the border thereof upon the two corners thereof, shalt thou make them on the two sides thereof, —so shall they become receptacles for the staves, to lift it therewith.
[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 place it before the veil, which is by the ark of the testimony, —before the propitiatory which is upon the testimony, where I will meet 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 fragrant incense, —morning by morning, when he trimmeth 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, between the evenings, shall he burn it, —a continual incense before Yahweh, to 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 cause to ascend thereupon strange incense, nor an ascending-sacrifice, nor a meal-offering, —and a drink offering, shall ye not pour out thereupon.
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 But Aaron shall put a propitiatory-covering upon the horns thereof, once in the year: of the blood of the sin-bearer for propitiatory-coverings, once in the year, shall he put a propitiatory-covering thereupon to your generations, most holy, it is to Yahweh.
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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying—
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
12 When thou takest the sum of the sons of Israel, by their numberings, then shall they give every man a propitiatory-covering for his soul to Yahweh, when they are numbered, —that there may be among them no plague when they are 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, shall they give—every one that passeth over to them that have been numbered—a half-shekel by the shekel of the sanctuary, —the shekel is twenty gerahs—the half-shekel, shall be a heave-offering to Yahweh.
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 All who pass over to the numbered, from twenty years old and upwards, shall give the heave-offering of Yahweh.
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 heave-offering of Yahweh, to put a propitiatory-covering over 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 So then thou shalt take the silver for the propitiatory-coverings from the sons of Israel, and shalt expend it upon the service of the tent of meeting, —thus shall it be for the sons of Israel as a memorial before Yahweh, to put a propitiatory-covering over 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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying—
Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me,
18 And thou shalt make a laver of bronze, and its stand of bronze for bathing, —and thou shalt place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and 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 So shall Aaron and his sons bathe thereat, —their hands, and their feet.
Aaron and his sons must ritually wash their hands and their feet with this water
20 When they enter the tent of meeting, they shall bathe with water so shall they not die, —or when they approach unto the altar to minister, to burn as incense an altar-flame to Yahweh:
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 then they shall bathe their hands and their feet and shall not die, —and it shall be to them an age-abiding statute, to him and to his seed to 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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying—
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
23 Thou, therefore, take to thee—principal spices, —self-flowing myrrh, five hundred, and fragrant cinnamon, half as much, two hundred and fifty, and, fragrant cane, 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, cassia, five hundred, by the shekel of the sanctuary, —and, oil olive, 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 an oil for holy anointing, a compounded perfume the work of a perfumer, —an oil for holy anointing, shall it be.
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 its utensils, and the lampstand, and its utensils, —and the incense altar,
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 for the ascending-sacrifice, and all its utensils, -and the laver, and its stand.
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 So shalt thou hallow them, and they shall be most holy, —whosoever 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 Aaron also, and his sons, shalt thou anoint, —so shalt thou hallow them to minister as 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 sons of Israel, shalt thou speak, saying, An oil for holy anointing, shall this be to me, to 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 a common man, shall it not be poured, and according to the proportions thereof, shall ye not make any like it, —holy, it is, holy, shall it be 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 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, and whosoever bestoweth thereof upon a stranger, shall be cut off from among 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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses—Take to thee aromatic spices stacte and onycha, and galbanum, —aromatic spices, and pure frankincense, —weight for weight, shall it be.
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 an incense, a perfume the work of a perfumer, —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 thou shalt beat some of it to powder, and place thereof before the testimony, in the tent of meeting, where I am to meet with thee, —most holy, shall it be 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 And the incense which thou shalt make, according to the proportions thereof, ye shall not make for yourselves, —holy, shall it be to thee, to Yahweh.
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 it, to smell of it shall be cut off from among 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.”
