Exodus 30
1 “You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of acacia wood.
“[Tell the skilled workers to] make an altar from acacia wood, for burning incense.
2 Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit. It shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.
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 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, its sides around it, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding around it.
[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 You shall make two golden rings for it under its molding; on its two ribs, on its two sides you shall make them; and they shall be for places for poles with which to bear it.
[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 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
[Tell them to] make these [two] poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold.
6 You shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant, before the mercy seat that is over the covenant, where I will 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 Aaron shall burn incense of sweet spices on it every morning. When he tends the lamps, he shall 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 When Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before Yahweh 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 shall offer no strange incense on it, nor burnt offering, nor meal offering; and you shall pour no 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 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once in the year; with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once in the year he shall make atonement for it throughout your generations. It is most holy 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 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
12 “When you take a census of the children of Israel, according to those who are counted among them, then each man shall give a ransom for his soul to Yahweh when you count them, that there be no plague among them when you count 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 They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs); half a shekel for an 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 Everyone who passes over to those who are counted, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering to 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 offering of Yahweh, 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 You shall take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the Tent of Meeting; that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before Yahweh, 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 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me,
18 “You shall also make a basin of bronze, and its base of bronze, in which to wash. You shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.
“[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 Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it.
Aaron and his sons must ritually wash their hands and their feet with this water
20 When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire 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 they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they not die. This shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his descendants 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 Moreover Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
23 “Also take fine spices: of liquid myrrh, five hundred shekels; and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, even two hundred and fifty; and of 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 of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; 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 You shall make it into a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.
to make sacred oil for anointing.
26 You shall use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the covenant,
Use this oil for anointing the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest,
27 the table and all its articles, the lamp stand and its accessories, 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 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with 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 You shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches 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 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office.
And anoint Aaron and his sons. [By doing that], you will dedicate them to serve me [by being] priests.
31 You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be 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 shall not be poured on man’s flesh, and do not make any like it, according to its composition. It is holy. It shall be 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 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, he 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 Yahweh said to Moses, “Take to yourself sweet spices, gum resin, onycha, and galbanum: sweet spices with pure frankincense. There shall be an equal weight of each.
Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “[Tell the people to] take equal parts of several sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense—
35 You shall make incense of it, a perfume after the art of the perfumer, seasoned with salt, 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 You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the covenant in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be to you most holy.
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 You shall not make this incense, according to its composition, for yourselves: it shall be to you holy for Yahweh.
The people must not mix the same spices to make incense for themselves. This incense must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh.
38 Whoever shall make any like that, to smell of it, he 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.”
