< Exodus 30 >

1 And you are to make an altar for the burning of perfume; of hard wood let it be made.
"You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of acacia wood.
2 The altar is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high, and its horns are to be made of the same.
Its length shall be a twenty-one inches, and its breadth twenty-one inches. It shall be square, and its height shall be three feet five inches.
3 It is to be plated with the best gold, the top of it and the sides and the horns, with an edging of gold all round it.
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.
4 Under the edge on the two opposite sides, you are to make two gold rings, to take the rods for lifting it.
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.
5 And make these rods of the same wood, plating them with gold.
You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
6 And let it be placed in front of the veil before the ark of the law, before the cover which is over the law, where I will come face to face with you.
You shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you.
7 And on this altar sweet spices are to be burned by Aaron every morning when he sees to the lights.
Aaron shall burn incense of sweet spices on it every morning. When he tends the lamps, he shall burn it.
8 And every evening, when he puts the lights up in their places, the spices are to be burned, a sweet-smelling smoke going up before the Lord from generation to generation for ever.
When Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9 No strange perfume, no burned offering or meal offering, and no drink offering is to be offered on it.
You shall offer no strange incense on it, nor burnt offering, nor meal offering; and you shall pour no drink offering on it.
10 And once every year Aaron is to make its horns clean: with the blood of the sin-offering he is to make it clean once every year from generation to generation: it is most holy to the Lord.
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 the LORD."
11 And the Lord said to Moses,
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12 When you are taking the number of the children of Israel, let every man who is numbered give to the Lord a price for his life, so that no disease may come on them when they are numbered.
"When you take a census of the children of Israel, according to those who are numbered among them, then each man shall give a ransom for his soul to the LORD, when you number them; that there be no plague among them when you number them.
13 And this is what they are to give; let every man who is numbered give half a shekel, by the scale of the holy place: (the shekel being valued at twenty gerahs: ) this money is an offering to the Lord.
They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary; (the shekel is twenty gerahs; ) half a shekel for an offering to the LORD.
14 Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, is to give an offering to the Lord.
Everyone who passes over to those who are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering to the LORD.
15 The man of wealth is to give no more and the poor man no less than the half-shekel of silver, when the offering is made to the Lord as the price for your lives.
The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of the LORD, to make atonement for your souls.
16 And you are to take this money from the children of Israel to be used for the work of the Tent of meeting, to keep the memory of the children of Israel before the Lord and to be the price of your lives.
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 the LORD, to make atonement for your souls."
17 And the Lord said to Moses,
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
18 You are to make a brass washing-vessel, with a brass base; and put it between the Tent of meeting and the altar, with water in it;
"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.
19 That it may be used by Aaron and his sons for washing their hands and feet;
Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it.
20 Whenever they go into the Tent of meeting they are to be washed with water, to keep them from death; and whenever they come near to do the work of the altar, or to make an offering by fire to the Lord,
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 the LORD.
21 Their hands and feet are to be washed. so that they may be safe from death: this is an order to them for ever; to him and his seed from generation to generation.
So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they not die: and it shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his descendants throughout their generations."
22 And the Lord said to Moses,
Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
23 Take the best spices, five hundred shekels' weight of liquid myrrh, and of sweet cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty shekels, and two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet calamus,
"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;
24 And of cassia, five hundred shekels' weight measured by the scale of the holy place, and of olive oil a hin:
and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary; and a hin of olive oil.
25 And make these into a holy oil, a perfume made by the art of the perfume-maker; it is to be a holy oil.
You shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 This oil is to be put on the Tent of meeting, and on the ark of the law,
You shall use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the testimony,
27 And on the table and all its vessels, and on the support for the lights, with its vessels, and on the altar for burning spices,
the table and all its articles, the menorah and its accessories, the altar of incense,
28 And on the altar of burned offerings with its vessels, and on the washing-vessel and its base.
the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its base.
29 And you are to make them most holy; anything touching them will become holy.
You shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy.
30 And put the oil on Aaron and his sons, making them holy to do the work of priests to me.
You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the office of cohen.
31 And say to the children of Israel, This is to be the Lord's holy oil, from generation to generation.
You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to me throughout your generations.
32 It is not to be used for man's flesh, and no other is to be made like it: holy it is, and you are to keep it holy.
It shall not be poured on man's flesh, neither shall you make any like it, according to its composition: it is holy. It shall be holy to you.
33 Whoever makes any like it, or puts it on one who is not a priest, will be cut off from his people.
Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.'"
34 And the Lord said to Moses, Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, with the best frankincense, in equal weights;
The LORD said to Moses, "Take to yourself sweet spices, gum resin, and onycha, and galbanum; sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be an equal weight;
35 And make from them a perfume, such as is made by the art of the perfume-maker, mixed with salt, and clean and holy.
and you shall make incense of it, a perfume after the art of the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy:
36 And put some of it, crushed very small, in front of the ark in the Tent of meeting, where I will come face to face with you; it is to be most holy.
and you shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be to you most holy.
37 You are not to make any perfume like it for yourselves: it is to be kept holy to the Lord.
The incense which you shall make, according to its composition you shall not make for yourselves: it shall be to you holy for the LORD.
38 Whoever makes any like it, for its sweet smell, will be cut off from his people.
Whoever shall make any like that, to smell of it, he shall be cut off from his people."

< Exodus 30 >