Exodus 30
1 “[Tell the skilled workers to] make an altar from acacia wood, for burning incense.
'And thou hast made an altar [for] making perfume; [of] shittim wood thou dost make it;
2 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].
a cubit its length, and a cubit its breadth, (it is square), and two cubits its height; its horns [are] of the same.
3 [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].
'And thou hast overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou hast made to it a crown of gold round about;
4 [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.
and two rings of gold thou dost make to it under its crown; on its two ribs thou dost make [them], on its two sides, and they have become places for staves, to bear it with them.
5 [Tell them to] make these [two] poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold.
'And thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold;
6 [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.
and thou hast put it before the vail, which [is] by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat which [is] over the testimony, whither I am met with thee.
7 Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on this altar. He must burn some every morning when he takes care of the lamps,
'And Aaron hath made perfume on it, perfume of spices, morning by morning; in his making the lamps right he doth perfume it,
8 and he must burn some in the evening when he lights the lamps. The incense must be burned continually, throughout all future generations.
and in Aaron's causing the lamps to go up between the evenings, he doth perfume it; a continual perfume before Jehovah to your generations.
9 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.
'Ye do not cause strange perfume to go up upon it, and burnt-offering, and present, and libation ye do not pour out on it;
10 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.”
and Aaron hath made atonement on its horns, once in a year, by the blood of the sin-offering of atonements; once in a year doth he make atonement for it, to your generations; it [is] most holy to Jehovah.'
11 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
12 “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.
'When thou takest up the sum of the sons of Israel for their numbers, then they have given each an atonement [for] his soul to Jehovah in their being numbered, and there is no plague among them in their being numbered.
13 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.
'This they do give, every one passing over unto those numbered, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel [is] twenty gerahs); half a shekel [is] the heave-offering to Jehovah;
14 All the men who are at least 20 years old must pay this amount to me when the people are counted.
every one passing over unto those numbered, from a son of twenty years and upwards, doth give the heave-offering of Jehovah;
15 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.
the rich doth not multiply, and the poor doth not diminish from the half-shekel, to give the heave-offering of Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.
16 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).”
'And thou hast taken the atonement-money from the sons of Israel, and hast given it for the service of the tent of meeting; and it hath been to the sons of Israel for a memorial before Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.'
17 Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me,
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
18 “[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.
'And thou hast made a laver of brass (and its base of brass), for washing; and thou hast put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and hast put water there;
19 Aaron and his sons must ritually wash their hands and their feet with this water
and Aaron and his sons have washed at it their hands and their feet,
20 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].
in their going in unto the tent of meeting they wash [with] water, and die not; or in their drawing nigh unto the altar to minister, to perfume a fire-offering to Jehovah,
21 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.”
then they have washed their hands and their feet, and they die not, and it hath been to them a statute age-during, to him and to his seed to their generations.'
22 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
23 “[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,
'And thou, take to thyself principal spices, wild honey five hundred [shekels]; and spice-cinnamon, the half of that, two hundred and fifty; and spice-cane two hundred and fifty;
24 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
and cassia five hundred, by the shekel of the sanctuary, and olive oil a hin;
25 to make sacred oil for anointing.
and thou hast made it a holy anointing oil, a compound mixture, work of a compounder; it is a holy anointing oil.
26 Use this oil for anointing the Sacred Tent, the sacred chest,
'And thou hast anointed with it the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony,
27 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,
and the table and all its vessels, and the candlestick and its vessels, and the altar of perfume,
28 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.
and the altar of burnt-offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base;
29 Dedicate them by anointing them, in order that they will be completely holy/sacred. Anyone or anything that touches the altar will become taboo.
and thou hast sanctified them, and they have been most holy; all that is coming against them is holy;
30 And anoint Aaron and his sons. [By doing that], you will dedicate them to serve me [by being] priests.
and Aaron and his sons thou dost anoint, and hast sanctified them for being priests to Me.
31 And tell the Israeli people, ‘This oil will be my sacred anointing oil that must be used throughout all future generations.
'And unto the sons of Israel thou dost speak, saying, A holy anointing oil is this to Me, to your generations;
32 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.’
on flesh of man it is not poured, and with its proper proportion ye make none like it; it [is] holy; it is holy to you;
33 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.”
a man who compoundeth [any] like it, or who putteth of it on a stranger — hath even been cut off from his people.'
34 Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “[Tell the people to] take equal parts of several sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense—
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Take to thee spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, spices and pure frankincense; they are part for part;
35 and tell an expert perfumer to mix them together to make some perfume. Add some salt to keep it pure and make it holy.
and thou hast made it a perfume, a compound, work of a compounder, salted, pure, holy;
36 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.
and thou hast beaten [some] of it small, and hast put of it before the testimony, in the tent of meeting, whither I am met with thee; most holy it is to you.
37 The people must not mix the same spices to make incense for themselves. This incense must be completely dedicated to me, Yahweh.
'As to the perfume which thou makest, with its proper proportion ye do not make to yourselves, holy it is to thee to Jehovah;
38 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.”
a man who maketh [any] like it — to be refreshed by it — hath even been cut off from his people.'
