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Exodus 30
English Standard Version

The Altar of Incense

30 (A)“You shall make (B)an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit[a] shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. (C)Its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 You shall (D)overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. 4 And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be (E)holders for poles with which to carry it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the (F)mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 And Aaron shall (G)burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he (H)dresses the lamps he shall burn it, 8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer (I)unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. 10 (J)Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the (K)sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

The Census Tax

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 (L)“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give (M)a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel[b] according to the (N)shekel of the sanctuary (the (O)shekel is twenty gerahs),[c] (P)half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. 14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord's offering. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than (Q)the half shekel, when you give the Lord's offering to make atonement for your lives. 16 You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall (R)give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to (S)remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

The Bronze Basin

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a (T)basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. (U)You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, 19 with which Aaron and his sons (V)shall wash their hands and their feet. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering[d] to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall (W)be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil and Incense

22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the (X)finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of (Y)aromatic cane, 24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a (Z)hin[e] of olive oil. 25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the (AA)perfumer; it shall be a (AB)holy anointing oil. 26 (AC)With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the (AD)basin and its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. (AE)Whatever touches them will become holy. 30 (AF)You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. (AG)It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 (AH)Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

34 The Lord said to Moses, (AI)“Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), 35 and make an (AJ)incense blended as by the (AK)perfumer, (AL)seasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36 You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting (AM)where I shall meet with you. (AN)It shall be most holy for you. 37 And the incense that you shall make (AO)according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. 38 (AP)Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 30:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  2. Exodus 30:13 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  3. Exodus 30:13 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram
  4. Exodus 30:20 Or an offering by fire
  5. Exodus 30:24 A hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
Close ISV

Exodus 30
International Standard Version

The Altar of Incense

30 “You are to make an altar for burning incense. You are to make it of acacia wood. 2 It is to be a square, one cubit[a] long and one cubit[b] wide, and it is to be two cubits[c] high, with its horns of one piece with it. 3 You are to overlay it with pure gold, its top, its sides all around, and its horns, and you are to make a molding of gold all around it.

4 “You are to make two gold rings for it under its molding. You are to make them on its two opposite sides, and they are to be holders for poles by which to carry it. 5 You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 You are to put the altar[d] in front of the curtain that is over the Ark of the Testimony, in front of the Mercy Seat[e] that is over the Testimony where I’ll meet with you. 7 Aaron is to offer fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he trims the lamps he is to offer it, 8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he is to offer it as a continual incense offering in the Lord’s presence throughout your generations. 9 You are not to offer strange incense, a burnt offering, or a grain offering on it, nor are you to pour out a libation on it. 10 Each year Aaron is to make atonement on its horns with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. He is to make atonement on it each year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

Offerings for the Tent

11 The Lord told Moses, 12 “When you take a census of the Israelis to register them, each is to give a ransom for himself[f] to the Lord when they’re registered so there won’t be a plague among them when they’re registered. 13 This is what everyone who is registered[g] is to give: half a shekel[h] according to the shekel[i] of the sanctuary (the shekel[j] weighs 20 gerahs), half a shekel[k] as a contribution to the Lord. 14 All who are registered, 20 years of age and older, are to give a contribution to the Lord. 15 The rich person is not to give more,[l] nor is the poor person to give less[m] than the half shekel,[n] when you give a contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves.[o] 16 You are to take the atonement money from the Israelis and give it for the service of the Tent of Meeting, and it is to be a memorial for the Israelis in the Lord’s presence to make atonement for yourselves.”[p]

The Bronze Basin

17 The Lord told Moses, 18 “You are to make a bronze basin with a bronze base for washing. You are to pace it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, put water in it,[q] 19 and Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and their feet from it. 20 When they enter the Tent of Meeting or when they approach the altar to minister to make an offering by fire to the Lord, they are to wash with water so they don’t die. 21 They are to wash their hands and their feet so that they don’t die, and it is to be for them a perpetual ordinance for Aaron[r] and his seed from generation to generation.”

The Anointing Oil

22 The Lord told Moses, 23 “You are to take for yourself the finest spices: 500 shekels[s]by weight of liquid myrrh, half as much fragrant cinnamon (250 shekels), 250 shekels of fragrant reeds, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the shekel of the sanctuary—and a hin[t] of olive oil. 25 You are to make them into a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture made by a perfumer. It is to be a holy anointing oil. 26 You are to use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, 27 the table and all its utensils, the lamp stand and its utensils, the altar of incense, 28 the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the basin and its base. 29 You are to consecrate them and they are to be most holy. Whatever touches them is to be holy. 30 You are to anoint Aaron and his sons, and you are to consecrate them to serve as my priests. 31 You are to address the Israelis and tell them, ‘This is to be holy anointing oil for me from generation to generation. 32 It is not to be poured out on a person’s body,[u] nor are you to make anything like it with similar formulations. It is holy, and it is to be holy to you. 33 Anyone who mixes anything like it or who puts any of it on an unqualified person[v] is to be cut off from his people.’”

The Incense

34 The Lord told Moses, “Take for yourself spices: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and spices with pure frankincense, all in equal amounts. 35 You are to make it into a fragrant incense, expertly[w] blended,[x] pure, and holy. 36 You are to grind some of it fine, and put some before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting where I will meet with you. It is to be most holy to you. 37 You are not to make the incense that you make in this formulation for your own use. It is to be holy to the Lord for you. 38 Anyone who makes anything like it to use it as perfume is to be cut off from his people.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 30:2 I.e. about one and a half feet
  2. Exodus 30:2 I.e. about one and a half feet
  3. Exodus 30:2 I.e. about three feet
  4. Exodus 30:6 Lit. it
  5. Exodus 30:6 Or atonement place, and so throughout the book
  6. Exodus 30:12 Or his life
  7. Exodus 30:13 Lit. the one who passes over to those who have been registered
  8. Exodus 30:13 I.e., a unit of weight measurement equal to about 16 barley grains; about 0.025 ounces or 0.5 grams; cf. Num 3:47; Num 18:16
  9. Exodus 30:13 I.e., a unit of weight measurement equal to about 16 barley grains; about 0.025 ounces or 0.5 grams; cf. Num 3:47; Num 18:16
  10. Exodus 30:13 I.e., a unit of weight measurement equal to about 16 barley grains; about 0.025 ounces or 0.5 grams; cf. Num 3:47; Num 18:16
  11. Exodus 30:13 I.e., a unit of weight measurement equal to about 16 barley grains; about 0.025 ounces or 0.5 grams; cf. Num 3:47; Num 18:16
  12. Exodus 30:15 Lit. increase from
  13. Exodus 30:15 Lit. decrease from
  14. Exodus 30:15 I.e., a unit of weight measurement equal to about 16 barley grains; about 0.025 ounces or 0.5 grams; cf. Num 3:47; Num 18:16
  15. Exodus 30:15 Or for your lives
  16. Exodus 30:16 Or for your lives
  17. Exodus 30:18 Lit. there
  18. Exodus 30:21 Lit. for him
  19. Exodus 30:23 The Heb. lacks shekels; Five hundred shekels is about 12 ½ pounds
  20. Exodus 30:24 I.e. about a quart
  21. Exodus 30:32 I.e. used for ordinary anointing purposes
  22. Exodus 30:33 Lit. a stranger; i.e. a person not qualified to serve as a priest
  23. Exodus 30:35 Lit. the work of a perfumer
  24. Exodus 30:35 Or salted
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Exodus 29
Exodus 31
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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