Exodus 30
New Living Translation
Plans for the Incense Altar
30 “Then make another altar of acacia wood for burning incense. 2 Make it 18 inches square and 36 inches high,[a] with horns at the corners carved from the same piece of wood as the altar itself. 3 Overlay the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold molding around the entire altar. 4 Make two gold rings, and attach them on opposite sides of the altar below the gold molding to hold the carrying poles. 5 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 Place the incense altar just outside the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant,[b] in front of the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that covers the tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.[c] I will meet with you there.
7 “Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. 8 And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the Lord’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation. 9 Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar, or any burnt offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings.
10 “Once a year Aaron must purify[d] the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the Lord’s most holy altar.”
Money for the Tabernacle
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Whenever you take a census of the people of Israel, each man who is counted must pay a ransom for himself to the Lord. Then no plague will strike the people as you count them. 13 Each person who is counted must give a small piece of silver as a sacred offering to the Lord. (This payment is half a shekel,[e] based on the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs.) 14 All who have reached their twentieth birthday must give this sacred offering to the Lord. 15 When this offering is given to the Lord to purify your lives, making you right with him,[f] the rich must not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less. 16 Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of the Tabernacle.[g] It will bring the Israelites to the Lord’s attention, and it will purify your lives.”
Plans for the Washbasin
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 “Make a bronze washbasin with a bronze stand. Place it between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water. 19 Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet there. 20 They must wash with water whenever they go into the Tabernacle to appear before the Lord and when they approach the altar to burn up their special gifts to the Lord—or they will die! 21 They must always wash their hands and feet, or they will die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants, to be observed from generation to generation.”
The Anointing Oil
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Collect choice spices—12 1⁄2 pounds of pure myrrh, 6 1⁄4 pounds of fragrant cinnamon, 6 1⁄4 pounds of fragrant calamus,[h] 24 and 12 1⁄2 pounds of cassia[i]—as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also get one gallon of olive oil.[j] 25 Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil. 26 Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand. 29 Consecrate them to make them absolutely holy. After this, whatever touches them will also become holy.
30 “Anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests. 31 And say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation. 32 It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. 33 Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community.’”
The Incense
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather fragrant spices—resin droplets, mollusk shell, and galbanum—and mix these fragrant spices with pure frankincense, weighed out in equal amounts. 35 Using the usual techniques of the incense maker, blend the spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense. 36 Grind some of the mixture into a very fine powder and put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant,[k] where I will meet with you in the Tabernacle. You must treat this incense as most holy. 37 Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the Lord, and you must treat it as holy. 38 Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.”
Footnotes
- 30:2 Hebrew 1 cubit [46 centimeters] long and 1 cubit wide, a square, and 2 cubits [92 centimeters] high.
- 30:6a Or Ark of the Testimony; also in 30:26.
- 30:6b Hebrew that covers the Testimony; see note on 25:16.
- 30:10 Or make atonement for; also in 30:10b.
- 30:13 Or 0.2 ounces [6 grams].
- 30:15 Or to make atonement for your lives; similarly in 30:16.
- 30:16 Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 30:18, 20, 26, 36.
- 30:23 Hebrew 500 [shekels] [5.7 kilograms] of pure myrrh, 250 [shekels] [2.9 kilograms] of fragrant cinnamon, 250 [shekels] of fragrant calamus.
- 30:24a Hebrew 500 [shekels] [5.7 kilograms] of cassia.
- 30:24b Hebrew 1 hin [3.8 liters] of olive oil.
- 30:36 Hebrew in front of the Testimony; see note on 25:16.
Exodus 30
Amplified Bible
The Altar of Incense
30 “You shall make an altar upon which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 It shall be a cubit long and a cubit wide. It shall be square and it shall be two cubits high. Its horns of one piece with it. 3 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around it. 4 You shall make two gold rings under its molding, make them on the two side walls—on opposite sides—they shall be holders for the poles with which to carry it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood overlaid with gold. 6 You shall put the altar of incense [in the Holy Place] in front and outside of the veil that screens the ark of the [a]Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 Aaron shall burn sweet and fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims and tends the lamps.(A) 8 When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; you shall not pour out a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement [for sin] on its horns. He shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”
The Ransom Money
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “When you take the census of the Israelites, each one shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord when you count them, so that no plague will come on them when you number them.(B) 13 This is what everyone who is counted shall give [as he joins those already counted]: a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel (the shekel is twenty gerahs); a half shekel as a contribution to the Lord. 14 Everyone who is counted, from twenty years old and over, [as he joins those already counted], shall give this contribution to the Lord.(C) 15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give this contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. 16 You shall take the atonement money from the Israelites and use it [exclusively] for the service of the Tent of Meeting, so that it may be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”
The Bronze Basin
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with a base of bronze, for washing. You shall put it [outside in the court] between the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering], and you shall put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. 20 When they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister, to burn an offering in the fire to the Lord [they shall do the same].(D) 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”
The Anointing Oil
22 Moreover, the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take for yourself the best spices: five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much—two hundred and fifty—of sweet-scented cinnamon, and two hundred and fifty of fragrant cane, 24 and five hundred shekels of cinnamon blossom according to the sanctuary shekel, and a hin of olive oil. 25 You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a sacred anointing oil. 26 You shall anoint the Tent of Meeting with it, and the ark of the Testimony, 27 and the table [for the bread] 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 basin [for cleansing] and its base. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy (set apart for God). 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve as priests to Me. 31 You shall say to the Israelites, ‘This shall be a holy and sacred anointing oil, to Me [alone] throughout your generations.(E) 32 It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same composition. It is holy, and it shall be sacred to you. 33 Whoever prepares any like it or puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’”
The Incense
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take sweet and fragrant spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum, sweet and fragrant spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal amount of each— 35 and make incense with it, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure and sacred. 36 You shall crush some of it [into a] very fine [powder], and put some of it before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. 37 The incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord. 38 Whoever makes any like it, to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].”
Footnotes
- Exodus 30:6 This is a reference to the two stone tablets inscribed by God that will be given to Moses (31:18).
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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