Exodus 30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Altar of Incense
30 “You shall make an altar on which to offer incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.(A) 2 It shall be one cubit long and one cubit wide; it shall be square and shall be two cubits high; its horns shall be 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 for it a molding of gold all around. 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 hold the poles for carrying it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 You shall place it in front of the curtain that is above the ark of the covenant, in front of the cover that is over the covenant, where I will meet with you.(B) 7 Aaron shall offer fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall offer it,(C) 8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening, he shall offer it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer unholy incense on it or a burnt offering or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.(D) 10 Once a year Aaron shall perform the rite of atonement on its horns. Throughout your generations he shall perform the atonement for it once a year with the blood of the atoning purification offering. It is most holy to the Lord.”(E)
The Half Shekel for the Sanctuary
11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, at registration all of them shall give a ransom for their lives to the Lord, so that no plague may come upon them for being registered.(F) 13 This is what each one who is registered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord.(G) 14 Each one who is registered, from twenty years old and up, shall give the Lord’s offering. 15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than the half shekel, when you bring this offering to the Lord to make atonement for your lives.(H) 16 You shall take the atonement money from the Israelites and shall designate it for the service of the tent of meeting; before the Lord it will be a reminder to the Israelites of the ransom given for your lives.”(I)
The Bronze Basin
17 The Lord spoke to Moses, 18 “You shall make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it;(J) 19 with the water[a] Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet.(K) 20 When they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister to make an offering by fire[b] 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 be a perpetual ordinance for them, for him and for his descendants throughout their generations.”(L)
The Anointing Oil and Incense
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, 23 “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred fifty, and two hundred fifty of aromatic cane, 24 and five hundred of cassia—measured by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil, 25 and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.(M) 26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant(N) 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 basin with its stand; 29 you shall consecrate them, so that they may be most holy; whatever touches them will become holy.(O) 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve me as priests.(P) 31 You shall say to the Israelites: This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be used in any ordinary anointing of the body, and you shall make no other like it in composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.(Q) 33 Whoever blends any like it or whoever puts any of it on an unqualified person shall be cut off from the people.”(R)
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (an equal part of each), 35 and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy,(S) 36 and you shall beat some of it into powder and put part of it before the covenant in the tent of meeting, where I shall meet with you; it shall be most holy for you.(T) 37 When you make incense according to this composition, you shall not make it for yourselves; it shall be regarded by you as holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from the people.”
Exodus 30
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Altar for Incense
30 You shall make an altar on which to burn incense. Make it of acacia wood. 2 It is to be eighteen inches long and eighteen inches wide. It is to be square, and three feet high. Its horns are to be one piece with it. 3 Overlay it with pure gold—its top, all its sides, and its horns. Make a gold border[a] around it. 4 Make two gold rings to place under its border. Make them for each of its two opposite sides. They will serve as holders for poles with which to carry it. 5 Make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
6 Put the altar in front of the veil that hides the Ark of the Testimony, in front of the atonement seat that is above the Testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 Aaron shall burn incense made of fragrant spices on it every morning. When he tends the lamps, he shall burn the incense. 8 When Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it as the regular incense before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall offer no other incense on it, no burnt offering, and no grain offering, and you shall pour no drink offering on it. 10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering for atonement, once a year he shall make atonement for it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.
The Redemption Price
11 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 12 “When you count[b] the men of Israel to register them, each man shall give to the Lord a redemption price[c] for his life as you register him, so that there is no plague among them as you register them. 13 Each one shall give this redemption as he passes over to the group which has already been registered—half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs),[d] half a shekel for an offering to the Lord. 14 Everyone who passes over to the group that has already been registered, those twenty years old and older, shall give the special elevated offering to the Lord. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than the half shekel when you give the elevated offering for the Lord to redeem your lives. 16 You shall take the redemption money from the people of Israel, and you shall designate it for the work of the Tent of Meeting so that it may be a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord, to redeem your lives.”
The Bronze Basin
17 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 18 “You shall also make a large bronze basin in which to wash. Its pedestal shall also be bronze. Put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet with water from it. 20 When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they must wash with water so that they will not die. They shall wash whenever they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord. 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet so that they do not die. This shall be a permanent regulation for them, for Aaron and for his descendants throughout their generations.”
Spices and Incense
22 The Lord spoke to Moses again. He said, 23 “Take fine spices: twelve and a half pounds[e] of liquid myrrh, half as much (six and a quarter pounds) of fragrant cinnamon, six and a quarter pounds of fragrant cane, 24 twelve and a half pounds of cassia (weighed by the shekel of the sanctuary), and one gallon[f] of olive oil. 25 Make it into a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixed with the skill of a perfume maker. It will be a holy anointing oil. 26 Use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar for incense, 28 the altar for burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its pedestal. 29 You shall consecrate them so that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will be holy. 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and set them apart, so that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. 31 Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil for me throughout your generations. 32 Do not pour it on the flesh of anyone who is not a priest. Do not make any other perfume like it with the same ingredients. It is holy. It shall be holy to you. 33 Whoever mixes any perfume like it or whoever puts any of it on anyone who is not a priest shall be cut off from his people.’”
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices, gum resin, shechelet, and helbanum,[g] fragrant spices with pure frankincense. Use an equal weight of each ingredient, 35 and make incense from it, a blend made with the skill of a perfume maker, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36 Grind some of it very fine, and put some of it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting where I will make myself known to you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 When you make incense for yourselves, you shall not make any with this recipe. You shall regard it as holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes any fragrance like that for himself shall be cut off from his people.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 30:3 It is uncertain if this is a rim, trim, a frame, or edging.
- Exodus 30:12 Literally when you lift up the head. A more literal translation would be when you carry out a head count. This census was a registration for military service. The danger of death in battle is why there was the ransom or redemption price for each man’s life.
- Exodus 30:12 Or ransom or atonement
- Exodus 30:13 A shekel is a unit of weight (about two fifths of an ounce), but it is also the standard monetary unit. When shekel refers to a monetary unit, this translation retains the term shekel. It appears that the temple shekel was larger than the regular shekel, but we do not know how much a gerah weighed.
- Exodus 30:23 That is, five hundred shekels
- Exodus 30:24 One hin
- Exodus 30:34 The identification of these fragrances is unknown, so the Hebrew names are retained.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.