Exodus 30–31

The Altar of Incense

30^j“You shall make ^kan altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ²A cubit¹ shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. ^lIts horns shall be of one piece with it. ³You shall ^moverlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. ⁴And 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 ⁿholders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^omercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷And Aaron shall ^pburn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he ^qdresses the lamps he shall burn it, ⁸and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹You shall not offer ^runauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. ^10sAaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the ^tsin 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

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, ^12u“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give ^va ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. ¹³Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel² according to the ^wshekel of the sanctuary (the ^xshekel is twenty gerahs),^{3 y}half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. ¹⁵The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than ^ythe half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives. ¹⁶You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall ^zgive it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to ^aremembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸“You shall also make a ^bbasin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. ^bYou shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, ¹⁹with which Aaron and his sons ^cshall wash their hands and their feet. ²⁰When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering⁴ to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. ²¹They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall ^dbe a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil and Incense

²²The Lord said to Moses, ²³“Take the ^efinest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of ^faromatic cane, ²⁴and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a ^ghin⁵ of olive oil. ²⁵And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the ^hperfumer; it shall be a ⁱholy anointing oil. ^26jWith it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, ²⁷and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, ²⁸and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the ^kbasin and its stand. ²⁹You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. ^lWhatever touches them will become holy. ^30mYou shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ³¹And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. ³²It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. ⁿIt is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ^33oWhoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

³⁴The Lord said to Moses, ^p“Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), ³⁵and make an ^qincense blended as by the ^rperfumer, ^sseasoned with salt, pure and holy. ³⁶You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting ^twhere I shall meet with you. ^uIt shall be most holy for you. ³⁷And the incense that you shall make ^vaccording to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. ^38wWhoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”

Oholiab and Bezalel

31The Lord said to Moses, ²“See, I have called by name ^xBezalel the son of Uri, son of ^yHur, of the tribe of Judah, ³and I have ^zfilled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, ⁴to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. ⁶And behold, I have appointed with him ^aOholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ^bability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: ^7cthe tent of meeting, and ^dthe ark of the testimony, and ^ethe mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, ^8fthe table and its utensils, and ^gthe pure lampstand with all its utensils, and ^hthe altar of incense, ⁹and ⁱthe altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and ^jthe basin and its stand, ¹⁰and ^kthe finely worked garments,¹ the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, ¹¹and ^lthe anointing oil and the fragrant ^mincense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

The Sabbath

¹²And the Lord said to Moses, ¹³“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. ¹⁴You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. ⁿWhoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ^15oSix days shall work be done, but ^pthe seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. ⁿWhoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. ¹⁶Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. ^17qIt is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that ^rin six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and ^son the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”

¹⁸And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the ^ttwo tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with ^uthe finger of God.