30“Make an altar for burning incense. Make it out of acacia wood. ²It must be one foot six inches square and three feet high. Make a horn stick out from each of its upper four corners. ³Cover the top, sides and horns with pure gold. Put a strip of gold around it.

⁴“Make two gold rings for the altar below the strip. Put the rings across from each other. They will hold the poles that are used to carry it. ⁵Make the poles out of acacia wood. Cover them with gold.

⁶“Put the altar in front of the curtain that hangs in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. The ark will have a cover. It will be the place where sin is paid for. There I will meet with you.

⁷“Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on the altar. He must do it every morning when he takes care of the lamps. ⁸He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at sunset. Incense must be burned regularly to me. Do it for all time to come.

⁹“Do not burn any other incense on the altar. Do not use the altar for burnt offerings or grain offerings. Do not pour drink offerings on it.

¹⁰“Once a year Aaron must put the blood of a sin offering on its horns to make it pure. He must do it on the day Israel’s sin is paid for. Do it for all time to come. The altar is a very holy place to me.”

Money to Pay for the People’s Lives

¹¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹²“When you make a list of the people of Israel and count them, they must pay me for their lives at the time they are counted. Then a plague will not come on them when you count them.

¹³“Each one who is counted must pay a fifth of an ounce of silver. It must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. The payment is an offering to me. ¹⁴Each one who is counted must be 20 years old or more. He must give an offering to me.

¹⁵“When you make the offering, rich people must not give more than a fifth of an ounce of silver. And poor people must not give less. The offering you give to me will pay for your lives.

¹⁶“Receive the money from the people of Israel. Use it for any purpose in the Tent of Meeting. It will remind the people that they are paying me for their lives.”

The Large Bowl for Washing

¹⁷Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹⁸“Make a large bronze bowl for washing. Make a bronze stand to put it on. Place the bowl between the Tent of Meeting and the altar. Put water in it.

¹⁹“Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet with water from it. ²⁰When they enter the Tent of Meeting, they must wash with water so that they will not die. They will come to the altar to serve me. They will bring an offering that is made to me with fire. ²¹When they do, they must wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. For all time to come, that will be a law for Aaron and the priests who are in his family line.”

Anointing Oil

²²Then the Lord spoke to Moses. ²³He said, “Get some fine spices. Get 12 pounds eight ounces of liquid myrrh. Get six pounds four ounces of sweet-smelling cinnamon and the same amount of sweet-smelling cane. ²⁴Also get 12 pounds eight ounces of cassia. All of the spices must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Get four quarts of olive oil.

²⁵“Have a person who makes perfume mix everything into a sacred anointing oil. It will smell sweet.

²⁶“Then anoint the Tent of Meeting and the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. ²⁷Anoint the table for the holy bread and all of its articles. Anoint the lampstand and the things that are used with it. Anoint the altar for burning incense. ²⁸Anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all of its tools. And anoint the large bowl together with its stand. ²⁹You must set them apart so that they will be very holy. Anything that touches them will be holy.

³⁰“Anoint Aaron and his sons. Set them apart so that they can serve me as priests.

³¹“Say to the people of Israel, ‘This will be my sacred anointing oil for all time to come. ³²Do not pour it on the bodies of any other men. Do not make any other oil in the same way. It is sacred. So you must think of it as sacred. ³³Anyone who makes perfume in the same way and puts it on someone who is not a priest must be cut off from his people.’ ”

Incense

³⁴Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Get some sweet-smelling spices. Get some gum resin, onycha and galbanum. Also get some pure frankincense. Make sure everything is in equal amounts.

³⁵“Have a person who makes perfume mix it all up into a sweet-smelling incense. It must have salt in it. It will be pure and sacred. ³⁶Grind some of it into powder. Place it in front of the tablets of the covenant in the Tent of Meeting. There I will meet with you. The incense will be very holy to you.

³⁷“Do not make any incense for yourselves in the same way. Think of it as holy to me. ³⁸Anyone who makes incense in the same way to enjoy its sweet smell must be cut off from his people.”

Bezalel and Oholiab

31Then the Lord spoke to Moses. ²He said, “I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri. Uri is the son of Hur. Bezalel is from the tribe of Judah. ³I have filled him with the Spirit of God. I have filled him with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts. ⁴He can make beautiful patterns in gold, silver and bronze. ⁵He can cut and set stones. He can work with wood. In fact, he can work in all kinds of crafts.

⁶“I have also appointed Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, to help him. Oholiab is from the tribe of Dan.

“I have given ability to all of the skilled workers. They can make everything I have commanded you to make. Here is the complete list.

⁷“the Tent of Meeting

the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept

the cover for the ark

⁸the table for the holy bread and its articles

the pure gold lampstand and everything that is used with it

the altar for burning incense

⁹the altar for burnt offerings and all of its tools

the large bowl with its stand

¹⁰the sacred clothes for Aaron the priest

the clothes for his sons when they serve as priests

¹¹the anointing oil

the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Room

“The skilled workers must make them just as I commanded you.”

The Sabbath Day

¹²Then the Lord spoke to Moses. ¹³He said, “Tell the people of Israel, ‘You must always keep my Sabbath days. That will be the sign of the covenant I have made between me and you for all time to come. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I make you holy.

¹⁴“ ‘Keep the Sabbath day. It is holy to you. Those who misuse it must be put to death. Those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. ¹⁵Do your work in six days. But the seventh day is a Sabbath. You must rest on it. It is set apart for me. Those who work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.

¹⁶“ ‘The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath. They must celebrate it for all time to come. It will be a covenant that lasts forever. ¹⁷It will be the sign of the covenant I have made between me and the people of Israel forever.

“ ‘I made the heavens and the earth in six days. But on the seventh day I did not work. I rested.’ ”

¹⁸The Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai. Then he gave him the two tablets of the covenant. They were made out of stone. The words on them were written by the finger of God.

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