Exodus 30

The Altar of Incense

30“You shall make ^aan altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. ²A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. ³And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a ¹molding of gold all around. ⁴Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. ⁵You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. ⁶And you shall put it before the ^bveil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the ^cmercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

⁷“Aaron shall burn on it ^dsweet incense every morning; when ^ehe tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. ⁸And when Aaron lights the lamps ²at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹You shall not offer ^fstrange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. ¹⁰And ^gAaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

The Ransom Money

¹¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^12h“When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give ⁱa ³ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no ^jplague among them when you number them. ^13kThis is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary ^l(a shekel is twenty gerahs). ^mThe half-shekel shall be an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an ⁴offering to the Lord. ¹⁵The ⁿrich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves. ¹⁶And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and ^oshall ⁵appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be ^pa memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”

The Bronze Laver

¹⁷Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^18q“You shall also make a ⁶laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall ^rput it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, ¹⁹for Aaron and his sons ^sshall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. ²⁰When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. ²¹So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And ^tit shall be a ⁷statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

The Holy Anointing Oil

²²Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²³“Also take for yourself ^uquality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid ^vmyrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling ^wcane, ²⁴five hundred shekels of ^xcassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a ^yhin of olive oil. ²⁵And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be ^za holy anointing oil. ^26aWith it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; ²⁷the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; ²⁸the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. ²⁹You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; ^bwhatever touches them must be holy. ^30cAnd you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.

³¹“And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. ³²It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. ^dIt is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ^33eWhoever ⁸compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, ^fshall be ⁹cut off from his people.’ ”

The Incense

³⁴And the Lord said to Moses: ^g“Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. ³⁵You shall make of these an incense, a compound ^haccording to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. ³⁶And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting ⁱwhere I will meet with you. ^jIt shall be most holy to you. ³⁷But as for the incense which you shall make, ^kyou shall not make any for yourselves, according to its ¹composition. It shall be to you holy for the Lord. ^38lWhoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”