The Altar of Incense

30 “Now you shall make ^(A)an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ² Its length shall be ^[a]a cubit, and its width a cubit; it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be ^[b]of one piece with it. ³ You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its ^[c]sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it. ⁴ You shall also make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two sides—on ^[d]opposite sides—and ^[e]they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵ And you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ You shall put ^[f]this altar in front of the veil that is ^[g]near the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^[h](B)atoning cover that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps. ⁸ And when Aaron sets up the lamps at ^[i]twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer any ^[j]strange incense on ^[k]this altar, or burnt offering, or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it. ¹⁰ However, Aaron shall ^(C)make atonement on its horns once a year; 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.”

¹¹ The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “When you take ^(D)a ^[l]census of the sons of Israel ^[m]to count them, then each one of them shall give ^(E)a ransom for ^[n]himself to the Lord, when you ^[o]count them, so that there will be no plague among them when you ^[p]count them. ¹³ This is what everyone who ^[q]is counted shall give: half a ^[r]shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (^(F)the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a ^[s]contribution to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who ^[t]is counted, from twenty years old and over, shall give the ^[u]contribution to the Lord. ¹⁵ The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less, than the half shekel, when you give the ^[v]contribution to the Lord to make atonement for ^[w]yourselves. ¹⁶ And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and give it for the service of the tent of meeting, so that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for ^[x]yourselves.”

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “You shall also make ^(G)a basin of ^[y]bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall ^(H)put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons shall ^(I)wash their hands and their feet from it; ²⁰ when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they do not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the Lord. ²¹ So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they do not die; and ^(J)it shall be a permanent statute for them, for ^[z]Aaron and his ^[aa]descendants throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil

²² Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³ “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of liquid myrrh ^[ab]five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, 250, and of fragrant cane 250, ²⁴ and of cassia 500, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a ^[ac]hin. ²⁵ You shall make ^[ad]from these a holy anointing oil, a fragrant mixture of ointments, the work of a perfumer; it shall be ^(K)a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ And ^(L)you shall anoint the tent of meeting with it, and the ark of the testimony, 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 and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand. ²⁹ You shall also consecrate them, so that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. ³⁰ And ^(M)you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests to Me. ³¹ Furthermore, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. ³² It shall not be poured on ^[ae]anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in ^[af]the same proportions; ^(N)it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ^33 (O)Whoever mixes any like it or whoever puts any of it on a ^[ag]layman ^[ah](P)shall be cut off from his people.’”

The Incense

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum, spices and pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. ³⁵ You shall make incense from it all, a skillful mixture, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. ³⁶ And you shall crush some of it very fine, and put part of it in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting ^(Q)where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. ³⁷ And the incense which you shall make, ^(R)you shall not make in ^[ai]the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord. ^38 (S)Whoever makes any like it, to ^[aj]use as perfume, ^[ak]shall be cut off from his people.”