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30 Also thou shalt make an altar of the wood of shittim, for to burn incense; (And thou shalt make an altar out of shittim wood, or acacia wood, on which to burn incense;)

and the altar shall have a cubit of length, and another cubit of breadth, that is four-cornered, and two cubits in height; (and the) corners shall come forth of the altar. (and the altar shall be one cubit in length, and one cubit in breadth, that is, square, and two cubits in height; and horns shall come forth from the altar.)

And thou shalt clothe it with cleanest gold, as well the roof thereof, that is, the higher part, as the walls, and [the] corners by compass thereof; and thou shalt make to the altar a little golden crown by compass, (And thou shalt cover it with pure gold, yea, the top of it, and its walls, and the horns on its corners; and thou shalt put a gold band all around the altar,)

and two golden circles under the crown by all sides, that bars be put into those rings, and so the altar be borne. (and thou shalt fasten two gold rings under the band on each side, so that bars can be put through those rings, and the altar can be carried.)

Also thou shalt make the bars of the wood of shittim, and thou shalt overgild them; (And thou shalt make the bars out of shittim wood, and thou shalt gild them with gold;)

and thou shalt set the altar against the veil, that hangeth before the ark of witnessing, (and) before the propitiatory, with which the witnessing is covered, where I shall speak to thee. (and thou shalt put the altar outside the Veil, that hangeth in front of the Ark of the Witnessing, and in front of the propitiatory, that is, the mercy seat, or the lid, that covereth the Ark of the Witnessing, where I shall speak to thee.)

And Aaron shall burn thereon incense smelling sweetly early (And early each day, Aaron shall burn sweet smelling incense on it); when he shall array the lanterns, he shall burn it;

and when he setteth the lanterns at eventide, he shall burn everlasting incense before the Lord, into your generations. (and when he setteth the lanterns in the evening, he shall also burn everlasting incense on it before the Lord, and so shall all your generations to come.)

Ye shall not offer thereon incense of (any) other making, neither offering, nor slain sacrifice, neither ye shall offer flowing offerings thereon (nor shall ye offer any wine offerings on it).

10 And Aaron shall pray on the horns thereof once by the year, in the blood which is offered for sin, and he shall please (the Lord) thereon in your generations; it shall be the holy of holy things to the Lord. (And once every year Aaron shall put blood on its horns, from the yearly sin offering, and for all your generations to come, the priest shall cleanse, or shall purify, the altar in this way; for it is most holy to the Lord.)

11 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

12 When thou shalt take the sum of the sons of Israel, all by themselves shall give by the number (the) price for their souls to the Lord, and vengeance shall not be in them, when they be numbered. (When thou shalt take the sum of the sons of Israel, that is, when thou shalt register them, each one shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord, and so vengeance shall not come upon them, as they be listed.)

13 Soothly each that passeth to the name(d), that is, of twenty years, shall give this price (And each one who passeth over to the named, that is, he who is twenty years of age, or older, shall pay this amount of money), half a shekel by the measure of the temple; a shekel hath twenty half-pence; the half part of a shekel shall be offered to the Lord.

14 He that is had in the number, from twenty years and above, shall give this price; (He that is had in the number, from twenty years of age and older, shall pay this amount of money;)

15 a rich man shall not add to the half of a shekel, and a poor man shall nothing abate (and a poor man shall not pay less).

16 And thou shalt betake into the uses of the tabernacle of witnessing the money taken, which is gathered of the sons of Israel, that it be a mind of them before the Lord, and he shall be merciful to their souls. (And thou shalt use the money, which is gathered from the sons of Israel, for the needs of the Tabernacle of the Witnessing; and it shall be a reminder of them to the Lord, and so I shall be merciful to their souls.)

17 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

18 Also thou shalt make a great vessel of brass with his foundament, to wash in, and thou shalt set it betwixt the tabernacle of witnessing and the altar; and when water is put therein, (And thou shalt make a great bronze vessel, with a bronze foundation, or a bronze base, to wash in, and thou shalt set it between the Tabernacle of the Witnessing and the altar; and when water is put in it,)

19 Aaron and his sons shall wash therein their hands and their feet,

20 when they shall enter into the tabernacle of witnessing, and when they shall nigh to the altar, that they offer therein incense to the Lord, lest peradventure they die; (whenever they shall go into the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, or when they shall approach the altar to offer incense on it to the Lord, otherwise they shall die/or they shall be killed;)

21 it shall be a lawful thing everlasting to him and to his seed by successions. (this shall be an everlasting law for him and for his descendants by succession.)

22 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

23 Take to thee sweet smelling spiceries, of the first and chosen myrrh, (equal to the weight of) five hundred shekels; and of canel the half (and half as much canel), that is, (the weight of) two hundred and fifty shekels; [and] in like manner of calamus, that is, a sweet smelling tree, small and full of knots, (the weight of) two hundred and fifty shekels;

24 also of cassia five hundred shekels, in the weight of [the] saintuary; the oil of olives trees, the measure of hin; (and of cassia, the weight of five hundred shekels, all by the measure of the sanctuary; and the oil of olives trees, the measure of a hin, that is, two pounds;)

25 and thou shalt make the holy oil of anointing, an ointment made by the craft of an ointment maker.

26 And thou shalt anoint thereof the tabernacle of witnessing, and the ark of the testament, (And thou shalt anoint with it the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, and the Ark of the Witnessing,)

27 and the board with his vessels, [and] the candlestick, and the purtenances thereof, (and) the altars of incense, (and the table, and its vessels, and the lamp-stand, and its purtenances, and the altar of incense,)

28 and of burnt sacrifice, and all the purtenance, that pertaineth to the adorning of those things. (and the altar of burnt sacrifice, and the purtenances of the altars, and the great washing vessel, and its foundation, or its base.)

29 And thou shalt hallow all (these) things, and they shall be the holy of holy things; he that shall touch those, shall be hallowed beforehand. (And thou shalt hallow all these things, and they shall be most holy; anyone who is unclean who toucheth these things, shall be harmed.)

30 Thou shalt anoint Aaron, and his sons, and thou shalt hallow them, that they be set in priesthood to me (so that they can serve as my priests).

31 And thou shalt say to the sons of Israel, This oil of anointing shall be holy to me into your generations. (And thou shalt say to the Israelites, This anointing oil shall be holy to me, for all your generations to come.)

32 The flesh of (a) man shall not be anointed thereof, and by the making thereof ye shall not make another such oil, for it is hallowed, and it shall be holy to you.

33 Whatever man maketh such oil, and giveth thereof to an alien, he shall be put out of his people. (Whoever maketh such an oil, or giveth it to anyone, shall be put out, or shall be cut off, from his people.)

34 Forsooth the Lord said to Moses, Take to thee sweet smelling spiceries, stacte, and onycha, galbanum of good odour, and most pure (frank)incense, all these shall be of even weight (and they all shall be of equal weight).

35 And thou shalt make (the) incense, made by the craft of an ointment maker, meddled together diligently (diligently mixed together), and pure, and most worthy of hallowing.

36 And when thou hast pounded all these things into (the) smallest powder, thou shalt put thereof before the tabernacle of witnessing, in which place I shall appear to thee; the made incense shall be to you the holy of holy things. (And when thou hast pounded all these things into the smallest powder, thou shalt sprinkle it in front of the Ark of the Witnessing in the Tabernacle, where I shall appear to thee; this incense shall be most holy to you.)

37 Ye shall not make such a making into your [own] uses, for it is holy to the Lord. (Ye shall not make such incense for your own uses, for it is holy to the Lord.)

38 Whatever man maketh like thing to it, that he use the odour thereof, he shall perish from his people. (Whoever maketh anything like it, so that he can have its aroma for himself, he shall perish, or shall be cut off, from the midst of his people.)

The Altar of Incense(A)

30 “Make an altar(B) of acacia wood for burning incense.(C) It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high[a]—its horns(D) of one piece with it. Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it.(E) Make two gold rings(F) for the altar below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.(G) Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover(H) that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you.

“Aaron must burn fragrant incense(I) on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.(J) Do not offer on this altar any other incense(K) or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year(L) Aaron shall make atonement(M) on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering[b](N) for the generations to come.(O) It is most holy to the Lord.”

Atonement Money

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “When you take a census(P) of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom(Q) for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague(R) will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel,[c] according to the sanctuary shekel,(S) which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more,(T) are to give an offering to the Lord. 15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less(U) when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement(V) money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting.(W) It will be a memorial(X) for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”

Basin for Washing

17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 “Make a bronze basin,(Y) with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet(Z) with water(AA) from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die.(AB) Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance(AC) for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”(AD)

Anointing Oil

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the following fine spices:(AE) 500 shekels[d] of liquid myrrh,(AF) half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon,(AG) 250 shekels[e] of fragrant calamus,(AH) 24 500 shekels(AI) of cassia(AJ)—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin[f] of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer.(AK) It will be the sacred anointing oil.(AL) 26 Then use it to anoint(AM) the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, 27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them(AN) so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.(AO)

30 “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate(AP) them so they may serve me as priests.(AQ) 31 Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil(AR) for the generations to come.(AS) 32 Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred.(AT) 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off(AU) from their people.’”

Incense

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices(AV)—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense,(AW) the work of a perfumer.(AX) It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet(AY) with you. It shall be most holy(AZ) to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy(BA) to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off(BB) from their people.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 30:2 That is, about 1 1/2 feet long and wide and 3 feet high or about 45 centimeters long and wide and 90 centimeters high
  2. Exodus 30:10 Or purification offering
  3. Exodus 30:13 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.8 grams; also in verse 15
  4. Exodus 30:23 That is, about 12 1/2 pounds or about 5.8 kilograms; also in verse 24
  5. Exodus 30:23 That is, about 6 1/4 pounds or about 2.9 kilograms
  6. Exodus 30:24 That is, probably about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters