Exodus 30

1And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

2A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.

3And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.footnote afootnote b

4And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.footnote c

5And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

6And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

7And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.footnote d

8And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.footnote efootnote f

9Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

10And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.

11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

12When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.footnote g

13This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.

14Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.

15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.footnote hfootnote i

16And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

17And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

18Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.

19For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:

20When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:

21So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

22Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

23Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,

24And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:

25And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.footnote j

26And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,

27And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,

28And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.

29And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.

30And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

31And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.

32Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.

33Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.

34And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:

35And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:footnote k

36And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

37And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.

38Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

The Altar of Incense

1“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense. 2It is to be square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high.footnote a Its horns must be of one piece. 3Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it. 4And make two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it. 5Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

6Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimonyfootnote b—before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony—where I will meet with you. 7And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps. 8When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight,footnote c he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come. 9On this altar you must not offer unauthorizedfootnote d incense or a burnt offering or grain offering; nor are you to pour a drink offering on it.

10Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offeringfootnote e of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.”

The Census Offering

11Then the LORD said to Moses, 12“When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the LORD a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when they are numbered. 13Everyone who crosses over to those counted must pay a half shekel,footnote f according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.footnote g This half shekel is an offering to the LORD.

14Everyone twenty years of age or older who crosses over must give this offering to the LORD. 15In making the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives, the rich shall not give more than a half shekel, nor shall the poor give less. 16Take the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will serve as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD to make atonement for your lives.”

The Bronze Basin

17And the LORD said to Moses, 18“You are to make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Set it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it, 19with which Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet. 20Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the LORD, they must wash with water so that they will not die. 21Thus they are to wash their hands and feet so that they will not die; this shall be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

The Anointing Oil

22Then the LORD said to Moses, 23“Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh,footnote h half that amount (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon,footnote i 250 shekels of fragrant cane,footnote j 24500 shekels of cassiafootnote k—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil.footnote l 25Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil.

26Use this oil to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, 27the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, 28the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29You are to consecrate them so that they will be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy. 30Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve Me as priests.

31And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘This will be My sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32It must not be used to anoint an ordinary man, and you must not make anything like it with the same formula. It is holy, and it must be holy to you. 33Anyone who mixes perfume like it or puts it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

The Incense

34The LORD also said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense—in equal measures, 35and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36Grind some of it into fine powder and place it in front of the Testimonyfootnote m in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37You are never to use this formula to make incense for yourselves; you shall regard it as holy to the LORD. 38Anyone who makes something like it to enjoy its fragrance shall be cut off from his people.”