30Exodus 30

The Altar for Burning Incense / The said to Moses:

1Build an altar of acacia wood where you can burn incense.Select Exodus 30:1

2Make it 45 centimeters square and 90 centimeters high, and make each of its four corners stick up like the horn of a bull.Select Exodus 30:2

3Cover it with pure gold and put a gold edging around it.Select Exodus 30:3

4Then below the edging on opposite sides attach two gold rings through which you can put the poles for carrying the altar.Select Exodus 30:4

5These poles are also to be made of acacia wood covered with gold.Select Exodus 30:5

6Put the altar in front of the inside curtain of the sacred tent. The chest with the place of mercy is kept behind that curtain, and I will talk with you there.Select Exodus 30:6

8From now on, when Aaron takes care of the lamps each morning and evening, he must burn sweet-smelling incense to me on the altar.Select Exodus 30:8

9Burn only the proper incense on the altar and never use it for grain sacrifices or animal sacrifices or drink offerings.Select Exodus 30:9

10Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing on its four corners the blood of an animal sacrificed for sin, and this practice must always be followed. The altar is sacred because it is dedicated to me.Select Exodus 30:10

The Money for the Sacred Tent

11The Lord said to Moses:Select Exodus 30:11

12Find out how many grown men there are in Israel and require each of them to pay me to keep him safe from danger while you are counting them.Select Exodus 30:12

15Each man over 19, whether rich or poor, must pay me the same amount of money, weighed according to the official standards.Select Exodus 30:15

16This money is to be used for the upkeep of the sacred tent, and because of it, I will never forget my people.Select Exodus 30:16

The Large Bronze Bowl

17The Lord said to Moses:Select Exodus 30:17

21Make a large bronze bowl and a bronze stand for it. Then put them between the altar for sacrifice and the sacred tent, so the priests can wash their hands and feet before entering the tent or offering a sacrifice on the altar. Each priest in every generation must wash himself in this way, or else he will die right there.Select Exodus 30:21

The Oil for Dedication and Ordination

22The Lord said to Moses:Select Exodus 30:22

25Mix four liters of olive oil with the following costly spices: six kilograms of myrrh, three kilograms of cinnamon, three kilograms of cane, and six kilograms of cassia. Measure these according to the official standards. Then use this sacred mixtureSelect Exodus 30:25

26for dedicating the tent and chest,Select Exodus 30:26

27the table with its equipment, the lampstand with its equipment, the incense altar with all its utensils,Select Exodus 30:27

28the altar for sacrifices, and the large bowl with its stand.Select Exodus 30:28

29By dedicating them in this way, you will make them so holy that anyone who even touches them will become holy.Select Exodus 30:29

30When you ordain Aaron and his sons as my priests, sprinkle them with some of this oil,Select Exodus 30:30

31and say to the people of Israel: “This oil must always be used in the ordination service of a priest. It is holy because it is dedicated to the Lord.Select Exodus 30:31

32So treat it as holy! Don't ever use it for everyday purposes or mix any for yourselves.Select Exodus 30:32

33If you do, you will no longer belong to the Lord's people.”Select Exodus 30:33

The Sweet-Smelling Incense

35Mix equal amounts of the costly spices stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, then add salt to make the mixture pure and holy.Select Exodus 30:35

36Pound some of it into powder and sprinkle it in front of the sacred chest, where I meet with you. Be sure to treat this incense as something very holy.Select Exodus 30:36

37It is truly holy because it is dedicated to me, so don't ever make any for yourselves.Select Exodus 30:37

38If you ever make any of it to use as perfume, you will no longer belong to my people.Select Exodus 30:38