30Exodus 30

The Altar for Burning Incense

1“Make an altar out of acacia wood, for burning incense.Select Exodus 30:1

2It is to be square, 18 inches long and 18 inches wide, and it is to be 36 inches high. Its projections at the four corners are to form one piece with it.Select Exodus 30:2

3Cover its top, all four sides, and its projections with pure gold, and put a gold border around it.Select Exodus 30:3

4Make two gold carrying rings for it and attach them below the border on two sides to hold the poles with which it is to be carried.Select Exodus 30:4

5Make these poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold.Select Exodus 30:5

6Put this altar outside the curtain which hangs in front of the Covenant Box. That is the place where I will meet you.Select Exodus 30:6

7Every morning when Aaron comes to take care of the lamps, he is to burn sweet-smelling incense on it.Select Exodus 30:7

8He must do the same when he lights the lamps in the evening. This offering of incense is to continue without interruption for all time to come.Select Exodus 30:8

9Do not offer on this altar any forbidden incense, any animal offering, or any grain offering, and do not pour out any wine offering on it.Select Exodus 30:9

10Once a year Aaron is to perform the ritual for purifying the altar by putting on its four projections the blood of the animal sacrificed for sin. This is to be done every year for all time to come. This altar is to be completely holy, dedicated to me, the Lord.”Select Exodus 30:10

The Tax for the Tent of the 's Presence

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

12“When you take a census of the people of Israel, each man is to pay me a price for his life, so that no disaster will come on him while the census is being taken.Select Exodus 30:12

13Everyone included in the census must pay the required amount of money, weighed according to the official standard. Everyone must pay this as an offering to me.Select Exodus 30:13

14Everyone being counted in the census, that is, every man twenty years old or older, is to pay me this amount.Select Exodus 30:14

15The rich man is not to pay more, nor the poor man less, when they pay this amount for their lives.Select Exodus 30:15

16Collect this money from the people of Israel and spend it for the upkeep of the Tent of my presence. This tax will be the payment for their lives, and I will remember to protect them.”Select Exodus 30:16

The Bronze Basin

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

18“Make a bronze basin with a bronze base. Place it between the Tent and the altar, and put water in it.Select Exodus 30:18

19Aaron and his sons are to use the water to wash their hands and feetSelect Exodus 30:19

20before they go into the Tent or approach the altar to offer the food offering. Then they will not be killed.Select Exodus 30:20

21They must wash their hands and feet, so that they will not die. This is a rule which they and their descendants are to observe forever.”Select Exodus 30:21

The Anointing Oil

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

23“Take the finest spices—12 pounds of liquid myrrh, 6 pounds of sweet-smelling cinnamon, 6 pounds of sweet-smelling cane,Select Exodus 30:23

24and 12 pounds of cassia (all weighed according to the official standard). Add one gallon of olive oil,Select Exodus 30:24

25and make a sacred anointing oil, mixed like perfume.Select Exodus 30:25

26Use it to anoint the Tent of my presence, the Covenant Box,Select Exodus 30:26

27the table and all its equipment, the lampstand and its equipment, the altar for burning incense,Select Exodus 30:27

28the altar for burning offerings, together with all its equipment, and the washbasin with its base.Select Exodus 30:28

29Dedicate these things in this way, and they will be completely holy, and anyone or anything that touches them will be harmed by the power of its holiness.Select Exodus 30:29

30Then anoint Aaron and his sons, and ordain them as priests in my service.Select Exodus 30:30

31Say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is to be used in my service for all time to come.Select Exodus 30:31

32It must not be poured on ordinary men, and you must not use the same formula to make any mixture like it. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy.Select Exodus 30:32

33Whoever makes any like it or uses any of it on anyone who is not a priest will no longer be considered one of my people.’”Select Exodus 30:33

The Incense

34The Lord said to Moses, “Take an equal part of each of the following sweet spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense.Select Exodus 30:34

35Use them to make incense, mixed like perfume. Add salt to keep it pure and holy.Select Exodus 30:35

36Beat part of it into a fine powder, take it into the Tent of my presence, and sprinkle it in front of the Covenant Box. Treat this incense as completely holy.Select Exodus 30:36

37Do not use the same formula to make any incense like it for yourselves. Treat it as a holy thing dedicated to me.Select Exodus 30:37

38If anyone makes any like it for use as perfume, he will no longer be considered one of my people.”Select Exodus 30:38