Exodus 30

The Altar of Incense

1 "You shall make *Ex. 37:25–29an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit shallbe its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shallbe its height. Its horns shallbe of one piece with it. 3 And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. 4 Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 6 And you shall put it before the *Ex. 26:31–35veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the *Ex. 25:21, 22mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

7 "Aaron shall burn on it *Ex. 30:34; 1 Sam. 2:28; 1 Chr. 23:13; Luke 1:9sweet incense every morning; when *Ex. 27:20, 21he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. 8 And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer *Lev. 10:1strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. 10 And *Lev. 16:3–34Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord."

The Ransom Money

11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 *Ex. 38:25, 26; Num. 1:2; 26:2; 2 Sam. 24:2"When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give *Num. 31:50; (Matt. 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19)a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no *2 Sam. 24:15plague among them when you number them. 13 *Matt. 17:24This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary *Lev. 27:25; Num. 3:47; Ezek. 45:12(a shekel is twenty gerahs). *Ex. 38:26The half-shekel shallbe an offering to the Lord. 14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord. 15 The *Job 34:19; Prov. 22:2; (Eph. 6:9)rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves. 16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and *Ex. 38:25–31shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be *Num. 16:40a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves."

The Bronze Laver

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 18 *Ex. 38:8; 1 Kin. 7:38"You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall *Ex. 40:30put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, 19 for Aaron and his sons *Ex. 40:31, 32; Ps. 26:6; Is. 52:11; John 13:8, 10; Heb. 10:22shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. 20 When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And *Ex. 28:43it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations."

The Holy Anointing Oil

22 Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 "Also take for yourself *Song 4:14; Ezek. 27:22quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid *Ps. 45:8; Prov. 7:17myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling *Song 4:14; Jer. 6:20cane, 24 five hundred shekels of *Ps. 45:8cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a *Ex. 29:40hin of olive oil. 25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be *Ex. 37:29; 40:9; Lev. 8:10; Num. 35:25; Ps. 89:20; 133:2a holy anointing oil. 26 *Ex. 40:9; Lev. 8:10; Num. 7:1With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; 28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; *Ex. 29:37; Num. 4:15; Hag. 2:11–13whatever touches them must be holy. 30 *Ex. 29:7; Lev. 8:12And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.

31 "And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make anyother like it, according to its composition. *Ex. 30:25, 37It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 *Ex. 30:38Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, *Gen. 17:14; Ex. 12:15; Lev. 7:20, 21shall be cut off from his people.’ "

The Incense

34 And the Lord said to Moses: *Ex. 25:6; 37:29"Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. 35 You shall make of these an incense, a compound *Ex. 30:25according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting *Ex. 29:42; Lev. 16:2where I will meet with you. *(Ex. 29:37; 30:32); Lev. 2:3It shall be most holy to you. 37 But asfor the incense which you shall make, *Ex. 30:32you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the Lord. 38 *Ex. 30:33Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people."