Exodus 30

1 “And you are to make an altar of incense of wood that does not rot. 2 You are to make it eighteen inches long and eighteen inches wide — it is to be square — and three feet high; its horns are to be of one piece with it. [a] 3 And you are to overlay it with pure gold — its grate, its walls all around, and its horns — and make a twisted gold molding for it all around, 4 and two rings of pure gold you are to make for it under its twisted molding, on its two sides — make them on its two flanks — and they will be holders for the poles, to carry it by them. 5 And you are to make the poles of wood that does not rot, and overlay them with gold. 6 And you are to set it in front of the veil that is over the ark of the witness pieces — where I will make myself known to you. 7 And on it Aaron is to burn finely blended incense: morning by morning, when he tends the lamps, he is to burn it, 8 and when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he is to burn it — incense that never stops, always before the Lord, through their generations. 9 And you are not to bring up on it any other incense, or offering, or sacrifice, and you are not to pour a drink offering on it. 10 And once a year Aaron is to make atonement on its horns: with the blood of the cleansing for sins, of the atonement, once a year he is to cleanse it, through their generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “When you take the count of the children of Israel at their numbering, each is to give the Lord a ransom for his life at the numbering — and there will be no plague among them at their numbering. 13 And this is what everyone who passes through the counting is to give: half a piece of silver, by the holy standard — twenty obols to the piece — and the half piece is the contribution to the Lord. [b] 14 Everyone who passes into the counting, from twenty years old and up, is to give the contribution to the Lord. 15 The rich man is not to give more, and the poor man is not to give less, than the half piece of silver, in giving the contribution to the Lord to make atonement for your lives. 16 And you are to take the silver of the contribution from the children of Israel and give it for the work of the tent of witness; and it will be a remembrance for the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for your lives.”

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses: 18 “Make a bronze basin, with a bronze base for it, for washing; and set it between the tent of witness and the altar, and pour water into it, 19 and Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and their feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they go into the tent of witness they are to wash with water, so that they do not die; and whenever they come up to the altar to do the work of the service and to send up the whole burnt offerings to the Lord, 21 they are to wash their hands and their feet with water. Whenever they go into the tent of witness they are to wash with water, so that they do not die. And it is a lasting practice for them — for him, and for his generations after him.” 22 And the Lord spoke to Moses: 23 “And you — take the finest spices: of choice flowing myrrh, twelve and a half pounds; and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, six and a quarter pounds; and of fragrant cane, six and a quarter pounds; 24 and of iris, twelve and a half pounds by the holy weight; and a gallon of olive oil. [c] 25 And you are to make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume blended by the perfumer’s art; a holy anointing oil it is to be. 26 And you are to anoint with it the tent of witness, and the ark of the witness, 27 and the lampstand and all its tools, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of whole burnt offerings and all its tools, and the table and all its tools, and the basin and its base; 29 and you are to make them holy, and they will be most holy — everything that touches them will be holy. 30 And you are to anoint Aaron and his sons, and make them holy, to serve me as priests. 31 And you are to speak to the children of Israel: This is to be a holy anointing oil for you, through your generations. 32 It is not to be poured on any man’s flesh, and you are not to make anything like it for yourselves, by this recipe. It is holy, and it is to be a holy thing to you. 33 Whoever makes any like it, and whoever gives any of it to an outsider, will be destroyed from among his people.” 34 And the Lord said to Moses, “Take for yourself sweet spices — oil of myrrh, onycha, sweet galbanum, and clear frankincense, an equal part of each — 35 and they will make of it an incense, a perfumer’s blended work, mixed, pure, a holy work. 36 And you are to grind some of it fine and set it in front of the witness pieces in the tent of witness, where I will make myself known to you. It is to be most holy to you. 37 You are not to make incense by this recipe for yourselves; it is to be a holy thing to you, for the Lord. 38 Whoever makes any like it, to enjoy its smell, will perish from among his people.”