Exodus 30

¹“You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.

²A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.

³And 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.

⁴Two 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.

⁵You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

⁶And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

⁷“Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.

⁸And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord

⁹You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it.

¹⁰And Aaron 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

¹¹Then the Lord

¹²“When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord

¹³This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the Lord

¹⁴Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord

¹⁵The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord

¹⁶And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord

¹⁷Then the Lord

¹⁸“You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it,

¹⁹for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it.

²⁰When 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

²¹So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

²²Moreover the Lord

²³“Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,

²⁴five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.

²⁵And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.

²⁶With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;

²⁷the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense;

²⁸the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base.

²⁹You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy.

³⁰And 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.

³²It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

³³Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

³⁴And the Lord

³⁵You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.

³⁶And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.

³⁷But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the Lord

³⁸Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”