Exodus - The Old Testament

¹ 'You will make an altar on which to burn incense; you will make it of acacia wood,

² one cubit long, and one cubit wide -- it must be square -- and two cubits high; its horns must be of a piece with it.

³ You will overlay its top, its sides all round and its horns with pure gold and make a gold moulding to go all round.

⁴ You will make two gold rings for it below the moulding on its two opposite sides, to take the shafts used for carrying it.

⁵ You will make the shafts of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

⁶ 'You will put it in front of the curtain by the ark of Testimony, in front of the mercy-seat which is on the Testimony, where I shall meet you.

⁷ On it Aaron will burn fragrant incense each morning; when he trims the lamps, he will burn incense on it;

⁸ and when Aaron puts back the lamps at twilight, he will burn incense on it, incense perpetually before Yahweh for all your generations to come.

⁹ You will not offer unauthorised incense, or burnt offering, or cereal offering on it, and you will not pour any libation over it.

¹⁰ Once a year, Aaron will perform the rite of expiation on the horns of the altar; once a year, on the Day of Expiation, with the blood of the sacrifice for sin, he will make expiation for himself, for all your generations to come. It is especially holy for Yahweh.'

¹¹ Yahweh then spoke to Moses and said,

¹² 'When you count the Israelites by census, each one of them must pay Yahweh a ransom for his life, to avoid any incidence of plague among them while you are holding the census.

¹³ Everyone subject to the census will pay half a shekel, reckoning by the sanctuary shekel: twenty gerah to the shekel. This half-shekel will be set aside for Yahweh.

¹⁴ Everyone subject to the census, that is to say of twenty years and over, will pay the sum set aside for Yahweh.

¹⁵ The rich man must not give more, nor the poor man less, than half a shekel when he pays the sum set aside for Yahweh in ransom for your lives.

¹⁶ You will take the ransom money of the Israelites and apply it to the service of the Tent of Meeting, for it to be a reminder of the Israelites before Yahweh, as the ransom for your lives.'

¹⁷ Yahweh then spoke to Moses and said,

¹⁸ 'You will also make a bronze basin on its bronze stand, for washing. You will put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it,

¹⁹ in which Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet.

²⁰ Whenever they are to enter the Tent of Meeting, they will wash, to avoid incurring death; and whenever they approach the altar for their service, to burn an offering for Yahweh,

²¹ they will wash their hands and feet, to avoid incurring death. This is a perpetual decree for him and his descendants for all their generations to come.'

²² Yahweh spoke further to Moses and said,

²³ 'Take the finest spices: five hundred shekels of fresh myrrh, half as much (two hundred and fifty shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, two hundred and fifty shekels of scented reed,

²⁴ five hundred shekels (reckoning by the sanctuary shekel) of cassia, and one hin of olive oil.

²⁵ You will make this into a holy anointing oil, such a blend as the perfumer might make; this will be a holy anointing oil.

²⁶ With it you will anoint the Tent of Meeting and the ark of the Testimony,

²⁷ the table and all its accessories, the lamp-stand and its accessories, the altar of incense,

²⁸ the altar of burnt offerings and all its accessories, and the basin with its stand,

²⁹ consecrating them, so that they will be especially holy and whatever touches them will become holy.

³⁰ You will also anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to be priests in my service.

³¹ You will then speak to the Israelites and say, "This anointing oil will be holy for you for all your generations to come.

³² It must not be used for anointing the human body, nor may you make any of the same mixture. It is a holy thing; you will regard it as holy.

³³ Anyone who makes up the same oil or uses it on an unauthorised person will be outlawed from his people." '

³⁴ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Take sweet spices: storax, onycha, galbanum, sweet spices and pure frankincense in equal parts,

³⁵ and compound an incense, such a blend as the perfumer might make, salted, pure, and holy.

³⁶ You will grind some of this up very fine and put it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I shall meet you. You will regard it as especially holy.

³⁷ You may not make any incense of similar composition for your own use. You will regard it as holy, reserved for Yahweh Anyone who makes up the same thing to use as perfume will be outlawed from his people.'