The Altar for Burning Incense

¹“Make an altar out of acacia wood, for burning incense.

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.

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

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.

⁵Make these poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold.

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

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

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.

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.

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.”

The Tax for the Tent of the Lord's Presence

¹¹The Lord said to Moses,

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.

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.

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

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

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.”

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses,

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

¹⁹Aaron and his sons are to use the water to wash their hands and feet

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

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.”

The Anointing Oil

²²The Lord said to Moses,

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

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

²⁵and make a sacred anointing oil, mixed like perfume.

²⁶Use it to anoint the Tent of my presence, the Covenant Box,

²⁷the table and all its equipment, the lampstand and its equipment, the altar for burning incense,

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.’”

The Incense

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

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

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.

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

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

Craftsmen for the Tent of the Lord's Presence

¹The Lord said to Moses,

²“I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah,

³and I have filled him with my power. I have given him understanding, skill, and ability for every kind of artistic work—

⁴for planning skillful designs and working them in gold, silver, and bronze;

⁵for cutting jewels to be set; for carving wood; and for every other kind of artistic work.

⁶I have also selected Oholiab son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, to work with him. I have also given great ability to all the other skilled workers, so that they can make everything I have commanded to be made:

⁷the Tent of my presence, the Covenant Box and its lid, all the furnishings of the Tent,

⁸the table and its equipment, the lampstand of pure gold and all its equipment, the altar for burning incense,

⁹the altar for burnt offerings and all its equipment, the washbasin and its base,

¹⁰the magnificent priestly garments for Aaron and his sons to use when they serve as priests,

¹¹the anointing oil, and the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Place. In making all these things, they are to do exactly as I have commanded you.”

Sabbath, the Day of Rest

¹²The Lord commanded Moses

¹³to tell the people of Israel, “Keep the Sabbath, my day of rest, because it is a sign between you and me for all time to come, to show that I, the Lord, have made you my own people.

¹⁴You must keep the day of rest, because it is sacred. Whoever does not keep it, but works on that day, is to be put to death.

¹⁵You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a solemn day of rest dedicated to me. Whoever does any work on that day is to be put to death.

¹⁶The people of Israel are to keep this day as a sign of the covenant.

¹⁷It is a permanent sign between the people of Israel and me, because I, the Lord, made heaven and earth in six days, and on the seventh day I stopped working and rested.”

¹⁸When God had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets on which God himself had written the commandments.

The Holiness of the Offerings

¹The Lord commanded Moses

²to tell Aaron and his sons, “You must not bring disgrace on my holy name, so treat with respect the sacred offerings that the people of Israel dedicate to me. I am the Lord.

³If any of your descendants, while he is ritually unclean, comes near the sacred offerings which the people of Israel have dedicated to me, he can never again serve at the altar. This applies for all time to come. I am the Lord.

⁴“None of the descendants of Aaron who has a dreaded skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the sacred offerings until he is ritually clean. Any priest is unclean if he touches anything which is unclean through contact with a corpse or if he has an emission of semen

⁵or if he has touched an unclean animal or person.

⁶Any priest who becomes unclean remains unclean until evening, and even then he may not eat any of the sacred offerings until he has taken a bath.

⁷After the sun sets he is clean, and then he may eat the sacred offerings, which are his food.

⁸He shall not eat the meat of any animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild animals; it will make him unclean. I am the Lord.

⁹“All priests shall observe the regulations that I have given. Otherwise, they will become guilty and die, because they have disobeyed the sacred regulations. I am the Lord and I make them holy.

¹⁰“Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of the sacred offerings; no one else may eat them—not even someone staying with a priest or hired by him.

¹¹But a priest's slaves, bought with his own money or born in his home, may eat the food the priest receives.

¹²A priest's daughter who marries someone who is not a priest may not eat any of the sacred offerings.

¹³But a widowed or divorced daughter who has no children and who has returned to live in her father's house as a dependent may eat the food her father receives as a priest. Only a member of a priestly family may eat any of it.

¹⁴“If any people who are not members of a priestly family eat any of the sacred offerings without intending to, they must repay the priest its full value plus an additional 20 percent.

¹⁵The priests shall not profane the sacred offerings

¹⁶by letting any unauthorized people eat them; this would bring guilt and punishment on such people. I am the Lord and I make the offerings holy.”

¹⁷The Lord commanded Moses

¹⁸to give Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel the following regulations. When any Israelite or any foreigner living in Israel presents a burnt offering, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must not have any defects.

¹⁹To be accepted, it must be a male without any defects.

²⁰If you offer any animal that has any defects, the Lord will not accept it.

²¹When anyone presents a fellowship offering to the Lord, whether as fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, the animal must be without any defects if it is to be accepted.

²²Do not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind or crippled or mutilated, or that has a running sore or a skin eruption or scabs. Do not offer any such animals on the altar as a food offering.

²³As a freewill offering you may offer an animal that is stunted or not perfectly formed, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow.

²⁴Do not offer to the Lord any animal whose testicles have been crushed, cut, bruised, or torn off. This is not permitted in your land.

²⁵Do not offer as a food offering any animal obtained from a foreigner. Such animals are considered defective and are not acceptable.

^26-27When a calf or a lamb or a kid is born, it must not be taken from its mother for seven days, but after that it is acceptable as a food offering.

²⁸Do not sacrifice a cow and its calf or a sheep and its lamb or a goat and its kid on the same day.

²⁹When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, follow the rules so that you will be accepted;

³⁰eat it the same day and leave none of it until the next morning.

³¹The Lord said, “Obey my commands; I am the Lord.

³²Do not bring disgrace on my holy name; all the people of Israel must acknowledge me to be holy. I am the Lord and I make you holy;

³³and I brought you out of Egypt to become your God. I am the Lord.”

The One True God

¹To you alone, O Lord, to you alone, and not to us, must glory be given because of your constant love and faithfulness.

²Why should the nations ask us, “Where is your God?”

³Our God is in heaven; he does whatever he wishes.

⁴Their gods are made of silver and gold, formed by human hands.

⁵They have mouths, but cannot speak, and eyes, but cannot see.

⁶They have ears, but cannot hear, and noses, but cannot smell.

⁷They have hands, but cannot feel, and feet, but cannot walk; they cannot make a sound.

⁸May all who made them and who trust in them become like the idols they have made.

⁹Trust in the Lord, you people of Israel. He helps you and protects you.

¹⁰Trust in the Lord, you priests of God. He helps you and protects you.

¹¹Trust in the Lord, all you that worship him. He helps you and protects you.

¹²The Lord remembers us and will bless us; he will bless the people of Israel and all the priests of God.

¹³He will bless everyone who honors him, the great and the small alike.

¹⁴May the Lord give you children— you and your descendants!

¹⁵May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

¹⁶Heaven belongs to the Lord alone, but he gave the earth to us humans.

¹⁷The Lord is not praised by the dead, by any who go down to the land of silence.

¹⁸But we, the living, will give thanks to him now and forever. Praise the Lord!