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The Altar of Incense

¹ "Moreover, you shall make ^(C1)an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.² "Its length shall be a ^(F1)cubit, and its width a cubit; it shall be square. And its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be ^(F2)of the same piece.³ "You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its ^(F1)sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it.⁴ "You shall make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two side walls—on ^(F1)opposite sides—and ^(F2)they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.⁵ "You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.⁶ "You shall put ^(F1)this altar in front of the veil that is ^(F2)near the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^(F3)(C1)mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you.⁷ "Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps.⁸ "When Aaron ^(F1)trims the lamps ^(F2)at twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be continual incense before Yahweh throughout your generations.⁹ "You shall not offer any strange incense on ^(F1)this altar or burnt offering or grain offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it.¹⁰ "Aaron shall ^(C1)make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to Yahweh."

The Census and the Atonement Price

¹¹ Yahweh also spoke to Moses, saying,¹² "When you take ^(C1)a ^(F1)census of the sons of Israel ^(F2)to number them, then each one of them shall give ^(C2)a price of atonement for ^(F3)himself to Yahweh when you ^(F4)number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you ^(F4)number them.¹³ "This is what everyone who ^(F1)is numbered shall give: half a ^(F2)shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (^(C1)the shekel is twenty ^(F3)gerahs), half a shekel as a ^(F4)contribution to Yahweh.¹⁴ "Everyone who ^(F1)is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the ^(F2)contribution to Yahweh.¹⁵ "The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel when you give the ^(F1)contribution to Yahweh to make atonement for your souls.¹⁶ "And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a remembrance for the sons of Israel before Yahweh, to make atonement for your souls."

The Laver for the Priestly Washing

¹⁷ And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,¹⁸ "You shall also make ^(C1)a laver of ^(F1)bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing; and you shall ^(C2)put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.¹⁹ "And Aaron and his sons shall ^(C1)wash their hands and their feet from it;²⁰ when they come into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to Yahweh.²¹ "So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and ^(C1)it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for ^(F1)Aaron and his seed throughout their generations."

The Holy Anointing Oil

²² Moreover, Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,²³ "But as for you, take for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh 500 shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, 250, and of fragrant cane 250,²⁴ and of cassia 500, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a ^(F1)hin.²⁵ "And you shall make ^(F1)of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be ^(C1)a holy anointing oil.²⁶ "And with it ^(C1)you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,²⁷ and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand.²⁹ "You shall also set them apart as holy, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy.³⁰ "^(C1)And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and you shall set them apart as holy, that they may minister as priests to Me.³¹ "And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.³² 'It shall not be poured on ^(F1)anyone's body, nor shall you make any like it in ^(F2)the same specifications; ^(C1)it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.³³ '^(C1)Whoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a ^(F1)layman ^(F2)(C2)shall be cut off from his people.'"

The Incense

³⁴ Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Take for yourself fragrances, stacte and onycha and galbanum, fragrances with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each.³⁵ "With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.³⁶ "You shall beat some of it very fine, and you shall put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting ^(C1)where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you.³⁷ "The incense which you shall make, ^(C1)you shall not make in ^(F1)the same specifications for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for Yahweh.³⁸ "^(C1)Whoever shall make any like it, to ^(F1)use as perfume, ^(F2)shall be cut off from his people."