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The Altar of Incense

¹ "Now you shall make ^(C1)an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.² "Its length shall be ^(F1)a cubit, and its width a cubit; it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be ^(F2)of one piece with it.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 also make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two sides—on ^(F1)opposite sides—and ^(F2)they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.⁵ "And 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)atoning cover that is over the ark of 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 "And when Aaron sets up the lamps at ^(F1)twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.⁹ "You shall not offer any ^(F1)strange incense on ^(F2)this altar, or burnt offering, or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it.¹⁰ "However, 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 the LORD."

¹¹ The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying,¹² "When you take ^(C1)a ^(F1)census of the sons of Israel ^(F2)to count them, then each one of them shall give ^(C2)a ransom for ^(F3)himself to the LORD, when you ^(F4)count them, so that there will be no plague among them when you ^(F4)count them.¹³ "This is what everyone who ^(F1)is counted shall give: half a ^(F2)shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (^(C1)the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a ^(F3)contribution to the LORD.¹⁴ "Everyone who ^(F1)is counted, from twenty years old and over, shall give the ^(F2)contribution to the LORD.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 the LORD to make atonement for ^(F2)yourselves.¹⁶ "And you shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and give it for the service of the tent of meeting, so that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for ^(F1)yourselves."

¹⁷ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,¹⁸ "You shall also make ^(C1)a basin of ^(F1)bronze, with its base 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 "Aaron and his sons shall ^(C1)wash their hands and their feet from it;²⁰ when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they do not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the LORD.²¹ "So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they do not die; and ^(C1)it shall be a permanent statute for them, for ^(F1)Aaron and his ^(F2)descendants throughout their generations."

The Anointing Oil

²² Moreover, the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,²³ "Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of liquid myrrh ^(F1)five hundred 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 "You shall make ^(F1)from these a holy anointing oil, a fragrant mixture of ointments, the work of a perfumer; it shall be ^(C1)a holy anointing oil.²⁶ "And ^(C1)you shall anoint the tent of meeting with it, 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 basin and its stand.²⁹ "You shall also consecrate them, so that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy.³⁰ "And ^(C1)you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests to Me.³¹ "Furthermore, 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 proportions; ^(C1)it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.³³ '^(C1)Whoever mixes 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 the LORD said to Moses, "Take for yourself spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum, spices and pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each.³⁵ "You shall make incense from it all, a skillful mixture, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.³⁶ "And you shall crush some of it very fine, and put part of it in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting ^(C1)where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you.³⁷ "And the incense which you shall make, ^(C1)you shall not make in ^(F1)the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the LORD.³⁸ "^(C1)Whoever makes any like it, to ^(F1)use as perfume, ^(F2)shall be cut off from his people."