New Living Translation

King James Bible

Plans for the Incense Altar

“Then make another altar of acacia wood for burning incense.

The Altar of Incense

And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

Make it 18 inches square and 36 inches high,a with horns at the corners carved from the same piece of wood as the altar itself.

2

A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.

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Overlay the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold molding around the entire altar.

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And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

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Make two gold rings, and attach them on opposite sides of the altar below the gold molding to hold the carrying poles.

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And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.

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Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

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And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

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Place the incense altar just outside the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant,b in front of the Ark’s cover — the place of atonement — that covers the tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.c I will meet with you there.

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And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

7

“Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar.

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And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

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And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the LORD’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation.

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And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.

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Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar, or any burnt offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings.

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Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

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“Once a year Aaron must purifyd the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the LORD’s most holy altar.”

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And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.

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Money for the Tabernacle

Then the LORD said to Moses,

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The Atonement Money

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

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“Whenever you take a census of the people of Israel, each man who is counted must pay a ransom for himself to the LORD. Then no plague will strike the people as you count them.

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When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

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Each person who is counted must give a small piece of silver as a sacred offering to the LORD. (This payment is half a shekel,e based on the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs.)

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This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.

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All who have reached their twentieth birthday must give this sacred offering to the LORD.

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Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.

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When this offering is given to the LORD to purify your lives, making you right with him,f the rich must not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less.

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The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

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Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of the Tabernacle.g It will bring the Israelites to the LORD’s attention, and it will purify your lives.”

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And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

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Plans for the Washbasin

Then the LORD said to Moses,

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The Bronze Basin

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

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“Make a bronze washbasin with a bronze stand. Place it between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water.

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Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.

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Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet there.

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For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:

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They must wash with water whenever they go into the Tabernacle to appear before the LORD and when they approach the altar to burn up their special gifts to the LORD — or they will die!

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When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:

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They must always wash their hands and feet, or they will die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants, to be observed from generation to generation.”

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So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

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The Anointing Oil

Then the LORD said to Moses,

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The Anointing Oil

Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

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“Collect choice spices — 12 1/2 pounds of pure myrrh, 6 1/4 pounds of fragrant cinnamon, 6 1/4 pounds of fragrant calamus,h

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Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,

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and 12 1/2 pounds of cassiai — as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also get one gallon of olive oil.j

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And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:

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Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil.

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And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.

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Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant,

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And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,

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the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar,

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And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,

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the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand.

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And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.

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Consecrate them to make them absolutely holy. After this, whatever touches them will also become holy.

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And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.

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“Anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests.

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And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.

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And say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation.

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And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.

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It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy.

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Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.

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Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community.’”

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Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.

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The Incense

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather fragrant spices — resin droplets, mollusk shell, and galbanum — and mix these fragrant spices with pure frankincense, weighed out in equal amounts.

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The Incense

And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:

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Using the usual techniques of the incense maker, blend the spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense.

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And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:

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Grind some of the mixture into a very fine powder and put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant,k where I will meet with you in the Tabernacle. You must treat this incense as most holy.

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And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

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Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the LORD, and you must treat it as holy.

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And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.

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Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.”

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Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

Parallel

New Living Translation

King James Bible

Exodus 30

Exodus 30