English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1“You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

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

2A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.

2Make it 18 inches square and 36 inches high, with horns at the corners carved from the same piece of wood as the altar itself.

3You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it.

3Overlay the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold molding around the entire altar.

4And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.

4Make two gold rings, and attach them on opposite sides of the altar below the gold molding to hold the carrying poles.

5You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

5Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

6And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you.

6Place the incense altar just outside the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant, in front of the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that covers the tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. I will meet with you there.

7And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it,

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

8and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations.

8And 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.

9You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.

9Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar, or any burnt offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings.

10Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

10“Once a year Aaron must purify 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.” Money for the Tabernacle

11The LORD said to Moses,

11Then the LORD said to Moses,

12“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.

12“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.

13Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD.

13Each person who is counted must give a small piece of silver as a sacred offering to the LORD. (This payment is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs.)

14Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD’s offering.

14All who have reached their twentieth birthday must give this sacred offering to the LORD.

15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD’s offering to make atonement for your lives.

15When this offering is given to the LORD to purify your lives, making you right with him, the rich must not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less.

16You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

16Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of the Tabernacle. It will bring the Israelites to the LORD’s attention, and it will purify your lives.” Plans for the Washbasin

17The LORD said to Moses,

17Then the LORD said to Moses,

18“You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it,

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

19with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet.

19Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet there.

20When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the LORD, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die.

20They 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!

21They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

21They 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.” The Anointing Oil

22The LORD said to Moses,

22Then the LORD said to Moses,

23“Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane,

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

24and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.

24and 12 1/2 pounds of cassia —as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also get one gallon of olive oil.

25And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.

25Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil.

26With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,

26Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant,

27and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,

27the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar,

28and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand.

28the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand.

29You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.

29Consecrate them to make them absolutely holy. After this, whatever touches them will also become holy.

30You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.

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

31And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.

31And say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation.

32It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

32It 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.

33Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

33Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community.’” The Incense

34The LORD said to Moses, “Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part),

34Then 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.

35and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.

35Using the usual techniques of the incense maker, blend the spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense.

36You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you.

36Grind some of the mixture into a very fine powder and put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant, where I will meet with you in the Tabernacle. You must treat this incense as most holy.

37And the incense that you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the LORD.

37Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the LORD, and you must treat it as holy.

38Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”

38Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.”

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.