1 | "You shall also make an altar, for the burning of incense, from setim wood, |
2 | having one cubit in length, and another in width, that is, four equal sides, and two cubits in height. Horns shall proceed from the same. |
3 | And you shall clothe it with the purest gold, both its grating and the walls around it, and also the horns. And you shall make for it a crown of gold in a circle, |
4 | and two gold rings under the crown on each side, so that the bars may be set in them and the altar may be carried. |
5 | Also, you shall make its bars of setim wood, and you shall overlay them with gold. |
6 | And you shall set the altar opposite the veil, which hangs in front of the ark of the testimony, before the propitiatory with which the testimony is covered, where I will speak to you. |
7 | And Aaron shall burn incense upon it, a sweet fragrance, in the morning. When he lights the lamps, he shall burn it. |
8 | And when he assembles them in the evening, he shall burn an everlasting incense before the Lord throughout your generations. |
9 | You shall not offer upon it incense of another composition, nor an oblation, nor a victim; neither shall you offer libations. |
10 | And Aaron shall pray over its horns once a year, with the blood of what was offered for sin. And he shall make atonement over it in your generations. It shall be the Holy of holies to the Lord." |
11 | And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: |
12 | "When you have taken the sum of the sons of Israel, according to their number, each shall give a price for their souls to the Lord, and there will be no scourge among them, when they will be reviewed. |
13 | Then all those who pass shall give by name: one half shekel, according to the measure at the temple. A shekel has twenty obols. The half part of a shekel shall be offered to the Lord. |
14 | He who has been numbered from twenty years and above shall give the price. |
15 | The rich shall not add to the half shekel, and the poor shall diminish nothing. |
16 | And the money received, which was collected from the sons of Israel, you shall deliver for the uses of the tabernacle of the testimony, so that it may be a memorial of them before the Lord, and he may act favorably toward their souls." |
17 | And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: |
18 | "You shall also make a bronze washtub with its base to wash in; and you shall place it between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar. And when water has been added, |
19 | Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet in it: |
20 | when they enter the tabernacle of the testimony, and when they approach to the altar so as to offer incense to the Lord upon it, |
21 | otherwise, they may die. This shall be an everlasting law to him, and to his offspring, throughout their successions." |
22 | And the Lord spoke to Moses, |
23 | saying: "Take for yourself aromatics: of the first and best myrrh, five hundred shekels, and of cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty shekels; of sweet flag similarly two hundred and fifty, |
24 | but of cassia, five hundred shekels by the weight of the sanctuary, and of the oil of olives the measure of a hin. |
25 | And you shall make the holy oil of unction, an ointment composed with the skills of a perfumer, |
26 | and with it you shall anoint the tabernacle of the testimony, and the ark of the testament, |
27 | and the table with its vessels, and the lampstand and it utensils, the altars of incense |
28 | and of holocaust, and all the items that pertain to their rituals. |
29 | And you shall sanctify everything, and they shall be the Holy of holies. He who will touch them must be sanctified. |
30 | You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and you shall sanctify them, so that they may exercise the priesthood for me. |
31 | Likewise, you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'This oil of unction will be holy to me throughout your generations. |
32 | The flesh of man shall not be anointed from it, and you shall not make any similar compound, for it has been sanctified and it shall be holy to you. |
33 | Whatever man will have composed such a thing and have given it to a stranger, he shall be exterminated from his people.' " |
34 | And the Lord said to Moses: "Take to yourself aromatics: stacte, and onycha, galbanum of sweet odor, and the clearest frankincense, all these shall be of equal weight. |
35 | And you shall make incense composed with the skills of a perfumer, diligently mixed, and pure, and most worthy of sanctification. |
36 | And when you have crushed all these into a very fine powder, you shall place some of it before the tabernacle of the testimony, in the place where I will appear to you. The Holy of holies shall this incense be to you. |
37 | You shall not make such a compound for your own uses, because it is holy to the Lord. |
38 | Whatever man will have made anything similar, so as to thoroughly enjoy its smell, he shall perish from his people." |