Chapter 30

The Altar of Incense

1 “Moreover, you shall make aan altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.

2 “Its length shall be a 1cubit, and its width a cubit, it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be 2of one piece with it.

3 “You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its 1sides 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 1opposite sides—and 2they 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 1this altar in front of the veil that is 2near the ark of the testimony, in front of the 3amercy seat 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 “When Aaron 1trims the lamps at 2twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

9 “You shall not offer any strange incense on 1this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it.

10 “Aaron shall amake 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 aa 1census of the sons of Israel 2to number them, then each one of them shall give ba ransom for 3himself to the Lord, when you 4number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you 4number them.

13 “This is what everyone who 1is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (athe shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a 2contribution to the Lord.

14 “Everyone who 1is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the 2contribution 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 1contribution to the Lord to make atonement for 2yourselves.

16 “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 memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for 1yourselves.”

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

18 “You shall also make aa laver of 1bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall bput it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.

19 “Aaron and his sons shall awash their hands and their feet from it;

20 when they enter 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 the Lord.

21 “So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and ait shall be a perpetual statute for them, for 1Aaron and his 2descendants throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil

22 Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

23 “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty,

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

25 “You shall make 1of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be aa holy anointing oil.

26 “With it ayou 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 consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy.

30 “aYou shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me.

31 “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 1anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in 2the same proportions; ait is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

33 ‘aWhoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a 1layman 2bshall be cut off from his people.’ ”

The Incense

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices 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 put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting awhere I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you.

37 “The incense which you shall make, ayou shall not make in 1the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord.

38 “aWhoever shall make any like it, to 1use as perfume, 2shall be cut off from his people.”

Chapter 31

The Skilled Craftsmen

1 aNow the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the ason of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

3 “I have afilled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of 1craftsmanship,

4 to 1make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in 2bronze,

5 and in the cutting of stones 1for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of 2craftsmanship.

6 “And behold, I Myself have 1appointed with him aOholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are 2skillful I have put 3skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

7 athe tent of meeting, and bthe ark of testimony, and cthe 1mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent,

8 athe table also and its 1utensils, and the bpure gold lampstand with all its 1utensils, and cthe altar of incense,

9 athe altar of burnt offering also with all its 1utensils, and bthe laver and its stand,

10 the 1awoven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to 2carry on their priesthood;

11 athe anointing oil also, and the bfragrant incense for the holy place, they are to make them according to all that I have commanded you.”

The Sign of the Sabbath

12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

13 “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘aYou shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is ba sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

14 ‘Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. aEveryone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

15 ‘aFor six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a bsabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; cwhoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.

16 ‘So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to 1celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’

17 “aIt is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; bfor in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

18 When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses athe two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, bwritten by the finger of God.

Chapter 32

The Golden Calf

1 Now when the people saw that Moses adelayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, bmake us 1a god who will go before us; as for cthis Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

2 Aaron said to them, “aTear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

4 He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a amolten calf; and they said, “1This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.”

6 So the next day they rose early and aoffered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and bthe people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up cto play.

7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go 1down at once, for your people, whom ayou brought up from the land of Egypt, have bcorrupted themselves.

8 “They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. aThey have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and bhave sacrificed to it and said, ‘1cThis is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’ ”

9 aThe Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are 1ban obstinate people.

10 “Now then alet Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and bI will make of you a great nation.”

Moses’ Entreaty

11 Then aMoses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

12 “Why should athe Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people.

13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You aswore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will bmultiply your 1descendants as the stars of the heavens, and call this land of which I have spoken I will give to your 1descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ”

14 aSo the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

15 aThen Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, btablets which were written on both 1sides; they were written on one side and the other.

16 The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets.

17 Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people 1as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”

18 But he said,

“It is not the sound of the cry of triumph,

Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;

But the sound of singing I hear.”

Moses’ Anger

19 It came about, as soon as 1Moses came near the camp, that ahe saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and bhe threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them 2at the foot of the mountain.

20 aHe took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?”

22 Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, athat they are 1prone to evil.

23 “For athey said to me, ‘Make 1a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

24 “I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and aI threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25 Now when Moses saw that the people were 1out of control—for Aaron had alet them 2get out of control to be a derision among 3their enemies—

26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.

27 He said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his 1neighbor.’ ”

28 So athe sons of Levi did 1as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

29 Then Moses said, “1Dedicate yourselves today to the Lord—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

30 On the next day Moses said to the people, “aYou yourselves have 1committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can bmake atonement for your sin.”

31 Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Alas, this people has 1committed a great sin, and they have made 2a agod of gold for themselves.

32 “But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your abook which You have written!”

33 The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, aI will blot him out of My book.

34 “But go now, lead the people awhere I told you. Behold, bMy angel shall go before you; nevertheless cin the day when I 1punish, dI will 2punish them for their sin.”

35 aThen the Lord smote the people, because of bwhat they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

Chapter 33

The Journey Resumed

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which aI swore to Abraham, bIsaac, and cJacob, saying, ‘dTo your 1descendants I will give it.’

2 “I will send aan angel before you and bI will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.

3 “Go up to a land aflowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are 1ban obstinate people, and cI might destroy you on the way.”

4 When the people heard this 1sad word, athey went into mourning, and none of them put on his ornaments.

5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are 1aan obstinate people; should I go up in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you. Now therefore, put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what I shall do with you.’ ”

6 So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

7 Now Moses used to take athe tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And beveryone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp.

8 And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent.

9 Whenever Moses entered the tent, athe pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; band 1the Lord would speak with Moses.

10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent.

11 Thus athe Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When 1Moses returned to the camp, bhis servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses Intercedes

12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘aBring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know bwhom You will send with me. cMoreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’

13 “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, alet me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. bConsider too, that this nation is Your people.”

14 And He said, “aMy presence shall go with you, and bI will give you rest.”

15 Then he said to Him, “aIf Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.

16 “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that awe, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the 1earth?”

17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; afor you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”

18 aThen 1Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”

19 And He said, “aI Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and bI will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, afor no man can see Me and live!”

21 Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place 1by Me, and ayou shall stand there on the rock;

22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and acover you with My hand until I have passed by.

23 “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but aMy face shall not be seen.”

Chapter 34

The Two Tablets Replaced

1 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself atwo stone tablets like the former ones, and bI will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered.

2 “So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to aMount Sinai, and 1present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain.

3 “aNo man is to come up with you, nor let any man be seen 1anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds may not graze in front of that mountain.”

4 So he cut out atwo stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he took two stone tablets in his hand.

5 aThe Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as 1he called upon the name of the Lord.

6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, acompassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and 1truth;

7 who akeeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He bwill by no means leave the guilty unpunished, cvisiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

8 Moses made haste 1ato bow low toward the earth and worship.

9 He said, “aIf now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though 1bthe people are so obstinate, and cpardon our iniquity and our sin, and dtake us as Your own 2possession.”

The Covenant Renewed

10 Then 1God said, “Behold, aI am going to make a covenant. Before all your people bI will perform miracles which have not been 2produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people 3among whom you live will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.

11 “1Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, aI am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.

12 “aWatch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst.

13 “aBut rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their 1bAsherim

14 —for ayou shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—

15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and asacrifice to their gods, and someone bmight invite you 1to eat of his sacrifice,

16 and ayou might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods.

17 “aYou shall make for yourself no molten gods.

18 “You shall observe athe Feast of Unleavened Bread. For bseven days you are to eat unleavened bread, 1as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the cmonth of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.

19 “aThe first offspring from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the first offspring from 1cattle and sheep.

20 “aYou shall redeem with a lamb the 1first offspring from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem ball the firstborn of your sons. 2cNone shall appear before Me empty-handed.

21 “You shall work asix days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.

22 “You shall celebrate athe Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.

23 “aThree times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord 1God, the God of Israel.

24 “For I will 1adrive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 “aYou shall not 1offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, bnor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to 2be left over until morning.

26 “You shall bring athe very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.

“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “aWrite 1down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made ba covenant with you and with Israel.”

28 So he was there with the Lord aforty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And 1bhe wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, cthe Ten 2Commandments.

Moses’ Face Shines

29 It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the atwo tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that bthe skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him.

30 So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and athey were afraid to come near him.

31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers in the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them.

32 Afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he commanded them to do everything that the Lord had spoken 1to him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, ahe put a veil over his face.

34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, ahe would take off the veil until he came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded,

35 athe sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.