1 You shall make an altar {mizbe’ach: sacrificial structure} for the burning of incense, and you shall build it from acacia wood {atsei: durable wood}.
2 It shall be one cubit {amah: standard measurement} long and one cubit wide {rachbo: breadth measurement}; it must be square; and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be one piece with it.
3 Overlay it with pure gold{zahav: precious metal}—the top, its walls all around, and its horns—and fashion a gold molding{zeir: ornamental border} around it.
4 Under its molding, make two gold rings {tabbaot: circular fasteners} on its two sides; they shall serve as holders {battim: supporting sockets} for the poles used to carry it.
5 Make the poles from acacia wood {shitim: durable timber}, and overlay them with gold {zahav: refined precious metal}.
6 Set it in front of the veil {parokhet: sacred partition} that is upon the ark of the testimony, in front of the atonement cover that is over the testimony, where I {ani: Meeting Initiator} will meet with you.
7 And Aaron {Aharon: Consecrated Priest} shall burn incense {ketoret: aromatic offering} on it every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn it.
8 When Aaron kindles the lamps between the evenings, he shall burn the incense {ketoret: fragrant offering}; it is to be continual before the LORD {YHWH, Holy Presence} through your generations.
9 You shall not offer {taalu: Cause to Ascend} upon it any strange incense, nor a burnt offering, nor a grain offering; and you shall not pour any libation {nesekh: Drink Offering} on it.
10 Aaron shall make atonement {kapar: ritual covering} on its horns once each year; with the blood of the sin offering for atonements he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD {YHWH, Holiness Source}.
11 Then the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Speaker} spoke {vayedabber: intensive utterance} to Moses, saying,
12 When you carry out a census {tissa: lift up, count} of the sons of Israel, each man must provide a ransom for his soul to the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Lawgiver} at the time of his enrolment, so that no plague may afflict them.
13 This is the required contribution for each person registered: half a shekel by the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs, delivered as a consecrated offering {terumah: dedicated gift} to the LORD {YHWH, Offerings Recipient}.
14 All who pass over {hā-ʾōḇēr: those counted} among the mustered, from twenty years of age and upward, shall present an offering to the LORD {YHWH, Worthy Recipient}.
15 The rich shall not give more than half a shekel, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when giving the offering to the LORD {YHWH, Atonement Recipient} to make atonement {kapper: ritual covering} for your lives.
16 You shall take the atonement silver {keseph: purification offering} from the sons of Israel and give it for the service of the Tent of Meeting; it shall serve as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Redeemer}, to make atonement for your souls.
17 The LORD {YHWH, Covenant Lawgiver} spoke {dabar: narrative marker} to Moses, saying,
18 You shall make a basin {kiyyor: wash vessel} of bronze, with its bronze stand for washing, and set it between the tent of meeting and the altar; and you shall put water {mayim: cleansing water} in it.
19 And Aaron {Aharon: first high priest} and his sons shall wash {rachatsu: ritual cleansing} their hands and their feet from it.
20 When they enter the tent of meeting or come near the altar to minister {lesharet: priestly service} and offer up a fire offering to the LORD {YHWH, Holiness Preserver}, they shall wash with water and not die.
21 They shall wash {rachatsu: ceremonial wash} their hands and their feet so that they will not die; and it shall be a statute {chok: binding ordinance} forever for them, for him and for his seed throughout their generations.
22 And the LORD {YHWH, Lawgiver} spoke to Moses {Mosheh: chosen leader}, saying,
23 And you shall take for yourself the finest spices {besamim: aromatic elements}, five hundred shekels of pure myrrh {mar: flowing resin}, two hundred and fifty shekels of fragrant cinnamon, and two hundred and fifty shekels of aromatic cane.
24 And cassia—five hundred {chamesh me’ot: numerical-scale construct} by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil {shemen zayit: pure-pressed}.
25 Make these into a holy anointing oil {shemen: oil set apart}, a perfumed compound {mirkachat: expert blend} prepared by the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 With the anointing oil you shall anoint the tent of meeting {ohel moed: designated worship tent} and the ark of the testimony {eduth: covenant testimony}.
27 Anoint the table {shulchan: sacred furniture} and all its vessels, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense {mizbeach ha-ketoret: incense-offering site}.
28 Anoint the altar {mizbeach: place of sacrifice} for burnt offerings along with all its utensils, and the basin {kiyor: ritual washing vessel} and its stand.
29 Consecrate {kiddashta: ritually dedicated} them, and they shall be most holy {kodesh kadashim: supreme sanctity}; whatever touches them shall be holy.
30 You shall anoint Aaron along with his sons {banav: male descendants}, and consecrate them so that they may serve Me {YHWH, Priest-Consecrator} as priests.
31 Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, “This oil shall be a holy anointing for Me {YHWH, Sovereign Owner}, for your generations {ledoroteichem: all your descendants}.”
32 It shall not be poured upon the flesh {besar: physical substance} of an ordinary person, and you shall not make anything like it in its composition {bematkunto: precise formulation}; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
33 Any man who compounds {yirkakh: sacred mixture} it or who applies it to a stranger {al-zar: non-priest outsider} shall be cut off from his people.
34 And the LORD{YHWH, Holy Instructor} said to Moses, “Take for yourself aromatic spices: stacte{nataf: fragrant resin}, onycha, and galbanum—spices with pure frankincense. Each shall be by itself in equal measure.”
35 Make it into incense {ketoret: aromatic offering}, a perfumed blend formed by the work of a perfumer {rokeach: expert mixer}; it shall be salted, pure, and holy.
36 Grind a portion of it into a fine powder and place some before the testimony {ha’edut: Covenant Witness} in the tent of meeting, where I {ivva’ed, Presence Appointer} will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you.
37 You are forbidden to craft the incense {qetoret: incense offering} according to this precise formula for your own use; it shall be holy to you for the LORD {YHWH, Worship Recipient}.
38 Any individual who prepares incense identical to it in order to savor its scent {lehariakh: enjoy fragrance} will be cut off from his community {meammav: community}.