Exodus 30:16

16 You shall take the atonement money from the Israelites and shall designate it for the service of the tent of meeting; before the Lord it will be a reminder to the Israelites of the ransom given for your lives.

Exodus 30:16 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 30:16

And thou shall take the atonement money of the children of
Israel
The half shekel, the ransom of their souls:

and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the
congregation;
for the building of the tabernacle, for the repairs of it, and for the sacrifices offered in it; particularly we find that this first collection this way was appropriated to the silver sockets of the sanctuary, and the vail, for the silver hooks, and for the pillars, ( Exodus 38:27 Exodus 38:28 ) :

that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the
Lord, to make an atonement for your souls;
to put them in mind that they were sinners, that their lives were forfeited, that a ransom price was given and accepted of God, that hereby atonement, in a typical sense, was made for them; and this was before the Lord, as a token of their gratitude to him, and of their acknowledgment of the favour.

Exodus 30:16 In-Context

14 Each one who is registered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord's offering.
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you bring this offering to the Lord to make atonement for your lives.
16 You shall take the atonement money from the Israelites and shall designate it for the service of the tent of meeting; before the Lord it will be a reminder to the Israelites of the ransom given for your lives.
17 The Lord spoke to Moses:
18 You shall make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it;
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.