Common English Bible CEB
The Message Bible MSG
1 Make an acacia-wood altar for burning incense.
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"Make an Altar for burning incense. Construct it from acacia wood,
2 The altar should be square, eighteen inches long and eighteen inches wide. It should be three feet high. Its horns should be permanently attached.
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one and one-half feet square and three feet high with its horns of one piece with it.
3 Cover the altar with pure gold, including its top, all its sides, and its horns. You should also make a gold molding all around it.
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Cover it with a veneer of pure gold, its top, sides, and horns, and make a gold molding around it
4 Make two gold rings and attach them under the molding on two opposite sides of the altar. They will house the poles used to carry the altar.
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with two rings of gold beneath the molding. Place the rings on the two opposing sides to serve as holders for poles by which it will be carried.
5 Make acacia-wood poles and cover them with gold.
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Make the poles of acacia wood and cover them with a veneer of gold.
6 Place the incense altar in front of the veil that hangs before the chest containing the covenant, in front of the cover that is on top of the covenant document where I will meet with you.
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"Place the Altar in front of the curtain that hides the Chest of The Testimony, in front of the Atonement-Cover that is over The Testimony where I will meet you.
7 Aaron will burn sweet-smelling incense on the incense altar every morning when he takes care of the lamps.
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Aaron will burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he polishes the lamps,
8 And again when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he will burn incense. It should be a regular incense offering in the LORD's presence in every generation.
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and again in the evening as he prepares the lamps for lighting, so that there will always be incense burning before God, generation after generation.
9 Don't offer the wrong incense on the altar or an entirely burned offering or a grain offering. Don't pour a drink offering on it.
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But don't burn on this Altar any unholy incense or Whole-Burnt-Offering or Grain-Offering. And don't pour out Drink-Offerings on it.
10 Once a year Aaron should perform a ritual of reconciliation on its horns with the blood of the purification offering for reconciliation. Once a year in every generation he should perform a ritual of reconciliation at the altar. It is most holy to the LORD.
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Once a year Aaron is to purify the Altar horns. Using the blood of the Absolution-Offering of atonement, he is to make this atonement every year down through the generations. It is most holy to God." The Atonement-Tax
11 The LORD spoke to Moses:
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God spoke to Moses:
12 When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each of them should pay compensation for their life to the LORD when they are counted. Then no plague will descend on them when they are counted.
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"When you take a head count of the Israelites to keep track of them, all must pay an atonement-tax to God for their life at the time of being registered so that nothing bad will happen because of the registration.
13 Every one who is counted should pay a half shekel according to the official shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs). The half shekel is a gift offering to the LORD.
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Everyone who gets counted is to give a half-shekel (using the standard Sanctuary shekel of a fifth of an ounce to the shekel) - a half-shekel offering to God.
14 Every one who is counted, from 20 years old and above, should present a gift offering to the LORD.
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Everyone counted, age twenty and up, is to make the offering to God.
15 When you bring this gift offering to the LORD to pay compensation for your lives, the rich shouldn't give more and the poor shouldn't give less than the half shekel.
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The rich are not to pay more nor the poor less than the half-shekel offering to God, the atonement-tax for your lives.
16 Take the compensation money from the Israelites and use it to support the service of the meeting tent. It will serve for the Israelites as a reminder in the LORD's presence of the compensation paid for your lives.
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Take the atonement-tax money from the Israelites and put it to the maintenance of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial fund for the Israelites in honor of God, making atonement for your lives." The Washbasin
17 The LORD spoke to Moses:
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God spoke to Moses:
18 Make a copper basin for washing along with its copper stand. Put it between the meeting tent and the altar, and put water in it.
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"Make a bronze Washbasin; make it with a bronze base. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar. Put water in it.
19 Aaron and his sons will use it to wash their hands and their feet.
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Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet in it.
20 When they go into the meeting tent or approach the altar to minister and to offer a food gift to the LORD, they must wash with water so that they don't die.
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When they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the Altar to serve there or offer gift offerings to God, they are to wash so they will not die.
21 They must wash their hands and their feet so that they don't die. This will be a permanent regulation for them, for Aaron and his descendants in every generation.
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They are to wash their hands and their feet so they will not die. This is the rule forever, for Aaron and his sons down through the generations." Holy Anointing Oil
22 The LORD spoke to Moses:
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God spoke to Moses:
23 Now take for yourself high-quality spices: five hundred weight of solid myrrh; half as much of sweet-smelling cinnamon, that is, two hundred fifty; two hundred fifty weight of sweet-smelling cane;
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"Take the best spices: twelve and a half pounds of liquid myrrh; half that much, six and a quarter pounds, of fragrant cinnamon; six and a quarter pounds of fragrant cane;
24 five hundred of cassia—measured by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil.
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twelve and a half pounds of cassia - using the standard Sanctuary weight for all of them - and a gallon of olive oil.
25 Prepare a holy anointing oil, blending them like a skilled perfume maker to produce the holy anointing oil.
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Make these into a holy anointing oil, a perfumer's skillful blend.
26 Use it to anoint the meeting tent, the chest containing the covenant,
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"Use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Chest of The Testimony,
27 the table and all its equipment, the lampstand and its equipment, the incense altar,
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the Table and all its utensils, the Lampstand and its utensils, the Altar of Incense,
28 the altar for entirely burned offerings and all its equipment, and the washbasin with its stand.
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the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offerings and all its utensils, and the Washbasin and its base.
29 Make them holy so that they may be perfectly holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.
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Consecrate them so they'll be soaked in holiness, so that anyone who so much as touches them will become holy.
30 Then anoint Aaron and his sons and make them holy to serve me as priests.
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"Then anoint Aaron and his sons. Consecrate them as priests to me.
31 Say to the Israelites: This will be my holy anointing oil in every generation.
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Tell the Israelites, 'This will be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.'
32 Don't allow anyone else to use this oil. Don't make another oil like it by using the same formula. This oil is holy, and you should regard it as holy.
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Don't pour it on ordinary men. Don't copy this mixture to use for yourselves. It's holy; keep it holy.
33 Whoever blends an oil like it or whoever uses the oil on someone else will be cut off from the people.
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Whoever mixes up anything like it, or puts it on an ordinary person, will be expelled." Holy Incense
34 The LORD said to Moses: Take an equal amount of each of these spices: gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense.
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God spoke to Moses: "Take fragrant spices - gum resin, onycha, galbanum - and add pure frankincense. Mix the spices in equal proportions
35 Like a skilled perfume maker, carefully blend them together and make incense, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.
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to make an aromatic incense, the art of a perfumer, salted and pure - holy.
36 Beat some of it into a fine powder and put part of it in front of the covenant document in the meeting tent where I will meet with you. You should regard it as perfectly holy.
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Now crush some of it into powder and place some of it before The Testimony in the Tent of Meeting where I will meet with you; it will be for you the holiest of holy places.
37 When you make incense according to this formula, you shouldn't make any of it for your own use. You should regard it as holy to the LORD.
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When you make this incense, you are not to copy the mixture for your own use. It's holy to God; keep it that way.
38 Whoever makes incense with this same formula to enjoy its fragrance will be cut off from the people.
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Whoever copies it for personal use will be excommunicated."
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.