Exodus 30; Exodus 31; Exodus 32

1 "Make an altar for burning incense. Make it out of acacia wood.

2 It must be one foot six inches square and three feet high. Make a horn stick out from each of its upper four corners.

3 Cover the top, sides and horns with pure gold. Put a strip of gold around it.

4 "Make two gold rings for the altar below the strip. Put the rings across from each other. They will hold the poles that are used to carry it.

5 Make the poles out of acacia wood. Cover them with gold.

6 "Put the altar in front of the curtain that hangs in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. The ark will have a cover. It will be the place where sin is paid for. There I will meet with you.

7 "Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on the altar. He must do it every morning when he takes care of the lamps.

8 He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at sunset. Incense must be burned regularly to me. Do it for all time to come.

9 "Do not burn any other incense on the altar. Do not use the altar for burnt offerings or grain offerings. Do not pour drink offerings on it.

10 "Once a year Aaron must put the blood of a sin offering on its horns to make it pure. He must do it on the day Israel's sin is paid for. Do it for all time to come. The altar is a very holy place to me."

11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses. He said,

12 "When you make a list of the people of Israel and count them, they must pay me for their lives at the time they are counted. Then a plague will not come on them when you count them.

13 "Each one who is counted must pay a fifth of an ounce of silver. It must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. The payment is an offering to me.

14 Each one who is counted must be 20 years old or more. He must give an offering to me.

15 "When you make the offering, rich people must not give more than a fifth of an ounce of silver. And poor people must not give less. The offering you give to me will pay for your lives.

16 "Receive the money from the people of Israel. Use it for any purpose in the Tent of Meeting. It will remind the people that they are paying me for their lives."

17 Then the LORD spoke to Moses. He said,

18 "Make a large bronze bowl for washing. Make a bronze stand to put it on. Place the bowl between the Tent of Meeting and the altar. Put water in it.

19 "Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet with water from it.

20 When they enter the Tent of Meeting, they must wash with water so that they will not die. They will come to the altar to serve me. They will bring an offering that is made to me with fire.

21 When they do, they must wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. For all time to come, that will be a law for Aaron and the priests who are in his family line."

22 Then the LORD spoke to Moses.

23 He said, "Get some fine spices. Get 12 pounds eight ounces of liquid myrrh. Get six pounds four ounces of sweet-smelling cinnamon and the same amount of sweet-smelling cane.

24 Also get 12 pounds eight ounces of cassia. All of the spices must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Get four quarts of olive oil.

25 "Have a person who makes perfume mix everything into a sacred anointing oil. It will smell sweet.

26 "Then anoint the Tent of Meeting and the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept.

27 Anoint the table for the holy bread and all of its articles. Anoint the lampstand and the things that are used with it. Anoint the altar for burning incense.

28 Anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all of its tools. And anoint the large bowl together with its stand.

29 You must set them apart so that they will be very holy. Anything that touches them will be holy.

30 "Anoint Aaron and his sons. Set them apart so that they can serve me as priests.

31 "Say to the people of Israel, 'This will be my sacred anointing oil for all time to come.

32 Do not pour it on the bodies of any other men. Do not make any other oil in the same way. It is sacred. So you must think of it as sacred.

33 Anyone who makes perfume in the same way and puts it on someone who is not a priest must be cut off from his people.' "

34 Then the LORD spoke to Moses. He said, "Get some sweet-smelling spices. Get some gum resin, onycha and galbanum. Also get some pure frankincense. Make sure everything is in equal amounts.

35 "Have a person who makes perfume mix it all up into a sweet-smelling incense. It must have salt in it. It will be pure and sacred.

36 Grind some of it into powder. Place it in front of the tablets of the covenant in the Tent of Meeting. There I will meet with you. The incense will be very holy to you.

37 "Do not make any incense for yourselves in the same way. Think of it as holy to me.

38 Anyone who makes incense in the same way to enjoy its sweet smell must be cut off from his people."

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses.

2 He said, "I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri. Uri is the son of Hur. Bezalel is from the tribe of Judah.

3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God. I have filled him with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.

4 He can make beautiful patterns in gold, silver and bronze.

5 He can cut and set stones. He can work with wood. In fact, he can work in all kinds of crafts.

6 "I have also appointed Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, to help him. Oholiab is from the tribe of Dan. "I have given ability to all of the skilled workers. They can make everything I have commanded you to make. Here is the complete list.

7 "the Tent of Meeting the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept the cover for the ark

8 the table for the holy bread and its articles the pure gold lampstand and everything that is used with it the altar for burning incense

9 the altar for burnt offerings and all of its tools the large bowl with its stand

10 the sacred clothes for Aaron the priest the clothes for his sons when they serve as priests

11 the anointing oil the sweet-smelling incense for the Holy Room "The skilled workers must make them just as I commanded you."

12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses.

13 He said, "Tell the people of Israel, 'You must always keep my Sabbath days. That will be the sign of the covenant I have made between me and you for all time to come. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I make you holy.

14 " 'Keep the Sabbath day. It is holy to you. Those who misuse it must be put to death. Those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people.

15 Do your work in six days. But the seventh day is a Sabbath. You must rest on it. It is set apart for me. Those who work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.

16 " 'The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath. They must celebrate it for all time to come. It will be a covenant that lasts forever.

17 It will be the sign of the covenant I have made between me and the people of Israel forever. " 'I made the heavens and the earth in six days. But on the seventh day I did not work. I rested.' "

18 The LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai. Then he gave him the two tablets of the covenant. They were made out of stone. The words on them were written by the finger of God.

1 The people saw that Moses took a long time to come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, "Come. Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don't know what has happened to him."

2 Aaron answered them, "Take the gold earrings off your wives, your sons and your daughters. Bring the earrings to me."

3 So all of the people took off their earrings. They brought them to Aaron.

4 He took what they gave him and made it into a metal statue of a god. It looked like a calf. He shaped it with a tool. Then the people said, "Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt."

5 When Aaron saw it, he built an altar in front of the calf. He said, "Tomorrow will be a feast day in the LORD's honor."

6 So the next day the people got up early. They sacrificed burnt offerings and brought friendship offerings. They sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up to dance wildly in front of their god.

7 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, "Go down. Your people you brought up out of Egypt have become very sinful.

8 They have quickly turned away from what I commanded them. They have made themselves a statue of a god that looks like a calf. They have bowed down and sacrificed to it. And they have said, 'Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt.'

9 "I have seen those people," the LORD said to Moses. "They are stubborn.

10 Now leave me alone. My anger will burn against them. I will destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."

11 But Moses asked the LORD his God to show favor to the people. "Lord," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people? You used your great power and mighty hand to bring them out of Egypt.

12 Why should the Egyptians say, 'He brought them out to hurt them. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn away from your burning anger. Please take pity on your people. Don't destroy them!

13 "Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel. You made a promise. You took an oath in your name. You said, 'I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. I will give them all of this land I promised them. It will belong to them forever.' "

14 Then the LORD took pity on his people. He didn't destroy them as he had said he would.

15 Moses turned and went down the mountain. He had the two tablets of the covenant in his hands. Words were written on both sides of the tablets, front and back.

16 The tablets were the work of God. The words had been written by God. They had been carved on the tablets.

17 Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. So he said to Moses, "It sounds like war in the camp."

18 Moses replied, "It's not the sound of winning. It's not the sound of losing. It's the sound of singing that I hear."

19 As Moses approached the camp, he saw the calf. He also saw the people dancing. So he burned with anger. He threw the tablets out of his hands. They broke into pieces at the foot of the mountain.

20 He took the calf the people had made. He burned it in the fire. Then he ground it into powder. He scattered it on the water. And he made the people of Israel drink it.

21 He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you? How did they make you lead them into such terrible sin?"

22 "Please don't be angry," Aaron answered. "You know how these people like to do what is evil.

23 They said to me, 'Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don't know what has happened to him.'

24 "So I told them, 'Anyone who has any gold jewelry, take it off.' They gave me the gold. I threw it into the fire. And out came this calf!"

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild. Aaron had let them get out of control. The people had become a joke to their enemies.

26 Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. He said, "Anyone who is on the LORD's side, come to me." All of the Levites joined him.

27 Then he spoke to them. He said, "The Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'Each man must put on his sword. Then he must go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other. Each man must kill his brother, friend and neighbor.' "

28 The Levites did as Moses commanded. About 3,000 of the people died that day.

29 Then Moses said to the Levites, "You have been set apart for the LORD today. You stood against your own sons and brothers. And he has blessed you this day."

30 The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a terrible sin. But now I will go up to the Lord. Maybe if I pray to him, he will forgive your sin."

31 So Moses went back to the Lord. He said, "These people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a god out of gold for themselves.

32 Now please forgive their sin. But if you won't, then erase my name from the scroll you have written."

33 The LORD replied to Moses, "I will erase from my scroll only the names of those who have sinned against me.

34 Now go. Lead the people to the place I spoke about. My angel will go ahead of you. But when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."

35 The LORD struck the people with a plague. That's because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.