Consecration of the Priests

29 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ^bTake one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, 2 ^cand unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. 3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. 4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^dwash them with water. 5 Then ^eyou shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the ^fskillfully woven band of the ephod. 6 ^gAnd you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 You shall take ^hthe anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. 8 Then you ⁱshall bring his sons and put coats on them, 9 and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with ^jsashes and bind caps on them. And ^kthe priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall ^lordain Aaron and his sons.

10 “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. ^mAaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 12 and ⁿshall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the ^ohorns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of¹ the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. 13 And you shall take all ^pthe fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire ^qoutside the camp; ^rit is a sin offering.

15 “Then ^syou shall take one of the rams, and ^tAaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 16 and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. 17 Then you shall ^ucut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, 18 and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a ^vpleasing aroma, a food offering² to the Lord.

19 ^w“You shall take the other ram, ^tand Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. 21 Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the ^xanointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons’ garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

22 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the ^yfat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ^zordination), 23 and ^aone loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. 24 You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and ^bwave them for a wave offering before the Lord. 25 Then ^cyou shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a ^dpleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.

26 “You shall take the ^ebreast of the ram of Aaron’s ^fordination and ^gwave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. 27 And you shall consecrate the ^hbreast of the wave offering that is waved and the ⁱthigh of the priests’ portion that is contributed from the ram of ^fordination, from what was Aaron’s and his sons’. 28 It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a ^jperpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a ^gcontribution. It shall be a ^gcontribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.

29 “The holy garments of Aaron ^kshall be for his sons after him; they shall ^lbe anointed in them and ordained in them. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them ^mseven days.

31 “You shall take the ram of ordination and ⁿboil its flesh in a holy place. 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the ^obread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 33 ^pThey shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an ^qoutsider shall not eat of them, because they are holy. 34 And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall ^rburn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

35 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through ^sseven days shall you ordain them, 36 and every day you shall offer a ^tbull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall ^uanoint it to consecrate it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the ^valtar shall be most holy. ^wWhatever touches the altar shall become holy.

38 “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: ^xtwo lambs a year old ^yday by day regularly. 39 One lamb you shall offer ^zin the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer ^aat twilight. 40 And with the first lamb a tenth measure³ of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin⁴ of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering. 41 The other lamb you shall offer ^aat twilight, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as ^bin the morning, for a ^cpleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. 42 It shall be a ^dregular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, ^ewhere I will meet with you, to speak to you there. 43 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be ^fsanctified by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. ^gAaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. 45 ^hI will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that ⁱI am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

The Altar of Incense

30 ^j“You shall make ^kan altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit¹ shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. ^lIts horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 You shall ^moverlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. 4 And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be ⁿholders for poles with which to carry it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^omercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 And Aaron shall ^pburn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he ^qdresses the lamps he shall burn it, 8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer ^runauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. 10 ^sAaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the ^tsin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

The Census Tax

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 ^u“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give ^va ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. 13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel² according to the ^wshekel of the sanctuary (the ^xshekel is twenty gerahs),^{3 y}half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. 14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, 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 ^ythe half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives. 16 You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall ^zgive it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to ^aremembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

The Bronze Basin

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “You shall also make a ^bbasin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. ^bYou shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, 19 with which Aaron and his sons ^cshall wash their hands and their feet. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering⁴ to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall ^dbe a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil and Incense

22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the ^efinest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of ^faromatic cane, 24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a ^ghin⁵ of olive oil. 25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the ^hperfumer; it shall be a ⁱholy anointing oil. 26 ^jWith it you 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 with all its utensils and the ^kbasin and its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. ^lWhatever touches them will become holy. 30 ^mYou shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. ⁿIt is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 ^oWhoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

34 The Lord said to Moses, ^p“Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), 35 and make an ^qincense blended as by the ^rperfumer, ^sseasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36 You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting ^twhere I shall meet with you. ^uIt shall be most holy for you. 37 And the incense that you shall make ^vaccording to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. 38 ^wWhoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”

Oholiab and Bezalel

31 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have called by name ^xBezalel the son of Uri, son of ^yHur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have ^zfilled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6 And behold, I have appointed with him ^aOholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ^bability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 ^cthe tent of meeting, and ^dthe ark of the testimony, and ^ethe mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8 ^fthe table and its utensils, and ^gthe pure lampstand with all its utensils, and ^hthe altar of incense, 9 and ⁱthe altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and ^jthe basin and its stand, 10 and ^kthe finely worked garments,¹ the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and ^lthe anointing oil and the fragrant ^mincense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

The Sabbath

12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. ⁿWhoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 ^oSix days shall work be done, but ^pthe seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. ⁿWhoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 ^qIt is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that ^rin six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and ^son the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the ^ttwo tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with ^uthe finger of God.

The Golden Calf

32 When the people saw that Moses ^vdelayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ^w“Up, make us gods who shall ^xgo before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the ^yrings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 ^zAnd he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden¹ calf. And they said, ^a“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron ^bmade a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And ^cthe people sat down to eat and drink and rose up ^dto play.

7 And the Lord said to Moses, ^e“Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have ^fcorrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that ^gI commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, ^hit is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore ⁱlet me alone, that ^jmy wrath may burn hot against them and ^kI may consume them, in order that ^lI may make a great nation of you.”

11 But ^mMoses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 ⁿWhy should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and ^orelent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you ^pswore by your own self, and said to them, ^q‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord ^rrelented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

15 Then ^sMoses turned and went down from the mountain with the ^ttwo tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 ^uThe tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When ^vJoshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of ^wshouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and ^xsaw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

21 And Moses said to Aaron, ^y“What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. ^zYou know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For ^athey said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So ^bI said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, ^cto the derision of their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you ^dkill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ^eordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”