Special oil and incense
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 ‘Mix together these special spices:
6 kilograms of pure myrrh,3 kilograms of sweet cinnamon,3 kilograms of sweet grasses, 24 6 kilograms of cassia,30:24‘cassia’ is the name of a spice.
and 4 litres of olive oil. 25 Mix these spices to make a special oil. A worker should use special skills to make it, so that it has a sweet smell, like perfume. It will be a very special oil to put on things that belong to me.
26 Then pour some of this special oil on these things:
the Tent of Meeting,the Covenant Box, 27 the special table and all its tools,the lampstand and its tools,the altar for incense, 28 the altar for burnt offerings and all its tools,and the large bowl of water with its base. 29 You must make all these things special for me. They will be very holy things. Anything that touches them will also become holy.
30 Pour some of the special oil on Aaron's head and on the heads of his sons. Make them special for me. Then they can serve me as my priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, “This will always be my special oil for all time. 32 Do not put it on the bodies of anyone, except priests. Do not use spices like this to make oil for yourselves. It is holy and you must always think about it as holy. 33 Nobody must make a perfume that has a sweet smell like this oil. Nobody must put this oil on any person who is not a priest. Anyone who does not obey this rule will no longer belong to my people.” ’
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Use the same amount of each of these sweet spices to make some incense: gum resin, onycha, galbanum and frankincense. 35 Give them to a worker who can use special skills to make the incense. It must have a sweet smell, like a perfume. Add some salt to it so that it is a pure and holy incense. 36 Beat some of the incense to make powder. Put this in front of the Covenant Box, in the Tent of Meeting. That is where I will meet with you. This incense will be a very holy thing for you. 37 Do not make any incense like this for yourselves. You must always think about it as very holy. It belongs to the Lord. 38 If anyone makes any incense like it for his own perfume, he will no longer belong to my people.’
30:34‘gum resin’ is a sticky liquid that comes from a tree. ‘galbanum’ and ‘onycha’ are the names of spices.
