My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^pThe Gittith.¹ A Psalm of ^qthe Sons of Korah.

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 measure¹ of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin² 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

1 ^j“You shall make ^kan altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit³ 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 shekel⁴ according to the ^wshekel of the sanctuary (the ^xshekel is twenty gerahs),^{5 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 offering⁶ 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 ^ghin⁷ 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

1 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,⁸ 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 the heavens and the 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

1 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 golden⁹ 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.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, ^f“You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; ^gperhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, ^fthis people has sinned a great sin. They have ^hmade for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if ⁱyou will forgive their sin—but if not, please ^jblot me out of ^kyour book that you have written.” 33 But the Lord said to Moses, ^l“Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34 ^mBut now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; ⁿbehold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

The Command to Leave Sinai

1 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you ^oand the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To ^pyour offspring I will give it.’ 2 I will send an ^qangel before you, ^rand I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 ^sGo up to a land flowing with milk and honey; ^tbut I will not go up among you, ^ulest I consume you on the way, for you are a ^vstiff-necked people.”

4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they ^wmourned, and ^xno one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a ^vstiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would ^yconsume you. So now ^xtake off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’” 6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

The Tent of Meeting

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and ^zhe called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who ^asought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and ^beach would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the ^cpillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord¹⁰ would speak with Moses. 10 And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus ^dthe Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his ^eassistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses’ Intercession

12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, ^fyou say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ^g‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please ^hshow me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is ⁱyour people.” 14 And he said, ^j“My presence will go with you, and ^kI will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, ^l“If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? ^mIs it not in your going with us, ⁿso that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”