Census and compensation
11The LORD spoke to Moses: 12When 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. 13Every 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. 14Every one who is counted, from 20 years old and above, should present a gift offering to the LORD. 15When 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. 16Take 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.
Instructions for the washbasin
17The LORD spoke to Moses: 18Make a copper basin for washing along with its copper stand. Put it between the meeting tent and the altar, and put water in it. 19Aaron and his sons will use it to wash their hands and their feet. 20When 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. 21They 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.
Instructions for oil and incense
22The LORD spoke to Moses: 23Now 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; 24five hundred of cassia--measured by the sanctuary shekel--and a hinu of olive oil. 25Prepare a holy anointing oil, blending them like a skilled perfume maker to produce the holy anointing oil. 26Use it to anoint the meeting tent, the chest containing the covenant, 27the table and all its equipment, the lampstand and its equipment, the incense altar, 28the altar for entirely burned offerings and all its equipment, and the washbasin with its stand. 29Make them holy so that they may be perfectly holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. 30Then anoint Aaron and his sons and make them holy to serve me as priests. 31Say to the Israelites: This will be my holy anointing oil in every generation. 32Don'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. 33Whoever blends an oil like it or whoever uses the oil on someone else will be cut off from the people.
34The LORD said to Moses: Take an equal amount of each of these spices: gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense. 35Like a skilled perfume maker, carefully blend them together and make incense, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36Beat 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. 37When 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. 38Whoever makes incense with this same formula to enjoy its fragrance will be cut off from the people.
Construction leaders: Bezalel and Oholiab
Exodus 31The LORD spoke to Moses: 2Look, I have chosen Bezalel, Uri's son and Hur's grandson from the tribe of Judah. 3I have filled him with the divine spirit, with skill, ability, and knowledge for every kind of work. 4He will be able to create designs; do metalwork in gold, silver, and copper; 5cut stones for setting; carve wood; and do every kind of work. 6I have also appointed with him Oholiab, Ahisamach's son from the tribe of Dan. To all who are skillful, I have given the skill to make everything that I have commanded you: 7the meeting tent, the chest containing the covenant, the cover that is on top of it, all the tent's furnishings, 8the table and its equipment, the pure lampstand with all its equipment, the incense altar, 9the altar for entirely burned offerings with all its equipment, the washbasin with its stand, 10the woven clothing, the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and for his sons for their service as priests, 11the anointing oil, and the sweet-smelling incense for the sanctuary. They will do just as I have commanded you.
Instructions for keeping the Sabbath
12The LORD said to Moses: 13Tell the Israelites: "Be sure to keep my sabbaths, because the Sabbath is a sign between me and you in every generation so you will know that I am the LORD who makes you holy. 14Keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who violates the Sabbath will be put to death. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath, that person will be cut off from the people. 15Do your work for six days. But the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest that is holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day will be put to death. 16The Israelites should keep the Sabbath. They should observe the Sabbath in every generation as a covenant for all time. 17It is a sign forever between me and the Israelites that in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day the LORD rested and was refreshed."
18When God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, God gave him the two covenant tablets, the stone tablets written by God's finger.
Worshipping the gold bull calf
Exodus 32The people saw that Moses was taking a long time to come down from the mountain. They gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Come on! Make us godsv who can lead us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don't have a clue what has happened to him."
2Aaron said to them, "All right, take out the gold rings from the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."3So all the people took out the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He collected them and tied them up in a cloth.w Then he made a metal image of a bull calf, and the people declared, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf. Then Aaron announced, "Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!"6They got up early the next day and offered up entirely burned offerings and brought well-being sacrifices. The people sat down to eat and drink and then got up to celebrate.
7The LORD spoke to Moses: "Hurry up and go down! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, are ruining everything!8They've already abandoned the path that I commanded. They have made a metal bull calf for themselves. They've bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it and declared, 'These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'"9The LORD said to Moses, "I've been watching these people, and I've seen how stubborn they are. 10Now leave me alone! Let my fury burn and devour them. Then I'll make a great nation out of you."
11But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, "LORD, why does your fury burn against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and amazing force?12Why should the Egyptians say, 'He had an evil plan to take the people out and kill them in the mountains and so wipe them off the earth'? Calm down your fierce anger. Change your mind about doing terrible things to your own people. 13Remember