3. Cover its top, its sides, and its corners with pure gold, and put a gold strip all around the altar.
4. Make two gold rings beneath the gold strip on opposite sides of the altar, and slide poles through them to carry the altar.
5. Make the poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold.
6. Put the altar of incense in front of the curtain that is near the Ark of the Agreement, in front of the lid that covers that Ark. There I will meet with you.
7. “Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on the altar every morning when he comes to take care of the oil lamps.
8. He must burn incense again in the evening when he lights the lamps, so incense will burn before the Lord every day from now on.
9. Do not use this altar for offering any other incense, or burnt offering, or any kind of grain offering, or drink offering.
10. Once a year Aaron must make the altar ready for service to God by putting blood on its corners—the blood of the animal offered to remove sins. He is to do this once a year from now on. This altar belongs completely to the Lord’s service.”
11. The Lord said to Moses,
12. “When you count the people of Israel, every person must buy back his life from the Lord so that no terrible things will happen to the people when you number them.
13. Every person who is counted must pay one-fifth of an ounce of silver. (This is set by using one-half of the Holy Place measure, which weighs two-fifths of an ounce.) This amount is a gift to the Lord.
14. Every person who is counted and is twenty years old or older must give this amount to the Lord.
15. A rich person must not give more than one-fifth of an ounce, and a poor person must not give less. You are paying this to the Lord to buy back your lives.
16. Gather from the people of Israel this money paid to buy back their lives, and spend it on things for the service in the Meeting Tent. This payment will remind the Lord that the Israelites’ lives have been bought back.”
17. The Lord said to Moses,