Exodus 30:3

Good News Translation

Cover its top, all four sides, and its projections with pure gold, and put a gold border around it.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
You shall overlay it with pure gold, the top of it, the sides of it around it, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding around it.

King James Version
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

Lexham English Bible
And you will overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around and its horns, and you will make for it a gold molding all around.

New Century Version
Cover its top, its sides, and its corners with pure gold, and put a gold strip all around the altar.

New English Translation
You are to overlay it with pure gold—its top, its four walls, and its horns—and make a surrounding border of gold for it.

Amplified Bible
"You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around it.

New American Standard Bible
"You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And thou shalt ouerlay it with fine golde, both the toppe therof and the sides thereof round about, and his hornes: also thou shalt make vnto it a crowne of gold round about.

Legacy Standard Bible
You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it.

Contemporary English Version
Cover it with pure gold and put a gold edging around it.

Complete Jewish Bible
Overlay it with pure gold — its top, all around its sides, and its horns; and put around it a molding of gold.

Darby Translation
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make upon it a border of gold round about.

Easy-to-Read Version
Cover the top, the horns, and all four sides of the altar with pure gold. Then put gold trim all around the altar.

English Standard Version
You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it.

George Lamsa Translation
And you shall overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and you shall make for it a crown of gold round about.

Christian Standard Bible®
Overlay its top, all around its sides, and its horns with pure gold; make a gold molding all around it.

Literal Translation
And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, and its walls all around, and its horns. And you shall make a wreath of gold for it all around.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& shalt ouerlaye it with pure golde, the rofe & the walles of it rounde aboute, and the hornes therof, & a crowne of golde shalt thou make rounde aboute it,

American Standard Version
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

Bible in Basic English
It is to be plated with the best gold, the top of it and the sides and the horns, with an edging of gold all round it.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And thou shalt ouerlaye it with fine gold, both the ruffe & the walles round about, and his hornes also: and shalt make vnto it a crowne of gold round about.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

King James Version (1611)
And thou shalt ouerlay it with pure gold, the top therof, and the sides thereof round about, and the hornes thereof: and thou shalt make vnto it a crowne of gold round about.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt gild its grate with pure gold, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou shalt make for it a wreathen border of gold round-about.

English Revised Version
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

Berean Standard Bible
Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold all around it.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thou schalt clothe it with clennest gold, as wel the gridil therof, as the wallis and corneris bi cumpas therof; and thou schalt make to the auter a litil goldun coroun,

Young's Literal Translation
`And thou hast overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou hast made to it a crown of gold round about;

Update Bible Version
And you shall overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and you shall make to it a crown of gold round about.

Webster's Bible Translation
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou shalt make to it a crown of gold round about.

World English Bible
You shall overlay it with pure gold, the top of it, the sides of it around it, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding around it.

New King James Version
And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.

New Living Translation
Overlay the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold molding around the entire altar.

New Life Bible
Cover its top, all its sides and its horns with pure gold. And make a piece of gold to go around it.

New Revised Standard
You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, and its sides all around and its horns; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof,-and thou shalt make to it a border of gold round about.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, as well the grate thereof, as the walls round about, and the horns. And thou shalt make to it a crown of gold round about,

Revised Standard Version
And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides round about and its horns; and you shall make for it a molding of gold round about.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it.

Contextual Overview

¹ "Make an altar out of acacia wood, for burning incense. ² It is to be square, 18 inches long and 18 inches wide, and it is to be 36 inches high. Its projections at the four corners are to form one piece with it. ³ Cover its top, all four sides, and its projections with pure gold, and put a gold border around it. ⁴ Make two gold carrying rings for it and attach them below the border on two sides to hold the poles with which it is to be carried. ⁵ Make these poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold. ⁶ Put this altar outside the curtain which hangs in front of the Covenant Box. That is the place where I will meet you. ⁷ Every morning when Aaron comes to take care of the lamps, he is to burn sweet-smelling incense on it. ⁸ He must do the same when he lights the lamps in the evening. This offering of incense is to continue without interruption for all time to come. ⁹ Do not offer on this altar any forbidden incense, any animal offering, or any grain offering, and do not pour out any wine offering on it. ¹⁰ Once a year Aaron is to perform the ritual for purifying the altar by putting on its four projections the blood of the animal sacrificed for sin. This is to be done every year for all time to come. This altar is to be completely holy, dedicated to me, the Lord ."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

overlay it: Exodus 25:11, Exodus 25:24

top: Heb. roof

sides: Heb. walls

Reciprocal: Exodus 25:25 - a golden crown to the border Exodus 37:2 - General 1 Kings 6:22 - also Ezekiel 43:17 - and the border

Cross-References

Genesis 30:2
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "I can't take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children."

Genesis 30:3
She said, "Here is my slave Bilhah; sleep with her, so that she can have a child for me. In this way I can become a mother through her."

Genesis 30:9
When Leah realized that she had stopped having children, she gave her slave Zilpah to Jacob as his wife.

Genesis 50:23
He lived to see Ephraim's children and grandchildren. He also lived to receive the children of Machir son of Manasseh into the family.

Ruth 4:11
The leaders and the others said, "Yes, we are witnesses. May the Lord make your wife become like Rachel and Leah, who bore many children to Jacob. May you become rich in the clan of Ephrath and famous in Bethlehem.

Job 3:12
Why did my mother hold me on her knees? Why did she feed me at her breast?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold,.... Hence this altar is sometimes called the golden altar, Numbers 4:11 this may figure the deity of Christ, whose head is as the most fine gold, and is in the divine nature, in the form of God, and is the brightness of his glory, and possessed of the same perfections; or rather the glorification of his human nature in heaven, where he is highly exalted, and the preciousness of his intercession, which is always powerful and prevalent, and the duration of it:

the top thereof, and the sides thereof, round about, and the horns thereof: all and each of them were covered with gold; this altar had a top, when the altar of burnt offering had none, but its hollow place was filled up with earth at every encampment; so Jarchi observes: this was not a grate, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it, for here were neither blood nor ashes to be let through; but it was a flat covering like the roof of a house, as the word signifies, on which was set a golden dish, with live coals and incense burning on them; and which, when burnt, was carried away: and the sides are the four sides of the frame, it being a square, or the two sides and two ends of it; and the horns, the four horns at each corner, all were covered with plates of gold; so that this altar was a richer and more excellent one than that of burnt offering; and may signify the superior excellency of Christ's state of exaltation to that of his humiliation: in the latter, which the altar of burnt offering respected, he was made of no reputation, and became obedient to the death of the cross, yea, was made sin, and a curse for his people; but in the former, which the altar of incense respected, he was raised from the dead, and had glory given him; he was raised for the justification of his people, and was himself justified in the Spirit, ascended on high, was received into glory, sat down at the right hand of God, making continual intercession for his saints:

and thou shall make unto it a crown of gold round about; which was partly to keep from slipping what was put upon it, but chiefly for ornament; and plainly points at the exaltation of Christ in our nature in heaven, as our interceding high priest, where he is a priest upon his throne; and is crowned with glory and honour.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Exodus 37:25-28; Exodus 40:26-27. The altar of incense was to be a casing of boards of shittim wood Exodus 25:5, Exodus 25:18 inches square and three feet in height (taking the cubit as 18 inches), entirely covered with plates of gold. Four “horns” were to project upward at the corners like those of the altar of burnt-offering Exodus 27:2. A crown or moulding of gold was to run round the top. On each of two opposite sides there was to be a gold ring through which the staves were to be put when it was moved from place to place.

Exodus 30:4

By the two corners thereof - Not corners. See the margin. The sense appears to be: And two gold rings shalt thou make for it under its moulding; on its two sides shalt thou make them (i. e. one ring on each side).

Exodus 30:6

The place for the altar of incense was outside the veil, opposite to the ark of the covenant and between the candlestick on the south side and the showbread table on the north Exodus 40:22-24. It appears to have been regarded as having a more intimate connection with the holy of holies than the other things in the holy place; and the mention of the mercy-seat in this verse, if we associate with it the significance of incense as figuring the prayers of the Lord’s people Psalms 141:2; Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3-4, seems to furnish additional pound for an inference that the incense altar took precedence of the table of showbread and the candlestick.

Exodus 30:7

The lamps - See Exodus 25:37.

Exodus 30:7-8

The offering of the incense accompanied that of the morning and evening sacrifice. The two forms of offering symbolized the spirit of man reaching after communion with Yahweh, both in act and utterance. See Psalms 141:2.

Exodus 30:9

By this regulation, the symbolism of the altar of incense was kept free from ambiguity. atonement was made by means of the victim on the brazen altar in the court ontside; the prayers of the reconciled worshippers had their type within the tabernacle.

Exodus 30:10

See the marginal references.