And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it is literally “And Aaron shall cause fragrant incense to smoke.” The words for burn and incense both come from the same root meaning of “smoke.” The word for fragrant refers to the spices used in incense, so American Standard Version has “incense of sweet spices.” Good News Translation has “sweet-smelling incense,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “aromatic incense.” The formula for making this incense is given in verses 34-35.

Every morning is literally “in the morning in the morning.” When he dresses the lamps is literally “in his causing the lamps to be good,” or “in his doing good to the lamps.” This refers to the lamps for the golden lampstand (25.37). To “cause them to be good” means “to take care of the lamps” (Good News Translation), to tend them (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or to trim them (Revised English Bible). This involved cleaning them, removing the burnt wick and replacing it with new wick, and adding more oil. All this was necessary after the lamps had been burning during the night; their light was not needed during the day. The special tools for doing this are mentioned in 25.38. He shall burn it means “he is to make the incense smoke.”

And when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening is literally “and in Aaron’s lifting the lamps between the [two] evenings.” With the coming of the evening, the light from the lamps was again needed. Translator’s Old Testament has “at dusk when he fixes the lamps on the lamp stand,” but this may be understood, as Good News Translation expresses it, “when he lights the lamps in the evening.” (See the comment on evening at 12.6, “between the two evenings.”) He shall burn it repeats the phrase in verse 7.

A perpetual incense before the LORD, literally “incense of continuance to the face of Yahweh,” refers to the “offering of incense” (Good News Translation) rather than to the incense itself. Perpetual is better understood as “regular” (New Revised Standard Version), since this daily schedule was to “continue without interruption” (Good News Translation). Throughout your generations, literally “to your [plural] generations,” really means “for all time to come” (Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version gives this meaning with “From now on, when Aaron tends the lamps each morning and evening, he must burn sweet-smelling incense to me on the altar.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .