and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Parallel translations
- WEB and he burned incense of sweet spices on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- KJV And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.
- BSB and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him.
- NASB and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
- NLT On it he burned the fragrant incense, just as the Lord had commanded him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses burned sweet incense on the golden altar, as commanded. The fragrant smoke symbolized acceptable worship rising to God.
Overview
The burning of sweet incense before the Lord accompanied the priestly ministry in the Holy Place. Scripture associates this rising fragrance with the prayers of God's people offered acceptably before Him. Such acceptable approach finds its fulfillment in Christ, whose intercession makes the prayers of believers pleasing to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Exod 30:7Aaron shall burn incense of sweet spices on it every morning. When he tends the lamps, he shall burn it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 40:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.