Bible Verses About Burning Incense

“May my prayer be set before You like incense; my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.”

“When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

“And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside.”

“On this altar you must not offer unauthorized incense or a burnt offering or grain offering; nor are you to pour a drink offering on it.”

“Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil. He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die.”

“For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.”

“Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations— I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.”

“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense. It is to be square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns must be of one piece. Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it. And make two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it. Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony— before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony— where I will meet with you. And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps. When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come. On this altar you must not offer unauthorized incense or a burnt offering or grain offering; nor are you to pour a drink offering on it. Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the LORD a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when they are numbered. Everyone who crosses over to those counted must pay a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. Everyone twenty years of age or older who crosses over must give this offering to the LORD. In making the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives, the rich shall not give more than a half shekel, nor shall the poor give less. Take the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will serve as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD to make atonement for your lives.” And the LORD said to Moses, “You are to make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Set it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it, with which Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet. Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the LORD, they must wash with water so that they will not die. Thus they are to wash their hands and feet so that they will not die; this shall be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half that amount (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 500 shekels of cassia — all according to the sanctuary shekel — and a hin of olive oil. Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil. Use this oil to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You are to consecrate them so that they will be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy. Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve Me as priests. And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘This will be My sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. It must not be used to anoint an ordinary man, and you must not make anything like it with the same formula. It is holy, and it must be holy to you. Anyone who mixes perfume like it or puts it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’” The LORD also said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices — gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense — in equal measures, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. Grind some of it into fine powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. You are never to use this formula to make incense for yourselves; you shall regard it as holy to the LORD. Anyone who makes something like it to enjoy its fragrance shall be cut off from his people.”

“When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come.”

“He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die.”

“Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony, and hang the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.”

“He will teach Your ordinances to Jacob and Your law to Israel; he will set incense before You and whole burnt offerings on Your altar.”

“Every morning and every evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the rows of showbread on the ceremonially clean table, and every evening they light the lamps of the gold lampstand. We are carrying out the requirements of the LORD our God, while you have forsaken Him.”

“And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps. When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn the incense perpetually before the LORD for the generations to come. On this altar you must not offer unauthorized incense or a burnt offering or grain offering; nor are you to pour a drink offering on it.”

“The LORD also said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices — gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense — in equal measures, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. Grind some of it into fine powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. You are never to use this formula to make incense for yourselves; you shall regard it as holy to the LORD. Anyone who makes something like it to enjoy its fragrance shall be cut off from his people.”

“Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.”

“Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD— 250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.”

“He also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.”

“But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest, along with eighty brave priests of the LORD, went in after him. They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD. Only the priests, the descendants of Aaron, are consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully; you will not receive honor from the LORD God.” Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw his leprous forehead, they rushed him out. Indeed, he himself hurried to get out, because the LORD had afflicted him. So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of the LORD, while his son Jotham had charge of the royal palace and governed the people of the land.”

“As for the incense you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem— you, your fathers, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land— did the LORD not remember and bring this to mind?”

“And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel.”

“Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony— before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony— where I will meet with you.”

“Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.”

“In Moab, declares the LORD, I will bring an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods.”

“Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.”

“What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”

“Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to which they have been burning incense, but these gods certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.”

“The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.”

“Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;”

“The LORD of Hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you on account of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have brought upon themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”

“So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.”

“Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the holy objects and their utensils.”

“Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.”

“At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.”

“The priest must then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. And he is to pour out the rest of the bull’s blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”

“And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites.”

“Grind some of it into fine powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. You are never to use this formula to make incense for yourselves; you shall regard it as holy to the LORD. Anyone who makes something like it to enjoy its fragrance shall be cut off from his people.”

“Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.” So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people.”

“But Aaron and his sons did all the work of the Most Holy Place. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.”

“And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.”

“The priest is to remove a handful of fine flour and olive oil, together with all the frankincense from the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.”

“Did not Hezekiah himself remove His high places and His altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn sacrifices’?”

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “On the first day of the first month you are to set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil. Then bring in the table and set out its arrangement; bring in the lampstand as well, and set up its lamps. Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony, and hang the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. And place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. Set up the surrounding courtyard and hang the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings, and it shall be holy. Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it shall be most holy. Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them. Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. And you are to clothe Aaron with the holy garments, anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he may serve Me as a priest. Bring his sons forward and clothe them with tunics. Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will qualify them for a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.” Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded him. So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year. When Moses set up the tabernacle, he laid its bases, positioned its frames, inserted its crossbars, and set up its posts. Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, just as the LORD had commanded him. Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark. Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and shielded off the ark of the Testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him. Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. He arranged the bread on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him. He also placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle and set up the lamps before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him. Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil, and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him. Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. He placed the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded him. He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing; and from it Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet. They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. And Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and he hung the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey. If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel through all their journeys.”

“On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.”

“Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.”

“For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.”

“Why are you provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to reside? As a result, you will be cut off and will become an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations of the earth.”

“And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow— you and they and Aaron. Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD— 250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.” So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants. Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing: If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.” As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households — all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.”

“Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.”

“Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house?”