He said to them: those who are new to the incense come and draw lots, and who ever won, won. He then said: new and old, come and draw lots to see who shall take up the limbs from the ascent to the altar. Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob says: the one who brought the limbs on to the ascent also takes them up to the altar.

He then handed them over to the attendants, who stripped them of their garments, and they would leave on them only the pants. There were windows there on which was inscribed the name of the garment to which each was assigned.

The one who had been selected to offer the incense took up the ladle, which was in shape like a big tarkav of gold, and it held three kavs, And the [small] dish was in the middle of it, heaped up with incense. This had a covering, over which was spread a piece of cloth.

The priest who had won the firepan, would take the silver pan and ascend to the top of the altar and clear away the live coals to this side and that, and he would rake [the coals]. He then went down and poured them into a gold [firepan]. About a kav of the coals was spilt, and these he swept into the channel. On Shabbat he used to put an overturned pot on them. This pot was a large vessel which could hold a letekh. It had two chains; with one he used to draw it down, and with the other he used to hold it above so that it should not roll over. It was used for three purposes for placing over live coals, and over a [dead] creeping thing on Shabbat, and for drawing down the ashes from the top of the altar.

When they came between the Sanctuary and the altar, one took the magrefah and threw it between the Sanctuary and the altar. People could not hear one another speak in Jerusalem from the noise of the magrefah. It served three purposes: When a priest heard the sound of it he knew that his fellow priests were going in to bow down, and he would run to join them. When a Levite heard the noise he knew that his fellow Levites were going in to sing, and he would run to join them. And the head of the Ma’amad used to make the unclean stand in the east gate.