Exodus 28

1 “Next, have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to serve Me as priests.

Now let Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, come near from among the children of Israel, so that they may be my priests, even Aaron, and Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, his sons.

2 Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, to give him glory and splendor.

And make holy robes for Aaron your brother, so that he may be clothed with glory and honour.

3 You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make garments for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest.

Give orders to all the wise-hearted workmen, whom I have made full of the spirit of wisdom, to make robes for Aaron, so that he may be made holy as my priest.

4 These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make these holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may serve Me as priests.

This is what they are to make: a priest's bag, an ephod, and a robe, and a coat of coloured needlework, a head-dress, and a linen band; they are to make holy robes for Aaron your brother and for his sons, so that they may do the work of priests for me.

5 They shall use gold, along with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

They are to take the gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen,

6 They are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn.

And make the ephod of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen, the work of a designer.

7 It shall have two shoulder pieces attached at two of its corners, so it can be fastened.

It is to have two bands stitched to it at the top of the arms, joining it together.

8 And the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod must be of one piece, of the same workmanship—with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen.

And the beautifully worked band, which goes on it, is to be of the same work and the same material, of gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work.

9 Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:

You are to take two beryl stones, on which the names of the children of Israel are to be cut:

10 six of their names on one stone and the remaining six on the other, in the order of their birth.

Six names on the one stone and six on the other, in the order of their birth.

11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings.

With the work of a jeweller, like the cutting of a stamp, the names of the children of Israel are to be cut on them, and they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold.

12 Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear their names on his two shoulders as a memorial before the LORD.

And the two stones are to be placed on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel: Aaron will have their names on his arms when he goes in before the Lord, to keep the Lord in mind of them.

13 Fashion gold filigree settings

And you are to make twisted frames of gold;

14 and two chains of pure gold, made of braided cord work; and attach these chains to the settings.

And two chains of the best gold, twisted like cords; and have the chains fixed on to the frames.

15 You are also to make a breastpiece of judgment with the same workmanship as the ephod. Construct it with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen.

And make a priest's bag for giving decisions, designed like the ephod, made of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen.

16 It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.

It is to be square, folded in two, a hand-stretch long and a hand-stretch wide.

17 And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

And on it you are to put four lines of jewels; the first line is to be a cornelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald;

18 in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;

The second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx;

19 in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

The third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

20 and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount these stones in gold filigree settings.

The fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold.

21 The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

The jewels are to be twelve in number, for the names of the children of Israel; every jewel having the name of one of the twelve tribes cut on it as on a stamp.

22 For the breastpiece, make braided chains like cords of pure gold.

And you are to make two chains of gold, twisted like cords, to be fixed to the priest's bag.

23 You are also to make two gold rings and fasten them to the two corners of the breastpiece.

And put two gold rings on the two ends of the bag.

24 Then fasten the two gold chains to the two gold rings at the corners of the breastpiece,

Put the two gold chains on the two rings at the ends of the bag;

25 and fasten the other ends of the two chains to the two filigree settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.

Joining the other ends of the chains to the gold frames and putting them on the front of the ephod, at the top of the arms.

26 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the inside edge next to the ephod.

Then make two gold rings and put them on the lower ends of the bag, at the edge of it on the inner side nearest to the ephod.

27 Make two additional gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on its front, near its seam just above its woven waistband.

And make two more gold rings and put them on the front of the ephod at the top of the arms, at the join, over the worked band:

28 The rings of the breastpiece shall be tied to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the waistband of the ephod and does not swing out from the ephod.

So that the rings on the bag may be fixed to the rings of the ephod by a blue cord and on to the band of the ephod, so that the bag may not come loose from the ephod.

29 Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he shall bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of judgment, as a continual reminder before the LORD.

And so Aaron will have the names of the children of Israel on the priest's bag over his heart whenever he goes into the holy place, to keep the memory of them before the Lord.

30 And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD.

And in the bag you are to put the Urim and Thummim, so that they may be on Aaron's heart whenever he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron may have the power of making decisions for the children of Israel before the Lord at all times.

31 You are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth,

The robe which goes with the ephod is to be made all of blue;

32 with an opening at its top in the center. Around the opening shall be a woven collar with an opening like that of a garment, so that it will not tear.

With a hole at the top, in the middle of it; the hole is to be edged with a band to make it strong like the hole in the coat of a fighting-man, so that it may not be broken open.

33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all the way around the lower hem, with gold bells between them,

And round the skirts of it put fruits in blue and purple and red, with bells of gold between;

34 alternating the gold bells and pomegranates around the lower hem of the robe.

A gold bell and a fruit in turn all round the skirts of the robe.

35 Aaron must wear the robe whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters or exits the sanctuary before the LORD, so that he will not die.

Aaron is to put it on for his holy work; and the sound of it will be clear, when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, keeping him safe from death.

36 You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD.

You are to make a plate of the best gold, cutting on it, as on a stamp, these words: HOLY TO THE LORD.

37 Fasten to it a blue cord to mount it on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban.

Put a blue cord on it and put it on the front of the twisted head-dress:

38 And it will be worn on Aaron’s forehead, so that he may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be acceptable before the LORD.

And it will be over Aaron's brow, so that Aaron will be responsible for any error in all the holy offerings made by the children of Israel; it will be on his brow at all times, so that their offerings may be pleasing to the Lord.

39 You are to weave the tunic with fine linen, make the turban of fine linen, and fashion an embroidered sash.

The coat is to be made of the best linen, worked in squares; and you are to make a head-dress of linen, and a linen band worked in needlework.

40 Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons, to give them glory and splendor.

And for Aaron's sons you are to make coats, and bands, and head-dresses, so that they may be clothed with glory and honour.

41 After you put these garments on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint them, ordain them, and consecrate them so that they may serve Me as priests.

These you are to put on Aaron, your brother, and on his sons, putting oil on them, separating them and making them holy, to do the work of priests to me.

42 Make linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, extending from waist to thigh.

And you are to make them linen trousers, covering their bodies from the middle to the knee;

43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants.

Aaron and his sons are to put these on whenever they go into the Tent of meeting or come near the altar, when they are doing the work of the holy place, so that they may be free from any sin causing death: this is to be an order for him and his seed after him for ever.