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.

Call to yourself Aaron your brother and his sons—Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar—from among the Israelites so that they may serve me as priests.

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

You must make for Aaron, your brother, garments that are set apart to me. These garments will be for his honor and splendor.

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.

You must speak to all people who are wise in heart, those whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, so that they may make Aaron's garments to set him apart to serve me 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.

The garments that they must make are a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of woven work, a turban, and a sash. They must make these garments that are set them apart to me. They will be for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve me as priests.

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

Craftsmen must use fine linen that is gold, blue, purple, and scarlet.

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

They must make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine-twined linen. It must be the work of a skillful craftsman.

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

It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two upper corners.

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.

Its finely-woven waistband must be like the ephod; it must be made of one piece with the ephod, made of fine twined linen that is gold, blue, purple, and scarlet.

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

You must take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Israel's twelve sons.

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

Six of their names must be on one stone, and six names must be on the other stone, in order of the sons' 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 an engraver in stone, like the engraving on a signet, you must engrave the two stones with the names of Israel's twelve sons. You must mount the stones in settings 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.

You must put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, to be stones to remind Yahweh of Israel's sons. Aaron will carry their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders as a reminder to him.

13 Fashion gold filigree settings

You must make settings of gold

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

and two braided chains of pure gold like cords, and you must attach the chains to the settings.

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.

You must make a breastpiece for decision making, the work of a skillful workman, fashioned like the ephod. Make it of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine linen.

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

It is to be square. You must fold the breastpiece double. It must be one span long and one span 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;

You must place in it four rows of precious stones. The first row must have a ruby, a topaz, and a garnet.

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

The second row must have an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

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

The third row must have 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 row must have a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper. They must be mounted in gold settings.

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 stones must be arranged by the names of Israel's twelve sons, each in order by name. They must be like the engraving on a signet ring, each name standing for one of the twelve tribes.

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

You must make on the breastpiece chains like cords, braided work of pure gold.

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

You must make two rings of gold for the breastpiece and must attach them to the two ends of the breastpiece.

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

You must attach the two golden chains to the two corners of the breastpiece.

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.

You must attach the other ends of the two braided chains to the two settings. Then you must attach those to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at its front.

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.

You must make two rings of gold, and you must put them on the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the edge next to the inner border.

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.

You must make two more gold rings, and you must attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the front of the ephod, close to its seam above the finely-woven waistband of the ephod.

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.

They must tie the breastpiece by its rings to the ephod's rings with a blue cord, so that it might be attached just above the ephod's woven waistband. This is so that the breastpiece might not become unattached 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.

When Aaron goes into the holy place, he must carry the names of the people of Israel over his heart in the breastpiece for decision making, as a continuing memorial before Yahweh.

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.

You are to put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece for decision making, so they may be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before Yahweh. Thus Aaron will always carry the means for making decisions for the people of Israel over his heart before Yahweh.

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

You will make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue fabric.

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.

It must have an opening for the head in the middle. The opening must have a woven edge round about so that it does not tear. This must be the work of a weaver.

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

On the bottom hem, you must make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all around. Gold bells must be between them all around.

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

There must be a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate—and so on—all around the hem 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.

The robe is to be on Aaron when he serves, so that its sound can be heard when he goes into the holy place before Yahweh and when he leaves. This is so that he does not die.

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

You must make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving on a signet, “Holy to Yahweh.”

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

You must attach this plate by a blue cord to the front of the turban.

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.

It must be on Aaron's forehead; he must always bear any guilt that might attach to the offering of the holy gifts that the Israelites set apart to Yahweh. The turban must be always on his forehead so that Yahweh may accept their gifts.

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

You must make the coat with fine linen, and you must make a turban of fine linen. You must also make a sash, the work of an embroiderer.

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

For Aaron's sons you must make coats, sashes, and headbands for their honor and splendor.

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.

You must clothe Aaron your brother, and his sons with him. You must anoint them, ordain them, and set them apart to me, so that they may serve me as priests.

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

You must make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh, that will cover them from the waist to the thighs.

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 must wear these garments when they enter the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to serve in the holy place. They must do this so they would not be guilty or else they would die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants after him.