Exodus 28

1 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.

“Summon your [older] brother Aaron and his sons—Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ([Set them apart/They are the ones whom I have chosen]) from [the rest of] the Israeli people, in order that they can serve me [by being] priests.

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

[Tell the people to] make beautiful clothes for Aaron, clothes that are [suitable for one who] has this dignified and sacred [work].

3 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.

Talk to all the skilled workmen, those to whom I have given special ability. [Tell them] to make clothes for Aaron, for him to wear when he is (set apart/dedicated) [to become] a priest to serve me.

4 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.

These are the clothes that they are to make: A sacred pouch for Aaron to wear over his chest, a sacred apron, a robe, an embroidered tunic/gown, a (turban/cloth to wrap around his head), and a sash/waistband. These are the clothes that your [older] brother Aaron and his sons must wear as they serve me [by doing the work that] priests do.

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

The skilled workmen must use fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn/thread to make these clothes.”

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

“The skilled workmen must make the sacred apron from fine linen, and skillfully embroider it with blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.

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

It must have two shoulder straps, to join the front part to the back part.

8 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.

A carefully-woven sash, which must be made from the same materials as the sacred apron, must be [sewn] onto the sacred apron.

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

[A skilled workman] must take two [expensive] onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Jacob.

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

He must engrave the names in the order in which Jacob’s sons were born. He must engrave six names on one stone, and the other six names on the other stone.

11 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.

A gem-cutter should engrave these names on the stones. Then he should enclose the stones in (settings/tiny gold frames).

12 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.

Then he should fasten the stones onto the shoulder straps [of the sacred apron], to represent the twelve Israeli tribes. In that way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes on his shoulders in order that [I], Yahweh, will never forget [my people] (OR, in order that [he will always] remember that [those tribes belong to] Yahweh).

13 And you are to make twisted frames of gold;

The settings for the stones must be made from gold.

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

[Tell them to] make two tiny chains that are braided like cords, and fasten the chains to the settings.”

15 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.

“[Tell the skilled workman to] make a sacred pouch for Aaron to wear over his chest. [He will use the things he puts into the pouch] to determine [my answers to the questions he asks]. It must be made of the same materials as the sacred apron, and embroidered in the same way.

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

It is to be square, and the material must be folded double, so that it is (9 in./22 cm.) on each side.

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

[The skilled workman must] fasten four rows of valuable stones onto the pouch. In the first row he must put a [red] ruby, a [yellow] topaz, and a [red] garnet.

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

In the second row he must put a [green] emerald, a [blue] sapphire, and a [clear/white] diamond.

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

In the third row he must put a [red] jacinth, a [white] agate, and a [purple] amethyst.

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

In the fourth row he must put a [yellow] beryl, a [red] carnelian, and a [green] jasper.

21 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.

A gem-cutter should engrave on each of these twelve stones the name of one of the sons of Jacob. These names will represent the twelve Israeli tribes.

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

The two [chains] that are made from pure gold and braided like cords are for [attaching] the sacred pouch [to the sacred apron].

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

[The workman must] make two gold rings, and attach them to the upper corners of the sacred pouch.

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

[He must make] two gold cords, and fasten one end of each cord to one of the rings.

25 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.

He must fasten the other end of each cord to the two settings [that enclose the stones]. In that way, the sacred pouch will be attached to the shoulder straps of the sacred apron.

26 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.

Then [he must] make two more gold rings, and attach them to the lower corners of the sacred pouch, on the inside edges, next to the sacred apron.

27 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:

[He must] make two more gold rings, and attach them to the lower part of the front of the shoulder straps, near to where [the shoulder straps] are joined [to the sacred apron], just above the carefully-woven sash/waistband.

28 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.

The skilled workman must tie the rings on the sacred pouch to the rings on the sacred apron with a blue cord, so that the sacred pouch is above the sash/waistband and does not come loose from the sacred apron.

29 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.

In that way, Aaron will have the names of the twelve Israeli tribes in the sacred pouch close to his chest when he enters the Holy Place. This will remind him that I, Yahweh, [will never forget my people] (OR, [that he represents my people when he talks to me, Yahweh]).

30 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.

Put into the sacred pouch the two things that the priest will use to determine my answers to the questions he asks. In that way, they will be close to his chest when he enters [the Holy Place to talk] to me. He will use them to find out what is my will for the Israeli people.”

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

“[Tell the workmen to] use only blue [cloth] to make the robe that is to be worn underneath the priest’s sacred apron.

32 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.

It is to have an opening through which [the priest] can put his head. They must sew a border around this opening, to keep the material from tearing.

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

At the lower edge on the robe, they must fasten [decorations that look like] pomegranate fruit. They must be [woven from] blue, purple, and red yarn/thread.

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

Between each of these decorations, they must fasten a tiny gold bell.

35 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.

When Aaron enters the Holy Place [in the Sacred Tent] to do his work as a priest and when he leaves the Sacred Tent, the bells will ring [as he walks]. As a result, he will not die [because of disobeying my instructions].

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

“[Tell them to] make a tiny ornament of pure gold, and tell a (skilled workman/gem-cutter) to engrave on it the words, ‘Dedicated to Yahweh.’

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

They should fasten this ornament to the front of the turban by a blue cord.

38 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.

Aaron must always wear this on his forehead. In that way, Aaron himself will show [that he accepts] the guilt if the Israeli people offer [their sacrifices] to me in a way that is not correct, and I, Yahweh, will accept their sacrifices.

39 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.

“[Tell them to] weave the long-sleeved tunic/gown from fine linen. Also, they must make from fine linen a turban and a sash/waistband, and embroider [designs on it].

40 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.

“[Tell them to] make beautiful long-sleeved tunics/gowns, sashes, and caps for Aaron’s sons. Make ones that will be suitable for those who have this dignified work.

41 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.

Put these clothes on your [older] brother Aaron and on his sons. Then (set them apart/dedicate them) for this work by anointing them [with olive oil], in order that they may serve me [by being] priests.

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

Also [tell them to] make linen undershorts for them. The undershorts should extend from their waists to their thighs, in order that no one can see their private parts.

43 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.

Aaron and his sons must always wear those undershorts when they enter the Sacred Tent or when they come near to the altar to offer sacrifices in the Holy Place. If they do not obey this command, I will cause them to die. Aaron and all his male descendants must obey this rule forever.”