Exodus 28

1 And thou shalt take thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may serve me as priest — Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.

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 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for ornament.

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

3 And thou shalt speak with all [that are] wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to hallow him, 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 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a cloak, and a checkered vest, a turban, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may serve me as priest.

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 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus,

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

6 and shall make the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, scarlet and twined byssus, of artistic work.

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 joined at the two ends thereof, where it is joined together.

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

8 And the girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to its work of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet and twined byssus.

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 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children 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 the one stone, and the six names of the rest on the other stone, according to 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 According to the work of an engraver in stone, as the engravings of a seal, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; surrounded by enclosures of gold shalt thou make them.

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 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod [as] stones of memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

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 And thou shalt make enclosures of gold;

You must make settings of gold

14 and two chains of pure gold; of laced work shalt thou make them, of wreathen work, and fasten the wreathen chains to the enclosures.

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

15 And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment of artistic work, like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus shalt thou make it.

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 Square shall it be, doubled; a span the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof.

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

17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones — four rows of stones: [one] row, a sardoin, a topaz, and an emerald — the first row;

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

18 and the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond;

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

19 and the third row, an opal, an agate, and an amethyst;

The third row must have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst.

20 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, and an onyx, and a jasper; enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings.

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

21 And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, engraved as a seal: every one according to his name shall they be for 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 And thou shalt make on the breastplate chains of laced work, of wreathen work, of pure gold.

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

23 And thou shalt make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

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

24 And thou shalt put the two wreathen [cords] of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate;

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

25 and the two ends of the two wreathen [cords] thou shalt fasten to the two enclosures, and shalt put [them] on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, on the front thereof.

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 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and shalt put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the border thereof, which faceth the ephod inwards.

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 And two rings of gold shalt thou make, and shalt put them upon the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, to the front thereof just by the coupling thereof, above the girdle of the ephod.

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 And they shall bind the breastplate with its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed 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 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the sanctuary, for a memorial before Jehovah continually.

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 thou shalt put into the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, that they may be upon Aaron's heart when he goeth in before Jehovah; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually.

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 And thou shalt make the cloak of the ephod all of blue.

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

32 And its opening for the head shall be in the midst thereof; there shall be a binding of woven work at its opening round about; as the opening of a coat of mail, it shall be in it — it shall not rend.

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 And on the skirts thereof thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:

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 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, in the skirts of the cloak round about.

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 And it shall be on Aaron for service; that his sound may be heard when he goeth into the sanctuary before Jehovah, and when he cometh out, that he may 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 And thou shalt make a thin plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, as the engravings of a seal, Holiness to Jehovah!

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

37 And thou shalt put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be upon the turban — upon the front of the turban shall it be.

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

38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all gifts of their holy things; and it shall be continually on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah.

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 And thou shalt weave the vest of byssus; and thou shalt make a turban of byssus; and thou shalt make a girdle of embroidery.

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 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make vests; and thou shalt make for them girdles; and high caps shalt thou make for them, for glory and for ornament.

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

41 And thou shalt clothe with them Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and hallow them, 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 And thou shalt make them linen trousers to cover the flesh of nakedness; from the loins even to the hips shall they reach.

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

43 And they shall be upon Aaron and his sons when they enter into the tent of meeting, or when they come near to the altar to serve in the sanctuary; that they may not bear iniquity and die — an everlasting statute for him and his seed after him.

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.