Exodus 28

1 Take unto thee also Aaron thy brother with his sons, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

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 a holy vesture for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

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 to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s vestments, in which he being consecrated may minister to me.

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 shall be the vestments that they shall make: A rational and an ephod, a tunick and a strait linen garment, a mitre and a girdle. They shall make the holy vestments for thy brother Aaron and his sons, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

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 violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen.

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

6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, embroidered with divers colours.

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 the two edges joined in the top on both sides, that they may be closed together.

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

8 The very workmanship also and all the variety of the work shall be of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted 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 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and shalt grave 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 names on one stone, and the other six on the other, according to 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 With the work of an engraver and the graving of a jeweller, thou shalt engrave them with the names of the children of Israel, set in gold and compassed about:

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 them in both sides of the ephod, a memorial for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon both shoulders, for a remembrance.

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 Thou shalt make also hooks of gold.

You must make settings of gold

14 And two little chains of the purest gold linked one to another, which thou shalt put into the hooks.

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

15 And thou shalt make the rational of judgment with embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted 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 shall be foursquare and doubled: it shall be the measure of a span both in length and in breadth.

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 four rows of stones: in the first row shall be a sardius stone, and 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 a carbuncle, a sapphire and a jasper.

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

19 In the third a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst:

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

20 In the fourth a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl. They shall be set in gold by their rows.

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

21 And they shall have the names of the children of Israel: with twelve names shall they be engraved, each stone with the name of one according to 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 rational chains linked one to another of the purest gold:

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

23 And two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the two ends at the top of the rational.

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

24 And the golden chains thou shalt join to the rings, that are in the ends thereof:

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

25 And the ends of the chains themselves thou shalt join together with two hooks on both sides of the ephod, which is towards the rational.

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 Thou shalt make also two rings of gold which thou shalt put in the top parts of the rational, in the borders that are over against the ephod, and look towards the back parts thereof.

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 Moreover also other two rings of gold, which are to be set on each side of the ephod beneath, that looketh towards the nether joining, that the rational may be fitted with 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 may be fastened by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a violet fillet, that the joining artificially wrought may continue, and the rational and the ephod may not be loosed one from the other.

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 rational of judgement upon his breast, when he shall enter into the sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord for ever.

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 in the rational of judgment doctrine and truth, which shall be on Aaron’s breast, when he shall go in before the Lord: and he shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his breast, in the sight of the Lord always.

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 tunick of the ephod all of violet,

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

32 In the midst whereof above shall be a hole for the head, and a border round about it woven, as is wont to be made in the outmost parts of garments, that it may not easily be broken.

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 beneath at the feet of the same tunick round about, thou shalt make as it were pomegranates, of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between:

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 So that there shall be a golden bell and a pomegranate, and again another golden bell and a pomegranate.

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 Aaron shall be vested with it in the office of his ministry, that the sound may be heard, when he goeth in and cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and 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 Thou shalt make also a plate of the purest gold: wherein thou shalt grave with engraver’s work, 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 And thou shalt tie it with a violet fillet, and it shall be upon the mitre,

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

38 Hanging over the forehead of the high priest. And Aaron shall bear the iniquities of those things, which the children of Israel have offered and sanctified, in all their gifts and offerings. And the plate shall be always on his forehead, that the Lord may be well pleased with them.

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 gird the tunick with fine linen, and thou shalt make a fine linen mitre, and a girdle of embroidered work.

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 Moreover for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunicks, and girdles and mitres for glory and beauty:

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

41 And with all these things thou shalt vest Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him. And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

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 Thou shalt make also linen breeches, to cover the flesh of their nakedness from the reins to the thighs:

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

43 And Aaron and his sons shall use them when they shall go in to the tabernacle of the testimony, or when they approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest being guilty of iniquity they die. It shall be a law for ever to Aaron, and to 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.