Exodus 28

1 Thou thyself, therefore bring near unto thee—Aaron thy brother and his sons with him out of the midst of the sons of Israel, that they may minister as priests unto me, —Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar sons of Aaron.

Have your brother Aaron come to you, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. They of all the Israelites are to serve me as priests.

2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, —for glory and for beauty.

You are to have holy clothing made for your brother Aaron to make him look splendid and dignified.

3 Thou thyself, therefore, shalt speak unto all the wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, —and they shall make Aaron’s garments, to hallow him for ministering as priest unto me.

You are to give instructions to all the skilful workers, to those who have received from me their abilities, as to how to make clothing for Aaron's dedication, so that he can serve me as priest.

4 These, therefore are the garments which they shall make—a breastpiece, and an ephod and a robe, and a tunic of checker work, a turban and a girdle, —so shall they make holy garments for Aaron thy brother and for his sons, for ministering as priests unto me.

These are the clothes for them to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a pleated tunic, a turban, and a sash. These are the holy clothes they shall make for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they can serve me as priests.

5 They themselves, therefore, shall take the gold, and the blue and the purple, —and the crimson, and the fine linen.

The workers are to use gold thread, together with blue, purple, and crimson thread, and finely-spun linen.

6 And they shall make the ephod, —of gold, blue and purple crimson and fine-twined linen, the work of a skilful weaver.

They are to make the ephod of finely-woven linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and crimson thread, skillfully worked.

7 Two joining shoulderpieces, shall there be to it upon the two extremities thereof that it may be joined together,

Two shoulder pieces are to be attached to the front and back pieces.

8 And the curious band for fastening it, that is upon it, like the work thereof of the same, shall it be, —of gold blue and purple and crimson and fine-twined linen,

The waistband of the ephod is to be one piece made in the same way, using gold thread, with blue, purple, and crimson thread, and with finely-woven linen.

9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, —and engrave upon them the names of the sons of Israel:

Engrave on two onyx stones the names of the Israelite tribes,

10 six of their names, on the one stone, —and the names of the six that remain, on the second stone according to their births:

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

11 with the work of a stone engraver, like seal-ring engravings, shalt thou engrave the two stones, after the names of the sons of Israel, —to be encircled with settings of gold, shalt thou make them.

Engrave the names on the two stones the same way a jeweler engraves a personal seal. Then place the stones in ornamental gold settings.

12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulderpieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, —so shall Aaron bear their names before Yahweh upon his two shoulders, for a memorial.

Attach both stones to the shoulder pieces of the ephod as reminders for the Israelite tribes. Aaron is to wear their names on his two shoulders to remind the Israelites that he represents them when he goes into the Lord's presence.

13 And thou shalt make ouches of gold;

Make ornamental gold settings

14 and two chains of pure gold, like cord, shalt thou make them, of wreathen work, and thou shalt put the wreathen chains on the ouches.

and two braided chains of pure gold, and fasten these chains to the settings.

15 And thou shalt make a breastpiece for giving sentence the work of a skilful weaver, like the work of the ephod, shalt thou make it, of gold, blue, and purple and crimson and fine-twined linen, shalt thou make it.

You are also to make a breastpiece for decisions in the same skilful way as the ephod, to be used in determining the Lord's will. Make it using gold thread, with blue, purple, and crimson thread, and with finely-woven linen.

16 Four-square, shall it be double, —a span the length thereof and a span the breadth thereof.

It has to be square when folded, measuring around nine inches in length and width.

17 And thou shalt set therein a setting of stones, four rows of stones, —one row—a sardius, a topaz and an emerald, the first row;

Attach an arrangement of precious stones in four rows as follows. In the first row carnelian, peridot, and emerald.

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

In the second row turquoise, lapis lazuli, and sardonyx.

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

In the third row jacinth, agate, and amethyst.

20 and the fourth row, a Tarshish stone, a sardonyx, and a jasper, —enclosed with gold, shall they be when they are set.

In the fourth row topaz, beryl, and jasper. Place these stones in ornamental gold settings.

21 And the stones shall be after the names of the sons of Israel—twelve, after their names, —as the engravings of a seal-ring everyone after his name, shall they be, for the twelve tribes,

Each of the twelve stones will be engraved like a personal seal with the name of one of the twelve Israelites tribes and will represent them.

22 And thou shalt make, upon the breastpiece, chains like cords of wreathen work, —of pure gold.

Make cords of braided chains from pure gold to attach the breastpiece.

23 And thou shalt make, upon the breastpiece, two rings of gold, —and thou shalt place the two rings, upon the two ends of the breastpiece.

Make two gold rings and fasten them to the two top corners of the breastpiece.

24 And thou shalt hang the two wreathen chains of gold upon the two rings, —upon the ends of the breastpiece;

Attach the two gold chains to the two gold rings on the corners of the breastpiece,

25 and the other two ends of the two wreathen chains, shalt thou fasten upon the two ouches, so shalt thou hang them upon the shoulderpieces of the ephod, in the forefront thereof.

and then fasten the opposite ends of the two chains to the ornamental gold settings on the shoulder pieces of the front side of the ephod.

26 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastpiece upon the border thereof, which is on the side of the ephod inwards.

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

27 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and place them upon the two shoulderpieces of the ephod beneath, on the front of the face thereof, over against its joining, above the curious band of the ephod:

Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the front side of the ephod, near where it joins its woven waistband.

28 that they may bind the breastpiece by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue, so that it may remain upon the curious band of the ephod, and the breastpiece not be removed from of the ephod.

Tie the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue thread, so that the breastpiece won't come loose from the ephod.

29 So shall Aaron bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece for giving sentence upon his heart when he goeth into the holy place, —for a memorial before Yahweh continually.

Like this, whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will wear the names of the Israelite tribes over his heart on the breastpiece, as a constant reminder before the Lord.

30 Thus shalt thou place, in the breastpiece for giving sentence, the lights and the perfections, so shall they be upon the heart of Aaron when he goeth in before Yahweh, —so shall Aaron bear the sentence of the sons of Israel, upon his heart before Yahweh continually.

Place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of decision, so that they too will be over Aaron's heart whenever he comes into the Lord's presence. Aaron will continually carry the means of gaining decisions over his heart before the Lord.

31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod wholly of blue;

Make the robe that goes with the ephod exclusively from blue cloth,

32 and the opening for his head shall be in the midst thereof, —a border, shall there be to the opening thereof round about the work of a weaver, like the opening of a coat of mail, shall there be to it, it must not be rent.

with an opening in the middle at the top. Stitch a woven collar around the opening to strengthen it so it won't tear.

33 And thou shalt make upon the skirts thereof pomegranates of blue and purple and crimson, upon the skirts thereof round about—and bells of gold in the midst of them round about:

Make pomegranates using blue, purple, and crimson thread and attach them all the way around its hem, with gold bells between them,

34 a bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold, and a pomegranate, —upon the skirts of the robe, round about.

having the gold bells and the pomegranates alternate.

35 And it shall be upon Aaron, for ministering, —so shall be heard the sound of him—when he goeth into the holy place, before Yahweh, and cometh out, and dieth not.

Aaron is to wear the robe whenever he serves, and the sound it makes will be heard when he enters or leaves the sanctuary as he goes into the Lord's presence, so that he won't die.

36 And thou shalt make a burnished plate, of pure gold, —and shalt engrave thereupon, like the engravings of a seal-ring, Holiness to Yahweh.

Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it like a seal, “Holy to the Lord.”

37 And thou shalt put it upon a cord of blue, so shall it be upon the turban, —upon the forefront of the turban, shall it be.

Attach it to the front of the turban using a blue cord.

38 So shall it be upon the forehead of Aaron, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the hallowed things, which the sons of Israel shall hallow, for all their hallowed gift, —and it shall be upon his forehead continually, that there may be acceptance for them before Yahweh.

Aaron will wear it on his forehead, so that he may take responsibility for the guilt of the offerings the Israelites make, and this applies to all their holy gifts. It must always remain on his forehead in order that the people are accepted in the Lord's presence.

39 And thou shalt weave, in checker work the tunic of fine linen, and shalt make a turban of fine linen, —and, a girdle, shalt thou make the work of an embroiderer.

Weave the tunic with finely-spun linen and make the turban of the same material, and also make sash and have it embroidered.

40 And, for the sons of Aaron, shalt thou make tunics, and shalt make for them girdles, —and caps, shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.

Make tunics, sashes, and headdresses for Aaron's sons, so that they will look splendid and dignified.

41 And thou shalt clothe therewith Aaron thy brother, and his sons, with him, —and shalt anoint them and install them, and hallow them, so shall they minister as priests unto me.

Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons and then anoint them and ordain them. Dedicate them so that they can serve me as priests.

42 And thou shalt make for them breeches of linen, to cover their unseemliness, from the loins even unto the thighs, shall they be;

Make linen undershorts to cover their bare bodies, reaching from waist to thigh.

43 so shall they be upon Aaron and upon his sons, when they go into the tent of meeting, or when they approach unto the altar, to minister in the holy place, lest they bear iniquity, and die, —a statute age-abiding, to him and to his seed after him.

Aaron and his sons are to wear them when they enter the Tent of Meeting or when they approach the altar to serve in the Holy Place, so that they will not bring guilt on themselves and die. This is a law for Aaron and his descendants forever.