Exodus 28

1 “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.

“And you, bring your brother Aaron near to you, and his sons with him, from the midst of the sons of Israel, for his being priest to Me, [even] Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, sons of Aaron;

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

and you have made holy garments for your brother Aaron, for glory and for beauty;

3 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.

and you speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled [with] a spirit of wisdom, and they have made the garments of Aaron to sanctify him for his being priest to Me.

4 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.

And these [are] the garments which they make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and an upper robe, and an embroidered coat, a turban, and a girdle; indeed, they have made holy garments for your brother Aaron, and for his sons, for his being priest to Me.

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

And they take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the linen,

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

and have made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, the work of a designer;

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

it has two shoulders joining at its two ends, and it is joined.

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

And the girdle of his ephod which [is] on him, according to its work, is of the same, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.

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

And you have taken the two shoham stones, and have engraved the names of the sons of Israel on them;

10 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.

six of their names on the first stone, and the names of the remaining six on the second stone, according to their births;

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

the work of an engraver of stone, [as] engravings of a signet—you engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones; encompassing, you make them [with] filigrees of gold.

12 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).

And you have set the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod—stones of memorial to the sons of Israel—and Aaron has borne their names before YHWH, on his two shoulders, for a memorial.

13 The settings for the stones must be made from gold.

And you have made filigrees of gold,

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

and you make them [with] two chains of pure gold [as] wreathed work, work of thick bands, and you have put the thick chains on the filigrees.

15 “[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.

And you have made a breastplate of judgment, the work of a designer; you make it according to the work of the ephod; you make it of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen;

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

it is square, doubled, a span its length, and a span its breadth.

17 [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.

And you have set settings of stone in it, four rows of stone: a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle [is] the first row;

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

and the second row [is] emerald, sapphire, and diamond;

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

and the third row [is] opal, agate, and amethyst;

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

and the fourth row [is] beryl, and onyx, and jasper; they are embroidered with gold in their settings,

21 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.

and the stones are according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, [as] engravings of a signet, each with his name; they are for the twelve tribes.

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

And you have made wreathed chains on the breastplate, [the] work of thick bands of pure gold;

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

and you have made two rings of gold on the breastplate, and have put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate;

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

and you have put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate;

25 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.

and you put the two ends of the two thick bands on the two filigrees, and you have put [them] on the shoulders of the ephod toward the front of its face.

26 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.

And you have made two rings of gold, and have set them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which [is] toward the side of the ephod within it;

27 [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.

and you have made two rings of gold, and have put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, from beneath, in front of its face, close by its joining, above the girdle of the ephod,

28 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.

and they bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from the ephod.

29 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]).

And Aaron has borne the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment, on his heart, in his going into the holy place, for a memorial before YHWH continually.

30 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.”

And you have put the Lights and the Perfections into the breastplate of judgment, and they have been on the heart of Aaron, in his going in before YHWH, and Aaron has borne the judgment of the sons of Israel on his heart before YHWH continually.

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

And you have made the upper robe of the ephod completely of blue,

32 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.

and the opening for his head has been in its midst; there is a border for its opening all around—the work of a weaver—[and] there is as the opening of a [linen] habergeon for it; it is not torn.

33 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.

And you have made on its hem pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, on its hem all around, and bells of gold in their midst all around;

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

a bell of gold and a pomegranate [and] a bell of gold and a pomegranate [are] on the hems of the upper robe all around.

35 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].

And it has been on Aaron to minister in, and its sound has been heard in his coming into the holy place before YHWH, and in his going out, and he does not die.

36 “[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.’

And you have made a flower of pure gold, and have engraved engravings of a signet on it: Holy to YHWH;

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

and you have put it on a blue ribbon, and it has been on the turban—it is toward the front of the face of the turban;

38 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.

and it has been on the forehead of Aaron, and Aaron has borne the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel hallow, even all their holy gifts; and it has been on his forehead continually for a pleasing thing for them before YHWH.

39 “[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].

And you have embroidered the coat of linen, and have made a turban of linen, and you make a girdle—the work of an embroiderer.

40 “[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.

And you make coats for the sons of Aaron, and you have made girdles for them, and you make caps for them, for glory and for beauty;

41 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.

and you have clothed your brother Aaron with them, and his sons with him, and have anointed them, and have consecrated their hand, and have sanctified them, and they have been priests to Me.

42 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.

And make linen trousers for them to cover the naked flesh; they are from the loins even to the thighs;

43 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.”

and they have been on Aaron and on his sons in their going into the Tent of Meeting, or in their drawing near to the altar to minister in the holy place, and they do not bear iniquity nor have they died; [it is] a continuous statute to him and to his seed after him.”