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.
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.
2 [Tell the people to] make beautiful clothes for Aaron, clothes that are [suitable for one who] has this dignified and sacred [work].
And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, —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.
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.
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.
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.
5 The skilled workmen must use fine linen and blue, purple, and red yarn/thread to make these clothes.”
They themselves, therefore, shall take the gold, and the blue and the purple, —and the crimson, and the fine 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 they shall make the ephod, —of gold, blue and purple crimson and fine-twined linen, the work of a skilful weaver.
7 It must have two shoulder straps, to join the front part to the back part.
Two joining shoulderpieces, shall there be to it upon the two extremities thereof that it may be joined together,
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 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,
9 [A skilled workman] must take two [expensive] onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the twelve sons of Jacob.
And thou shalt take two onyx stones, —and engrave upon them the names of the sons of Israel:
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 one stone, —and the names of the six that remain, 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).
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.
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 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.
13 The settings for the stones must be made from gold.
And thou shalt make ouches of gold;
14 [Tell them to] make two tiny chains that are braided like cords, and fasten the chains to the settings.”
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.
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 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.
16 It is to be square, and the material must be folded double, so that it is (9 in./22 cm.) on each side.
Four-square, shall it be double, —a span the length thereof and a span the breadth thereof.
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 thou shalt set therein a setting of stones, four rows of stones, —one row—a sardius, a topaz and an emerald, 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 a carbuncle a sapphire and a diamond;
19 In the third row he must put a [red] jacinth, a [white] agate, and a [purple] amethyst.
and the third row an opal, an agate, and an amethyst;
20 In the fourth row he must put a [yellow] beryl, a [red] carnelian, and a [green] jasper.
and the fourth row, a Tarshish stone, a sardonyx, and a jasper, —enclosed with gold, shall they be when they are set.
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 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,
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 thou shalt make, upon the breastpiece, chains like cords of wreathen work, —of pure gold.
23 [The workman must] make two gold rings, and attach them to the upper corners of the sacred pouch.
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.
24 [He must make] two gold cords, and fasten one end of each cord to one of the rings.
And thou shalt hang the two wreathen chains of gold upon the two rings, —upon the ends of the breastpiece;
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 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.
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 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.
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 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:
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.
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.
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]).
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.
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.”
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.
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 thou shalt make the robe of the ephod wholly 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 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.
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 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:
34 Between each of these decorations, they must fasten a tiny gold bell.
a bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold, and a pomegranate, —upon the skirts of the robe, round about.
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 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.
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 thou shalt make a burnished plate, of pure gold, —and shalt engrave thereupon, like the engravings of a seal-ring, Holiness to Yahweh.
37 They should fasten this ornament to the front of the turban by a blue cord.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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, 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.
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 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.
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 thou shalt make for them breeches of linen, to cover their unseemliness, from the loins even unto the thighs, shall they be;
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.”
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.
