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Exodus 28
New American Standard Bible

Garments of the Priests

28 “Then (A)bring forward to yourself your brother Aaron, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to serve as priest to Me—Aaron, (B)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2 And you shall make (C)holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the [a](D)skillful people (E)whom I have endowed with [b]the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may serve as priest to Me. 4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a [c](F)breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a tunic of checkered work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that he may serve as priest to Me. 5 They shall take (G)the gold, the [d]violet, the purple, the scarlet material, and the fine linen.

6 “They shall also make (H)the ephod of gold, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, the work of the skilled embroiderer. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, so that it may be joined. 8 The skillfully woven band of its overlay, which is on it, shall be like its workmanship, [e]of the same material: of gold, of violet and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. 9 And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the [f]other stone, according to their birth. 11 [g]As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall [h]set them in filigree settings of gold. 12 And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall (I)carry their names before the Lord on his two shoulders (J)as a memorial. 13 And (K)you shall make filigree settings of gold, 14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them of twisted cord work, and you shall put the corded chains on the filigree settings.

15 “(L)You shall make a [i]breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skilled embroiderer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen you shall make it. 16 It shall be square and folded double, a [j]span [k]in length and a [l]span [m]in width. 17 And you shall [n]mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; 18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. 21 The stones shall be engraved according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a signet, each (M)according to his name for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall also make on the [o]breastpiece twisted chains of cord work in pure gold. 23 And you shall make on the breastpiece two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. 25 You shall put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it. 26 And you shall make two rings of gold and place them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a violet cord, so that it will be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the Holy Place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. 30 And (N)you shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the [p](O)Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.

31 “(P)You shall make the robe of the ephod all of violet. 32 There shall be an opening [q]at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. 33 You shall make on its hem pomegranates of violet, purple, and scarlet material all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. 35 It shall be on Aaron [r]when he ministers; and its sound shall be heard when he enters and leaves the Holy Place before the Lord, so that he will not die.

36 “You shall also make (Q)a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘(R)Holy to the Lord.’ 37 You shall [s]fasten it on a violet cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be at the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall [t](S)take away the guilt of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, regarding all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, so that (T)they may be accepted before the Lord.

39 “And you shall weave (U)the tunic of checkered work of fine linen, and shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of a [u]weaver.

40 “For Aaron’s sons you shall also make (V)tunics; you shall also make sashes for them, and you shall make [v](W)caps for them, for glory and for beauty. 41 Then you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall (X)anoint them and [w]ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve Me as priests. 42 You shall make for them (Y)linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh; they shall [x]reach from the waist even to the thighs. 43 And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or (Z)when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they do not incur [y]guilt and die. (AA)It shall be a statute forever to him and to his [z]descendants after him.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 28:3 Lit wise of heart
  2. Exodus 28:3 I.e., artistic skill
  3. Exodus 28:4 Or pouch
  4. Exodus 28:5 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color, and so throughout the ch
  5. Exodus 28:8 Lit from it
  6. Exodus 28:10 Lit second
  7. Exodus 28:11 Lit A work of a lapidary, engravings of a seal
  8. Exodus 28:11 Lit make them to be surrounded
  9. Exodus 28:15 Or pouch
  10. Exodus 28:16 About 9 in. or 23 cm
  11. Exodus 28:16 Lit its
  12. Exodus 28:16 About 9 in. or 23 cm
  13. Exodus 28:16 Lit its
  14. Exodus 28:17 Lit fill in a setting of stones, four rows of stones
  15. Exodus 28:22 Or pouch, and so through v 30
  16. Exodus 28:30 I.e., lights and perfections
  17. Exodus 28:32 Or for his head
  18. Exodus 28:35 Lit for ministering
  19. Exodus 28:37 Lit place
  20. Exodus 28:38 Or bear
  21. Exodus 28:39 Lit variegator; i.e., a weaver in colors
  22. Exodus 28:40 Lit headgear
  23. Exodus 28:41 Lit fill their hand
  24. Exodus 28:42 Lit be
  25. Exodus 28:43 Or wrongdoing
  26. Exodus 28:43 Lit seed
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Exodus 28
Living Bible

28 “Consecrate Aaron your brother, and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to be priests, to minister to me. 2 Make special clothes for Aaron, to indicate his separation to God—beautiful garments that will lend dignity to his work. 3 Instruct those to whom I have given special skill as tailors to make the garments that will set him apart from others, so that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. 4 This is the wardrobe they shall make: a chestpiece, an ephod,[a] a robe, an embroidered shirt, a turban, and a sash. They shall also make special garments for Aaron’s sons.

5-6 “The ephod shall be made by the most skilled of the workmen, using gold, blue, purple, and scarlet threads of fine linen. 7 It will consist of two pieces, front and back, joined at the shoulders. 8 And the sash shall be made of the same material—threads of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet fine-twined linen. 9 Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the tribes of Israel. 10 Six names shall be on each stone, so that all the tribes are named in the order of their births. 11 When engraving these names, use the same technique as in making a seal; and mount the stones in gold settings. 12 Fasten the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod, as memorial stones for the people of Israel: Aaron will carry their names before the Lord as a constant reminder. 13-14 Two chains of pure, twisted gold shall be made and attached to gold clasps on the shoulder of the ephod.

15 “Then, using the most careful workmanship, make a chestpiece to be used as God’s oracle; use the same gold, blue, purple, and scarlet threads of fine-twined linen as you did in the ephod. 16 This chestpiece is to be of two folds of cloth, forming a pouch nine inches square. 17 Attach to it four rows of stones: A ruby, a topaz, and an emerald shall be in the first row. 18 The second row will be carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond. 19 The third row will be an amber, an agate, and an amethyst. 20 The fourth row will be an onyx, a beryl, and a jasper—all set in gold settings. 21 Each stone will represent one of the tribes of Israel and the name of that tribe will be engraved upon it like a seal.

22-24 “Attach the top of the chestpiece to the ephod by means of two twisted cords of pure gold. One end of each cord is attached to gold rings placed at the outer top edge of the chestpiece. 25 The other ends of the two cords are attached to the front edges of the two settings of the onyx stones on the shoulder of the ephod. 26 Then make two more gold rings and place them on the two lower, inside edges of the chestpiece; 27 also make two other gold rings for the bottom front edge of the ephod at the sash. 28 Now attach the bottom of the chestpiece to the bottom rings of the ephod by means of blue ribbons; this will prevent the chestpiece from coming loose from the ephod. 29 In this way Aaron shall carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the chestpiece over his heart (it is God’s oracle) when he goes into the Holy Place; thus Jehovah will be reminded of them continually. 30-31 Insert into the pocket of the chestpiece the Urim and Thummim,[b] to be carried over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before Jehovah. Thus Aaron shall always be carrying the oracle over his heart when he goes in before the Lord.

“The ephod shall be made of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for Aaron’s head. It shall have a woven band around this opening, just as on the neck of a coat of mail, so that it will not fray. 33-34 The bottom edge of the ephod shall be embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates, alternated with gold bells. 35 Aaron shall wear the ephod whenever he goes in to minister to the Lord; the bells will tinkle as he goes in and out of the presence of the Lord in the Holy Place, so that he will not die.

36 “Next, make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, just as you would upon a seal, ‘Consecrated to Jehovah.’ 37-38 This plate is to be attached by means of a blue ribbon to the front of Aaron’s turban. In this way Aaron will be wearing it upon his forehead, and thus bear the guilt connected with any errors regarding the offerings of the people of Israel. It shall always be worn when he goes into the presence of the Lord, so that the people will be accepted and forgiven.

39 “Weave Aaron’s embroidered shirt from fine-twined linen, using a checkerboard pattern; make the turban, too, of this linen; and make him an embroidered sash.

40 “Then, for Aaron’s sons, make robes, sashes, and turbans to give them honor and respect. 41 Clothe Aaron and his sons with these garments, and then dedicate these men to their ministry by anointing their heads with olive oil, thus sanctifying them as the priests, my ministers. 42 Also make linen undershorts for them, to be worn beneath their robes next to their bodies, reaching from hips to knees. 43 These are to be worn whenever Aaron and his sons go into the Tabernacle or to the altar in the Holy Place, lest they be guilty and die. This is a permanent ordinance for Aaron and his sons.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 28:4 ephod. Apparently a sort of sleeveless tunic reaching from the shoulders to below the knees.
  2. Exodus 28:30 Urim and Thummim. What they looked like has been lost in antiquity. They were perhaps two gemstones located in the breastplate of the High Priest. They were marked in some way and used by the High Priest to determine God’s yes or no on urgent matters.
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Exodus 27
Exodus 29
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