Exodus 39
The Message
39 Vestments. Using the blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics, they made the woven vestments for ministering in the Sanctuary. Also they made the sacred vestments for Aaron, as God had commanded Moses.
2-5 Ephod. They made the Ephod using gold and blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics and finely twisted linen. They hammered out gold leaf and sliced it into threads that were then worked into designs in the blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine linen. They made shoulder pieces fastened at the two ends. The decorated band was made of the same material—gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine twisted linen—and of one piece with it, just as God had commanded Moses.
6-7 They mounted the onyx stones in a setting of filigreed gold and engraved the names of the sons of Israel on them, then fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites, just as God had commanded Moses.
8-10 Breastpiece. They made a Breastpiece designed like the Ephod from gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. Doubled, the Breastpiece was nine inches square. They mounted four rows of precious gemstones on it.
First row: carnelian, topaz, emerald.
11 Second row: ruby, sapphire, crystal.
12 Third row: jacinth, agate, amethyst.
13-14 Fourth row: beryl, onyx, jasper.
The stones were mounted in a gold filigree. The twelve stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve names engraved as on a seal, one for each of the twelve tribes.
15-21 They made braided chains of pure gold for the Breastpiece, like cords. They made two settings of gold filigree and two rings of gold, put the two rings at the two ends of the Breastpiece, and fastened the two ends of the cords to the two rings at the end of the Breastpiece. Then they fastened the cords to the settings of filigree, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the Ephod in front. Then they made two rings of gold and fastened them to the two ends of the Breastpiece on its inside edge facing the Ephod. They made two more rings of gold and fastened them in the front of the Ephod to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces, near the seam above the decorated band of the Ephod. The Breastpiece was fastened by running a cord of blue through its rings to the rings of the Ephod so that it rested secure on the decorated band of the Ephod and wouldn’t come loose, just as God had commanded Moses.
22-26 Robe. They made the robe for the Ephod entirely of blue. The opening of the robe at the center was like a collar, the edge hemmed so that it wouldn’t tear. On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. They also made bells of pure gold and alternated the bells and pomegranates—a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate—all around the hem of the robe that was worn for ministering, just as God had commanded Moses.
27-29 They also made the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons, the turban of fine linen, the linen hats, the linen underwear made of fine twisted linen, and sashes of fine twisted linen, blue, purple, and scarlet material and embroidered, just as God had commanded Moses.
30-31 They made the plate, the sacred crown, of pure gold and engraved on it as on a seal: “Holy to God.” They attached a blue cord to it and fastened it to the turban, just as God had commanded Moses.
32 That completed the work of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. The People of Israel did what God had commanded Moses. They did it all.
33-41 They presented The Dwelling to Moses, the Tent and all its furnishings:
fastening hooks
frames
crossbars
posts
bases
tenting of tanned ram skins
tenting of dolphin skins
veil of the screen
Chest of The Testimony
with its poles
and Atonement-Cover
Table
with its utensils
and the Bread of the Presence
Lampstand of pure gold
and its lamps all fitted out
and all its utensils
and the oil for the light
Gold Altar
anointing oil
fragrant incense
screen for the entrance to the Tent
Bronze Altar
with its bronze grate
its poles and all its utensils
Washbasin
and its base
hangings for the Courtyard
its posts and bases
screen for the gate of the Courtyard
its cords and its pegs
utensils for ministry in The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting
woven vestments for ministering in the Sanctuary
sacred vestments for Aaron the priest,
and his sons when serving as priests
42-43 The Israelites completed all the work, just as God had commanded. Moses saw that they had done all the work and done it exactly as God had commanded. Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39
New International Reader's Version
The Clothes for the Priests
39 The workers made clothes from the blue, purple and bright red yarn. The clothes were worn by the priests who served in the holy tent. The workers also made sacred clothes for Aaron. They made them just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Linen Apron
2 The workers made the linen apron. They made it out of thin gold wire, and of blue, purple and bright red yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 3 They hammered out thin sheets of gold. They cut it into thin wire. Then they sewed it into the blue, purple and bright red yarn and fine linen. Skilled workers made it. 4 The workers made shoulder straps for the apron. The straps were joined to two of its corners. 5 Its skillfully made waistband was made like the apron. The waistband was part of the apron itself. It was made out of thin gold wire, and out of blue, purple and bright red yarn, and out of finely twisted linen. The workers made it just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 They put the onyx stones in fancy gold settings. They carved the names of the sons of Israel on the stones. They did it the way a jewel cutter would carve them. 7 Then they connected them to the shoulder straps of the linen apron. The stones stood for the sons of Israel and were a constant reminder for them. The workers did those things just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Chest Cloth
8 Skilled workers made the chest cloth. They made it like the linen apron. They used thin gold wire, and blue, purple and bright red yarn, and finely twisted linen. 9 The chest cloth was nine inches square. It was folded in half. 10 The workers put four rows of valuable jewels on it. Carnelian, chrysolite and beryl were in the first row. 11 Turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald were in the second row. 12 Jacinth, agate and amethyst were in the third row. 13 And topaz, onyx and jasper were in the fourth row. The workers put them in fancy gold settings. 14 They used a total of 12 stones. There was one stone for each of the names of the sons of Israel. Each stone was carved with the name of one of the 12 tribes.
15 The workers made braided chains out of pure gold for the chest cloth. They made them like ropes. 16 They made two fancy gold settings and two gold rings. They connected them to two corners of the chest cloth. 17 They joined the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the chest cloth. 18 They joined the other ends of the chains to the two settings. They joined them to the shoulder straps on the front of the linen apron. 19 The workers made two gold rings. They connected them to the other two corners of the chest cloth. They put them on the inside edge next to the apron. 20 Then they made two more gold rings. They connected them to the bottom of the shoulder straps on the front of the apron. They put them close to the seam. They put them right above the waistband of the apron. 21 They tied the rings of the chest cloth to the rings of the apron with blue cord. That connected it to the waistband. Then the chest cloth would not swing out from the linen apron. The workers did those things just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
More Clothes for the Priests
22 The workers made the outer robe of the linen apron completely out of blue cloth. The cloth was made by a skillful person. 23 The workers made an opening in the center of the robe. They made an edge like a collar around the opening. Then it couldn’t tear. 24 They made pomegranates out of blue, purple and bright red yarn and finely twisted linen. They sewed them around the hem of the robe. 25 They made bells out of pure gold. They sewed them around the hem between the pomegranates. 26 They sewed a bell between every two pomegranates all around the hem of the robe. Aaron had to wear the robe when he served as priest. That’s what the Lord commanded Moses.
27 The workers made inner robes out of fine linen for Aaron and his sons. The linen cloth was made by a skillful person. 28 The workers also made the turban out of fine linen. And they made the caps and the underwear out of finely twisted linen. 29 The belt was made out of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and bright red yarn. A person who sewed skillfully made it. The workers did those things just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 They made the plate out of pure gold. It was a sacred crown. On the plate, they carved the words
Set Apart for the Lord.
31 Then they tied the plate to the turban with a blue cord. They did those things just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Holy Tent Is Completed
32 So all the work on the holy tent, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 Then they brought the holy tent to Moses along with everything that belonged to it. Here are the things they brought:
hooks, frames, crossbars, posts and bases
34 the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of another kind of strong leather and the curtain that hides the ark
35 the ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept, the poles and the cover for the ark
36 the table for the holy bread with all its things and the holy bread
37 the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and everything used with it, and the olive oil that gives light
38 the gold altar for burning incense, the anointing oil and the sweet-smelling incense
the curtain for the entrance to the tent
39 the bronze altar for burnt offerings with its bronze grate, its poles and all its tools
the large bowl with its stand
40 the curtains of the courtyard with their posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard
the ropes and tent stakes for the courtyard
everything that belongs to the holy tent, the tent of meeting
41 and the sacred clothes for Aaron the priest and the clothes for his sons when they serve as priests
42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses looked over the work carefully. He saw that the workers had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses gave them his blessing.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
