The Priests' Garments

28 “Then bring near to you ^(A)Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, ^(B)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ^2 (C)And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. ³ You shall speak to all the ^(D)skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. ⁴ These are the garments that they shall make: a ^(E)breastpiece, an ^(F)ephod, ^(G)a robe, ^(H)a coat of checker work, ^(I)a turban, and ^(J)a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. ⁵ They shall receive ^(K)gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.

^6 (L)“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. ⁷ It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. ⁸ And the ^(M)skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ⁹ 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 other stone, in the order of their birth. ¹¹ As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. ¹² And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And ^(N)Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders ^(O)for remembrance. ¹³ You shall make settings of gold filigree, ¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.

^15 (P)“You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. ¹⁶ It shall be square and doubled, a span^[a] its length and a span its breadth. ^17 (Q)You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius,^[b] topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; ¹⁸ and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹⁹ and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ²⁰ and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. ²¹ There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. ²² You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. ²³ And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. ²⁴ And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. ²⁵ The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ²⁶ You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷ And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the ^(R)skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸ And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. ^29 (S)So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular ^(T)remembrance before the Lord. ³⁰ And in the breastpiece of judgment ^(U)you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.

^31 (V)“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. ³² It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment,^[c] so that it may not tear. ³³ On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, ³⁴ a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.

³⁶ “You shall make ^(W)a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ^(X)‘Holy to the Lord.’ ³⁷ And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall ^(Y)bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

³⁹ “You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.

^40 (Z)“For Aaron's sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them ^(AA)for glory and beauty. ⁴¹ And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall ^(AB)anoint them and ordain them and ^(AC)consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ⁴² You shall make for them ^(AD)linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; ⁴³ and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they ^(AE)bear guilt and die. ^(AF)This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.

Consecration of the Priests

29 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ^(AG)Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, ^2 (AH)and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. ³ You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. ⁴ You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^(AI)wash them with water. ⁵ Then ^(AJ)you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the ^(AK)skillfully woven band of the ephod. ^6 (AL)And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ You shall take ^(AM)the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. ⁸ Then you ^(AN)shall bring his sons and put coats on them, ⁹ and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with ^(AO)sashes and bind caps on them. And ^(AP)the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall ^(AQ)ordain Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. ^(AR)Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, ¹² and ^(AS)shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the ^(AT)horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of^[d] the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. ¹³ And you shall take all ^(AU)the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴ But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire ^(AV)outside the camp; ^(AW)it is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “Then ^(AX)you shall take one of the rams, and ^(AY)Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, ¹⁶ and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Then you shall ^(AZ)cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, ¹⁸ and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a ^(BA)pleasing aroma, a food offering^[e] to the Lord.

^19 (BB)“You shall take the other ram, ^(BC)and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, ²⁰ and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. ²¹ Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the ^(BD)anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons' garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.

²² “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the ^(BE)fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ^(BF)ordination), ²³ and ^(BG)one loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. ²⁴ You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and ^(BH)wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Then ^(BI)you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a ^(BJ)pleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.

²⁶ “You shall take the ^(BK)breast of the ram of Aaron's ^(BL)ordination and ^(BM)wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. ²⁷ And you shall consecrate the ^(BN)breast of the wave offering that is waved and the ^(BO)thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of ^(BP)ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'. ²⁸ It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a ^(BQ)perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a ^(BR)contribution. It shall be a ^(BS)contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.

²⁹ “The holy garments of Aaron ^(BT)shall be for his sons after him; they shall ^(BU)be anointed in them and ordained in them. ³⁰ The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them ^(BV)seven days.

³¹ “You shall take the ram of ordination and ^(BW)boil its flesh in a holy place. ³² And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the ^(BX)bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^33 (BY)They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an ^(BZ)outsider shall not eat of them, because they are holy. ³⁴ And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall ^(CA)burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through ^(CB)seven days shall you ordain them, ³⁶ and every day you shall offer a ^(CC)bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall ^(CD)anoint it to consecrate it. ³⁷ Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the ^(CE)altar shall be most holy. ^(CF)Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

³⁸ “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: ^(CG)two lambs a year old ^(CH)day by day regularly. ³⁹ One lamb you shall offer ^(CI)in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer ^(CJ)at twilight. ⁴⁰ And with the first lamb a tenth measure^[f] of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin^[g] of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering. ⁴¹ The other lamb you shall offer ^(CK)at twilight, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as ^(CL)in the morning, for a ^(CM)pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. ⁴² It shall be a ^(CN)regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, ^(CO)where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. ⁴³ There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be ^(CP)sanctified by my glory. ⁴⁴ I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. ^(CQ)Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. ^45 (CR)I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. ⁴⁶ And they shall know that ^(CS)I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

Stephen's Speech

7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” ² And Stephen said:

^(A)“Brothers and fathers, hear me. ^(B)The God ^(C)of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, ^(D)before he lived in Haran, ³ and said to him, ^(E)‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ ^4 (F)Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And ^(G)after his father died, ^(H)God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. ⁵ Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised ^(I)to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, ^(J)though he had no child. ⁶ And God spoke to this effect—that ^(K)his offspring would ^(L)be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them ^(M)four hundred years. ⁷ ‘But ^(N)I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out ^(O)and worship me in this place.’ ⁸ And ^(P)he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And ^(Q)so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and ^(R)circumcised him on the eighth day, and ^(S)Isaac became the father of Jacob, and ^(T)Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹ “And the patriarchs, ^(U)jealous of Joseph, ^(V)sold him into Egypt; but ^(W)God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him out of all his afflictions and ^(X)gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^(Y)who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. ¹¹ Now ^(Z)there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. ^12 (AA)But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. ¹³ And ^(AB)on the second visit ^(AC)Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and ^(AD)Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ And ^(AE)Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, ^(AF)seventy-five persons in all. ¹⁵ And ^(AG)Jacob went down into Egypt, and ^(AH)he died, he ^(AI)and our fathers, ¹⁶ and ^(AJ)they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that ^(AK)Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷ “But ^(AL)as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, ^(AM)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt ¹⁸ until there arose over Egypt another king ^(AN)who did not know Joseph. ^19 (AO)He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, ^(AP)so that they would not be kept alive. ^20 (AQ)At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, ²¹ and ^(AR)when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. ²² And Moses ^(AS)was instructed in ^(AT)all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was ^(AU)mighty in his words and deeds.

²³ “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart ^(AV)to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. ²⁴ And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. ^26 (AW)And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ ²⁷ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ^(AX)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹ At this retort ^(AY)Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, ^(AZ)where he became the father of two sons.

³⁰ “Now when forty years had passed, ^(BA)an angel appeared to him ^(BB)in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ^32 (BC)‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. ³³ Then the Lord said to him, ^(BD)‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ^34 (BE)I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and ^(BF)have heard their groaning, and ^(BG)I have come down to deliver them. ^(BH)And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵ “This Moses, whom they rejected, ^(BI)saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer ^(BJ)by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ^36 (BK)This man led them out, performing ^(BL)wonders and signs ^(BM)in Egypt and ^(BN)at the Red Sea and ^(BO)in the wilderness for ^(BP)forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ^(BQ)a prophet like me from your brothers.’ ³⁸ This is the one ^(BR)who was in the congregation in the wilderness with ^(BS)the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. ^(BT)He received ^(BU)living ^(BV)oracles to give to us. ³⁹ Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ^(BW)in their hearts they turned to Egypt, ⁴⁰ saying to Aaron, ^(BX)‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ⁴¹ And ^(BY)they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and ^(BZ)were rejoicing in ^(CA)the works of their hands. ⁴² But ^(CB)God turned away and ^(CC)gave them over to worship ^(CD)the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had ^(CH)the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses ^(CI)directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. ⁴⁵ Our fathers in turn ^(CJ)brought it in with Joshua when they ^(CK)dispossessed the nations ^(CL)that God drove out before our fathers. So it was ^(CM)until the days of David, ^46 (CN)who found favor in the sight of God and ^(CO)asked to find a dwelling place for ^(CP)the God of Jacob.^{[a] 47} But it was ^(CQ)Solomon who built a house for him. ^48 (CR)Yet the Most High does not dwell ^(CS)in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

^51 (CV)“You stiff-necked people, ^(CW)uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^(CX)As your fathers did, so do you. ^52 (CY)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^(CZ)the Righteous One, ^(DA)whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³ you who received the law ^(DB)as delivered by angels and ^(DC)did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴ Now when they heard these things ^(DD)they were enraged, and they ^(DE)ground their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, ^(DF)full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^(DG)the glory of God, and Jesus standing ^(DH)at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ And he said, “Behold, I see ^(DI)the heavens opened, and ^(DJ)the Son of Man standing ^(DK)at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together^[b] at him. ⁵⁸ Then ^(DL)they cast him out of the city and ^(DM)stoned him. And ^(DN)the witnesses laid down their garments ^(DO)at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And as they were stoning Stephen, ^(DP)he called out, “Lord Jesus, ^(DQ)receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ And ^(DR)falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^(DS)“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^(DT)he fell asleep.