Exodus 28:15-30

Common English Bible

Priest’s chest pendant used for making decisions

¹⁵ Make an embroidered chest pendant used for making decisions. Make it in the style of the vest, using gold, blue and purple and deep red yarns, and fine twisted linen. ¹⁶ It will be square and doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide. ¹⁷ Set in it four rows of gemstone settings. The first row will be a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald stones. ¹⁸ The second row will be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a moonstone. ¹⁹ The third row will be a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row will be a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Their settings will be made of decorative gold. ²¹ There will be twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of Israel’s sons. They will be engraved like official seals, each with its name for the twelve tribes.

²² Make chains of pure gold twisted like cords for the chest pendant. ²³ Make two gold rings for the chest pendant and attach the two rings to the two edges of the chest pendant. ²⁴ Attach the two gold cords to the two rings at the edges of the chest pendant. ²⁵ Then fasten the two ends of the cords to the two settings, which you should attach to the vest’s two front shoulder pieces. ²⁶ Make two gold rings and attach them to the two ends of the chest pendant on its inside edge facing the vest. ²⁷ Make two gold rings and fasten them on the front of the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the vest, at its seam just above the vest’s belt. ²⁸ The chest pendant should be held in place by a blue cord binding its rings to the vest’s rings so that the chest pendant rests on the vest’s belt and won’t come loose from the vest. ²⁹ In this way, Aaron will carry the names of Israel’s sons on the chest pendant for making decisions over his heart when he goes into the sanctuary as a reminder before the Lord at all times. ³⁰ Put into the chest pendant used for making decisions the Urim and the Thummim, so they will be over Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence. In this way, Aaron will carry the means to make decisions for the Israelites over his heart when in the Lord’s presence at all times.