Clothes for Religious Leaders

28 “Take from among the people of Israel your brother Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, to work for Me as religious leaders. ² Make holy clothing for your brother Aaron, for honor and for beauty. ³ Tell all the able workmen, whom I have given the spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron’s clothing to set him apart for My work. He will work for Me as a religious leader. ⁴ These are the clothes they will make: A breast-piece, a linen vest, a long piece of clothing, a long coat, a head-covering, and a wide belt. They will make holy clothing for your brother Aaron and his sons to work for Me as religious leaders. ⁵ They will use gold and blue and purple and red cloth and fine linen.

The Linen Vest

⁶ “They will use gold and blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen to make the linen vest that holds the breast-piece. It will be the work of the able workman. ⁷ It will have two shoulder pieces to join it at the two ends. ⁸ The well-made belt on it will be made of the same gold and blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen. ⁹ Take two onyx stones and cut on them the names of Israel’s sons. ¹⁰ Put six of their names on one stone, and the six names of the others on the other stone, from the oldest to the youngest. ¹¹ As an able workman cuts words in a ring, cut the names of Israel’s sons on the two stones. Then set them into beautiful pieces of gold. ¹² Put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the linen vest, as stones for the family groups of Israel to be remembered. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the Lord, to be remembered. ¹³ Make beautiful pieces of gold ¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold. Make them like ropes are made. And put the chains on the pieces of gold.

The Breast-Piece

¹⁵ “Make a breast-piece to be used when judging. It is to be made by an able workman. Make it like the work of the linen vest, of gold, and blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen. ¹⁶ It will be as long as it is wide, with one half laid over the other. Make it as long and as wide as a man’s fingers can spread. ¹⁷ Put four straight rows of stones on it. The first row will be a ruby, a topaz and an emerald. ¹⁸ The second row will be a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond. ¹⁹ The third row will be a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst. ²⁰ And the fourth row will be a beryl, an onyx and a jasper. They will be set in beautiful pieces of gold. ²¹ There will be twelve stones, one for each name of the sons of Israel. The name of each family group will be cut on one of these special stones. ²² Make chains for the breast-piece, like ropes of pure gold. ²³ And make two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breast-piece. ²⁴ Join the two gold chains to the two rings at the ends of the breast-piece. ²⁵ Join the other two ends of the two chains to the beautiful gold pieces that hold the two stones at the shoulders in the front. ²⁶ Make two rings of gold to put on the two ends of the breast-piece, on the inside, next to the linen vest. ²⁷ Then make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the linen vest in front, near where they join. They will be above the well-made belt of the linen vest. ²⁸ Tie the rings of the breast-piece to the rings of the linen vest with a blue rope so the breast-piece may not come loose from the linen vest.

²⁹ “Aaron will carry the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breast-piece of judging when he goes in the holy place, so they will be remembered before the Lord all the time.

Other Religious Leaders’ Clothes

³⁰ “Put the Urim and the Thummim into the breast-piece over Aaron’s heart when he goes before the Lord. Aaron will carry the judging of the people of Israel over his heart before the Lord all the time.

³¹ “Make the long piece of clothing all of blue. ³² There will be an opening at its top in the center. Around the opening it will be sewed like the opening on heavy battle clothes, so it may not be torn. ³³ Make pomegranates of blue and purple and red cloth to put all around the bottom of this clothing. And put bells of gold between them. ³⁴ Put a gold bell and a pomegranate, then a gold bell and a pomegranate, all the way around the bottom of this clothing. ³⁵ Aaron will wear it when he serves Me. The sound of the bells will be heard when he goes in the holy place and when he comes out so that he will not die.

³⁶ “Make a plate of pure gold and write on it, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ ³⁷ Put it to the front of the head covering with a blue rope. ³⁸ It will be on Aaron’s forehead. Aaron will take away the sin of the holy things which the people of Israel set apart for the Lord as their holy gifts. It will always be on his forehead, so they may be received by the Lord. ³⁹ Make the long coat of fine linen, a head covering of fine linen, and a wide belt, the work of an able workman.

⁴⁰ “Make long coats for Aaron’s sons. And make belts and head coverings for them, for honor and for beauty. ⁴¹ Dress your brother Aaron and his sons in them. Then pour oil on them, set them apart and make them holy, so they may serve Me as religious leaders. ⁴² Make for them linen clothing to cover their flesh from their belts to their legs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons will wear them when they go into the meeting tent, or when they go near the altar to serve in the holy place. Then they will not be guilty and die. It will be a law for him and for his children forever.

Aaron and His Sons Set Apart

29 “This is what you will do to set them apart to serve as religious leaders for Me. Take one young bull and two rams that are perfect. ² Have bread without yeast, and bread mixed with oil, and hard bread made without yeast and spread with oil. Make them of fine grain flour. ³ Put them in one basket. Then bring them in the basket with the bull and the two rams. ⁴ Bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the meeting tent, and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the clothing and dress Aaron in the long coat, the clothing over the linen vest, the linen vest, and the breast-piece. Put on him the well-made belt of the linen vest. ⁶ Put the covering on his head, and the holy crown on the head covering. ⁷ Then take the oil for holy use and pour it on his head to set him apart for My work. ⁸ Bring his sons and dress them with long coats. ⁹ Put belts on Aaron and his sons. Tie head coverings on them. And they will be religious leaders by law for all time. So you will set apart Aaron and his sons for My work.

¹⁰ “Then bring the bull in front of the meeting tent. Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ Then kill the bull before the Lord at the door of the meeting tent. ¹² Take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger. Then pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. ¹³ Take all the fat that covers the inside parts, and the part that is on 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, its skin, and its waste you will burn away from the tents. It is a sin gift.

¹⁵ “Then take one of the rams and have Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁶ Kill the ram and take its blood and put it around the altar. ¹⁷ Cut the ram into pieces. Wash its inside parts and its legs. And put them with its pieces and its head. ¹⁸ Burn the whole ram on the altar for a burnt gift in worship to the Lord. It is a pleasing smell, a gift by fire to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Then take the other ram and have Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the ram’s head. ²⁰ Kill the ram and put some of its blood on the bottom of Aaron’s right ear, on the bottom of his sons’ right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Put the rest of the blood around the altar. ²¹ Take some of the blood from the altar and some of the special oil. Put some on Aaron and his sons and their clothing. So Aaron and his clothing and his sons and their clothing will be set apart and made holy. ²² Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the inside parts, the part that is on the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the fat that is on the right thigh. For it is a ram used to set apart those who work for Me. ²³ And take one loaf of bread, and one loaf of bread mixed with oil, and one piece of hard bread from the basket of bread without yeast that is set before the Lord. ²⁴ Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons. They will wave them for a wave gift before the Lord. ²⁵ Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar for a burnt gift in worship. It is a pleasing smell before the Lord. It is a gift by fire to the Lord.

²⁶ “Take the breast of Aaron’s ram used to set him apart. Wave it as a wave gift before the Lord. And it will be your share. ²⁷ Then set apart the breast of the wave gift and the thigh that was waved and given from the ram used to set apart those who work for Me. One was for Aaron and one for his sons. ²⁸ It will be for Aaron and his sons as their share forever from the people of Israel. For it is the religious leaders’ share to be given by the people of Israel from their peace gifts. It is their gift to the Lord.

²⁹ “The holy clothing of Aaron will be for his sons after him. They will wear them when the oil for holy use is poured on them and they are set apart for My work. ³⁰ The son who takes his place as religious leader will wear them seven days as he goes into the meeting tent to serve in the holy place.

³¹ “Take the ram used to set apart those who work for Me and boil its flesh in a holy place. ³² Aaron and his sons will eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the meeting tent. ³³ They will eat those things that were used in worship when they were forgiven of their sin and when they were set apart for My work. But one who is not a religious leader may not eat them, because they are holy. ³⁴ If any of the meat or bread used to set apart those who work for Me is left until morning, it must be burned. It must not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ “Do to Aaron and his sons all I have told you. For seven days you will set them apart for My work. ³⁶ Give a bull each day for a sin gift, to take away sin. Make the altar clean by taking sin away from it and pour special oil on it to set it apart for Me. ³⁷ For seven days give gifts upon the altar to take away sin and set it apart for Me. Then the altar will be most holy. And whatever touches the altar will be holy.

The Gifts Given Each Day

³⁸ “Now this is what you will give on the altar: Two lambs one year old, given every day. ³⁹ Give one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb in the evening. ⁴⁰ With the first lamb give a jar of fine flour mixed with a half jar of beaten oil, and a half jar of wine to be poured out. ⁴¹ Give the other lamb in the evening. Do it with a grain gift and a gift to pour out as in the morning. It has a pleasing smell, a gift by fire to the Lord. ⁴² For all time to come this burnt gift is to be given at the door of the meeting tent before the Lord. There I will meet with you and speak to you. ⁴³ I will meet there with the people of Israel. It will be set apart by My shining-greatness. ⁴⁴ I will set apart the meeting tent and the altar. And I will set apart Aaron and his sons to work as religious leaders for Me. ⁴⁵ I will live among the people of Israel and will be their God. ⁴⁶ They will know that I am the Lord their God, Who brought them out of the land of Egypt to live among them. I am the Lord their God.