Making the Priestly Garments

39 They made specially woven[a] garments for ministry in the sanctuary, and the holy garments for Aaron from the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.(A)

Making the Ephod

Bezalel(B) made the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. They hammered out thin sheets of gold, and he[b] cut threads from them to interweave with the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and the fine linen in a skillful design. They made shoulder pieces for attaching it; it was joined together at its two edges. The artistically woven waistband that was on the ephod was of one piece with the ephod, according to the same workmanship of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Then they mounted the onyx stones surrounded with gold filigree settings, engraved with the names of Israel’s sons as a gem cutter engraves a seal. He fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Breastpiece

He(C) also made the embroidered[c] breastpiece with the same workmanship as the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. They made the breastpiece square and folded double, nine inches long and nine inches wide.[d] 10 They mounted four rows of gemstones[e] on it.

The first row was

a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald;[f]

11 the second row,

a turquoise,[g] a lapis lazuli, and a diamond;[h]

12 the third row,

a jacinth,[i] an agate, and an amethyst;

13 and the fourth row,

a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.

They were surrounded with gold filigree in their settings.

14 The twelve stones corresponded to the names of Israel’s sons. Each stone was engraved like a seal with one of the names of the twelve tribes.

15 They made braided chains of pure gold cord for the breastpiece. 16 They also fashioned two gold filigree settings and two gold rings and attached the two rings to its two corners. 17 Then they attached the two gold cords to the two gold rings on the corners of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the other ends of the two cords to the two filigree settings, and in this way they attached them to the ephod’s shoulder pieces in front. 19 They made two other gold rings and put them at the two other corners of the breastpiece on the edge that is next to the inner border of the ephod. 20 They made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the ephod’s two shoulder pieces on its front, close to its seam,[j] above the ephod’s woven waistband. 21 Then they tied the breastpiece from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece was above the ephod’s waistband and did not come loose from the ephod. They did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Robe

22 They(D) made the woven robe of the ephod entirely of blue yarn. 23 There was an opening in the center of the robe like that of body armor[k] with a collar around the opening so that it would not tear. 24 They made pomegranates of finely spun blue, purple, and scarlet yarn[l] on the lower hem of the robe. 25 They made bells of pure gold and attached the bells between the pomegranates, all around the hem of the robe between the pomegranates, 26 a bell and a pomegranate alternating all around the lower hem of the robe[m] to be worn for ministry. They made it just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Other Priestly Garments

27 They made the tunics of fine woven linen for Aaron and his sons. 28 They made the turban and the ornate headbands[n] of fine linen, the linen undergarments of finely spun linen,(E) 29 and the sash of finely spun linen expertly embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. They did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Making the Holy Diadem

30 They made a medallion, the holy diadem, out of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving on a seal:(F) Holy to the Lord. 31 They attached a cord of blue yarn to it in order to mount it on the turban, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Moses’s Inspection of the Tabernacle

32 So all the work for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.(G) 33 They brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent with all its furnishings, its clasps, its supports, its crossbars, and its pillars and bases; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of fine leather;[o] the curtain for the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; 36 the table, all its utensils, and the Bread of the Presence; 37 the pure gold lampstand, with its lamps arranged and all its utensils, as well as the oil for the light; 38 the gold altar; the anointing oil; the fragrant incense; the screen for the entrance to the tent; 39 the bronze altar with its bronze grate, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; 40 the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and bases, the screen for the gate of the courtyard, its ropes and tent pegs, and all the furnishings for the service of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 41 and the specially woven[p] garments for ministering in the sanctuary, the holy garments for the priest Aaron and the garments for his sons to serve as priests. 42 The Israelites had done all the work according to everything the Lord had commanded Moses.(H) 43 Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them.(I)

Footnotes

  1. 39:1 Hb obscure
  2. 39:3 Sam, Syr, Tg read they
  3. 39:8 Or woven
  4. 39:9 Lit a span its length and a span its width
  5. 39:10 Many of these stones cannot be identified with certainty.
  6. 39:10 Or beryl
  7. 39:11 Or malachite, or garnet
  8. 39:11 Hb uncertain; LXX, Vg read jasper
  9. 39:12 Hb obscure
  10. 39:20 The place where the shoulder pieces join the front of the ephod
  11. 39:23 Hb obscure
  12. 39:24 Sam, LXX, Vg add and linen
  13. 39:26 Lit bell and pomegranate, bell and pomegranate, on the hem of the robe around
  14. 39:28 Lit and the headdresses of headbands
  15. 39:34 Hb obscure
  16. 39:41 Hb obscure

Making the priests’ clothing

39 They used the blue, purple, and deep red yarns to make the woven clothing for those ministering as priests in the sanctuary. They made the holy clothes for Aaron as the Lord had commanded Moses.

They made the vest[a] of gold, of blue, purple, and deep red yarns, and of fine twisted linen. They beat out thin sheets of gold and cut them into threads to work into designs among the blue, purple, and deep red yarns and the fine linen. They made shoulder pieces for it attached to its two edges so that they could be joined together. The vest’s belt was attached to it and made in the same way of gold, of blue, purple, and deep red yarns, and of fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

They prepared the gemstones by mounting them in gold settings and engraving on them the names of Israel’s sons, like an official seal is engraved. The stones were attached to the vest’s shoulder pieces as reminder stones for the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

They made the embroidered chest pendant in the style of the vest, using gold, blue, purple, and deep red yarns, and fine twisted linen. They made the chest pendant square and doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide when doubled. 10 They set in it four rows of gemstones. The first row was a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald stones. 11 The second row was a turquoise, a sapphire, and a moonstone. 12 The third row was a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 The fourth row was a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. The settings around them were decorative gold. 14 There were twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of Israel’s sons. They were engraved like official seals, each with its name for the twelve tribes. 15 They made chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, for the chest pendant. 16 They made two gold settings and two gold rings. They attached the two rings to the two edges of the chest pendant. 17 They attached the two gold cords to the two rings at the edges of the chest pendant. 18 Then they fastened the two ends of the two cords to the two gold settings and attached them to the front of the vest’s shoulder pieces. 19 They made two gold rings, and they attached them to the two edges of the chest pendant, on its inside edge facing the vest. 20 They made two gold rings and fastened 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. 21 The chest pendant was held in place by a blue cord binding its rings to the vest’s rings so that the chest pendant rested on the vest’s belt and didn’t come loose from the vest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

22 They also made the vest’s robe, woven completely in blue. 23 The opening of the robe in the middle of it was reinforced with a strong border so that it didn’t tear. 24 On the robe’s lower hem, they added pomegranates made of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen. 25 They also made pure gold bells and sewed the bells between the pomegranates, all around the robe’s lower hem, 26 with a bell and a pomegranate alternating all around the lower hem of the robe that is used for ministering as a priest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

27 They also made the tunics woven out of fine linen for Aaron and his sons, 28 the turban of fine linen, the decorated turbans of fine linen, the linen undergarments of fine twisted linen, 29 the sashes of fine twisted linen, and of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, decorated with needlework, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

30 They made the flower ornament for the holy crown out of pure gold. Like the engraving on an official seal, they engraved on it the saying “Holy to the Lord.” 31 They fastened to it a blue cord to tie it to the top of the turban, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Completion of dwelling construction

32 In this way all the work of the meeting tent dwelling was finished. The Israelites did everything just exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 Then they brought to Moses the dwelling, the tent, and all its equipment:

its clasps, its boards, its bars, its posts, and its bases,

34 the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, the covering of beaded leather, and the veil for a screen,

35 the chest containing the covenant with its poles and the cover,

36 the table with all its equipment and the bread of the presence,

37 the pure lampstand with its lamps set on it and all its equipment, and the oil for the light,

38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet-smelling incense,

the screen for the tent’s entrance,

39 the copper altar and its copper grate, its poles, and all its equipment,

the washbasin with its stand,

40 the courtyard’s drapes, its posts, and its bases,

the screen for the plaza’s gate, its cords, and its tent pegs,

and all the other equipment for the service of the dwelling, for the meeting tent,

41 the woven clothes for ministering as priests in the sanctuary, the holy clothes for the priest Aaron and the clothes for his sons to serve as priests.

42 The Israelites did all of the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 When Moses saw that they in fact had done all the work exactly as the Lord had commanded, Moses blessed them.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:2 Heb ephod