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The Vestments

39 From the blue, purple, and scarlet material, they made finely woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, and they made the holy garments for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Special Vest

He[a] made the special vest[b] from gold and from blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen. They beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads so that they could work it into the blue, purple, and scarlet material and into the fine linen, the work of a skilled craftsman.[c] They made two shoulder straps for the top, one on each side, so that the vest could be fastened together. The decorated sash, which is attached to the vest, was made just like it: of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine woven linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

They took two onyx stones and mounted them in gold settings and engraved on them the names of the sons of Israel, like the engraving on signet seals. They mounted them on the shoulder straps of the vest as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Chest Pouch

Bezalel made a folded pouch, the work of a skillful craftsman. He made it with the same workmanship as the vest. He made it of gold, and of blue, purple, and scarlet material and of fine woven linen. It was square, nine inches by nine inches when it was folded double.

10 They mounted on it four rows of precious stones. The first row was carnelian, diamond, and jacinth; 11 the second row agate, sapphire, and emerald; 12 the third row beryl, jasper, and ruby; 13 and the fourth row topaz, onyx, and turquoise.[d] The stones were mounted in gold settings. 14 There were twelve stones, corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel. Each one was like an engraved seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

15 They made braided chains of pure gold for the pouch. 16 They made two gold rings for the pouch and attached the two rings to the top corners of the pouch. 17 They put the two braided gold chains into the two rings at the top corners of the pouch. 18 The other ends of the two braided chains they attached to the two settings, and then attached them to the shoulder straps on the front of the vest. 19 They made two gold rings and put them on the two lower corners of the pouch, on its inside edge, which is toward the vest. 20 They made two more gold rings and attached them to the two shoulder straps of the vest in the front, close to the bottom where it is joined to the sash of the vest. 21 They tied the rings of the pouch to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that the pouch was kept right next to the woven sash of the vest and would not swing out from the vest—just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Robe Worn With the Vest

22 The robe that was to be worn under the vest was the work of a weaver. It was all blue. 23 It had an opening in the middle of its top for the head. It had a woven binding around the opening, like the opening of a collar,[e] to prevent it from tearing. 24 For its hem they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material. 25 They put the pomegranates around its hem with gold bells alternating with them 26 (a gold bell, then a pomegranate, a gold bell, then a pomegranate), all around the hem of the robe that was worn when ministering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Tunics and Pants

27 They wove the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons. 28 They made the turban and the small pointed turbans of fine linen,[f] and the underwear was made from a special kind of finely woven linen.[g] 29 The sash was made of finely woven linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet material, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Gold Medallion

30 They made a medallion of pure gold to serve as a crest and engraved on it (like the engravings on a seal): Holy to the Lord. 31 They put it on a blue cord to fasten it to the turban on the front, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Completion of the Dwelling

32 In this way all the work on the Dwelling, that is, the Tent of Meeting, was finished. The people of Israel did everything exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 They brought the Dwelling to Moses: the tent with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its crossbars, its posts, its socket bases, 34 the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, the covering made from hides of sea cows, the special veil, 35 the Ark of the Testimony with its poles, the atonement seat, 36 the table, all its utensils, the Bread of the Presence, 37 the pure gold lampstand, its lamps (that is, the lamps to be set out in order), all its vessels and utensils, the oil for the Light, 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, the screen for the door of the Tent, 39 the bronze altar, its bronze grate, its poles, all of its utensils, the basin and its pedestal, 40 the hangings of the courtyard, its posts, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the courtyard, its ropes, its stakes, all the equipment for the service of the Dwelling (that is, the Tent of Meeting), 41 the finely woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister in the priest’s office. 42 So the people of Israel did all the work according to everything that the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected all the work, and he saw that they had done it exactly as the Lord had commanded, so Moses blessed them.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:2 Some of the Hebrew pronouns and verbs in this section are singular referring to the leader Bezalel. Some are plural referring to the craftsmen who worked under his supervision. It is likely most items were the work of several craftsmen directed by Bezalel.
  2. Exodus 39:2 Hebrew ephod
  3. Exodus 39:3 Here we have the clearest description of how the five materials (gold, blue, purple, and scarlet threads, and linen) were woven together into one fabric. The material from which the blue, purple, and scarlet threads were made is a question because Deuteronomy 22:11 forbids fabric that is a mixture of wool and linen. Perhaps this mixture was reserved for the sacred material.
  4. Exodus 39:13 The specific identification of these gems is uncertain, and translations vary widely. The translation uses names of recognizable modern gemstones, even if they might not have the same mineral makeup as the ancient stones. The Jewish commentator Ibn Ezra writes, “We have no way to identify what they are, having no tradition to rely on.”
  5. Exodus 39:23 The meaning of this word is uncertain. Traditionally a coat of mail.
  6. Exodus 39:28 The Hebrew word mitznephet most likely refers to a turban, since the word for putting it on comes from a Hebrew root meaning “to wrap.” The turban worn by the high priest was larger than the head coverings of the priests and was wound so that it formed a broad, flat-topped turban, resembling the blossom of a flower or a chef’s hat. The head covering of the priests was different, being wound so that it formed a cone-shaped turban, called a migbahat.
  7. Exodus 39:28 There are two different words for linen in this verse. The precise distinction between them is unknown.

Making Garments for Priests

39 And from the blue and the purple and the crimson yarns they made woven garments for serving in the sanctuary, and they made the holy garments that were for Aaron, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple and crimson yarns, and finely twisted linen. And he hammered out the leaves of gold, and he cut off cords to weave in the midst of the blue and in the midst of the purple and in the midst of the crimson and in the midst of the linen—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made joined shoulder pieces for it; it was joined on its two edges. And the waistband of his ephod, which was of one piece with it,[a] was of like work, gold, blue, and purple and crimson yarns, and finely twisted linen, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. And they made onyx stones mounted in gold filigree settings, engraved with seal engravings according to the names of the Israelites.[b] And he set them on the ephod’s shoulder pieces as stones of remembrance for the Israelites,[c] as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

And he made the breast piece, the work of a skilled craftsman, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple and crimson yarns, and finely twisted linen. It was squared; they made the breast piece doubled; its length was a span, and its width was a span when doubled. 10 And they filled it with four rows of stone; a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald was the first row; 11 and the second row was a malachite, a sapphire, and a moonstone; 12 and the third row was a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row was a turquoise, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set with gold filigree settings in their mountings. 14 And the stones were according to the names of the Israelites;[d] they were twelve according to their names, with seal engravings, each according to its name for the twelve tribes.

15 And they made on the breast piece braided chains, a work of pure gold ornamental cord. 16 And they made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and they put the two rings on the two edges of the breast piece. 17 And they put the two gold ornamental cords on the two rings on the edges of the breast piece. 18 And they put the two ends of the two ornamental cords on the two filigree settings, and they put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 19 And they made two gold rings, and they placed them on the two edges of the breast piece, on its lip that is on the other side[e] of the ephod, to the inside.[f] 20 And they made two gold rings and put them on the ephod’s two shoulder pieces below, at its front near its seam above the waistband of the ephod. 21 And they tied the breast piece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord so that the breast piece would be on the waistband of the ephod and not come loose from the ephod, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

22 And he made the robe of the ephod, weaver’s work, totally of blue yarn. 23 And the opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening of a sturdy garment, with an edge for its opening all around so that it would not be torn. 24 And they made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of finely twisted blue and purple and crimson. 25 And they made pure gold bells and put the bells in the midst of the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around in the midst of the pomegranates, 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate on the hem of the robe all around for serving, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

27 And they made the tunics of fine linen, a weaver’s work, for Aaron and for his sons, 28 and the turban of fine linen and the headdresses of the headbands of fine linen and undergarments of the linen cloth, finely twisted, 29 and the sash of finely twisted linen and blue and purple and crimson yarns, the work of an embroiderer, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

30 And they made the rosette[g] of the holy diadem of pure gold, and they wrote on it with the writing of seal engravings: “A holy object for Yahweh.” 31 And they put a blue cord on it to put it above on the turban, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Preparations Complete

32 And all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of assembly was finished, and the Israelites[h] had done according to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its equipment, its hooks, its frames,[i] its bars, and its pillars and its bases; 34 and the covering of the red-dyed ram skins and the covering of fine leather and the curtain of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony and its poles and the atonement cover; 36 the table, all its equipment, and the bread of the presence; 37 the pure gold lampstand, its lamps—the lamps of the row—and all its equipment and the oil of the light; 38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the screen of the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar, and the bronze grating that is for it, its poles, and all its equipment, the basin and its stand, 40 the hangings of the courtyard, its pillars, and its bases; and the screen for the courtyard gate, its tent cords and its pegs;[j] and all the equipment of the service of the tabernacle for the tent of assembly, 41 the woven garments for serving in the sanctuary—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons to serve as priests. 42 According to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses, so the Israelites[k] did all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and, indeed, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded; so they did, and Moses blessed them.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:5 Literally “on it from it”
  2. Exodus 39:6 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Exodus 39:7 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  4. Exodus 39:14 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  5. Exodus 39:19 Literally “beyond”
  6. Exodus 39:19 Literally “houseward,” “to house,” meaning “inward”
  7. Exodus 39:30 Or “medallion”
  8. Exodus 39:32 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  9. Exodus 39:33 Or “boards” or “planks”
  10. Exodus 39:40 Literally “hands”
  11. Exodus 39:42 Literally “sons/children of Israel”