Exodus 39
Good News Translation
Making the Garments for the Priests(A)
39 With the blue, purple, and red wool they made the magnificent garments which the priests were to wear when they served in the Holy Place. They made the priestly garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
2 They made the ephod of fine linen; blue, purple, and red wool; and gold thread. 3 They hammered out sheets of gold and cut them into thin strips to be worked into the fine linen and into the blue, purple, and red wool. 4 They made two shoulder straps for the ephod and attached them to its sides, so that it could be fastened. 5 The finely woven belt, made of the same materials, was attached to the ephod so as to form one piece with it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 6 They prepared the carnelians and mounted them in gold settings; they were skillfully engraved with the names of the twelve sons of Jacob. 7 They put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod to represent the twelve tribes of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Making the Breastpiece(B)
8 They made the breastpiece of the same materials as the ephod and with similar embroidery. 9 It was square and folded double, 9 inches long and 9 inches wide. 10 They mounted four rows of precious stones on it: in the first row they mounted a ruby, a topaz, and a garnet; 11 in the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 in the third row, a turquoise, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and in the fourth row, a beryl, a carnelian, and a jasper. These were mounted in gold settings. 14 Each of the twelve stones had engraved on it the name of one of the sons of Jacob, in order to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. 15 For the breastpiece they made chains of pure gold, twisted like cords. 16 They made two gold settings and two gold rings and attached the two rings to the upper corners of the breastpiece. 17 They fastened the two gold cords to the two rings 18 and fastened the other two ends of the cords to the two settings and in this way attached them in front to the shoulder straps of the ephod. 19 They made two rings of gold and attached them to the lower corners of the breastpiece, on the inside edge next to the ephod. 20 They made two more gold rings and attached them to the lower part of the front of the two shoulder straps of the ephod, near the seam and above the finely woven belt. 21 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, they tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that the breastpiece rested above the belt and did not come loose.
Making the Other Priestly Garments(C)
22 The robe that goes under the ephod was made entirely of blue wool. 23 The hole for the head was reinforced with a woven binding to keep it from tearing. 24-26 All around its lower hem they put pomegranates of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool, alternating with bells of pure gold, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
27 They made the shirts for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the turban, the caps, the linen shorts, 29 and the sash of fine linen and of blue, purple, and red wool, decorated with embroidery, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 They made the ornament, the sacred sign of dedication, out of pure gold, and they engraved on it “Dedicated to the Lord.” 31 They tied it to the front of the turban with a blue cord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Completion of the Work(D)
32 All the work on the Tent of the Lord's presence was finally completed. The Israelites made everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 They brought to Moses the Tent and all its equipment, its hooks, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases; 34 the covering of rams' skin dyed red; the covering of fine leather; the curtain; 35 the Covenant Box containing the stone tablets, its poles, and its lid; 36 the table and all its equipment, and the bread offered to God; 37 the lampstand of pure gold, its lamps, all its equipment, and the oil for the lamps; 38 the gold altar; the anointing oil; the sweet-smelling incense; the curtain for the entrance of the Tent; 39 the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its equipment; the washbasin and its base; 40 the curtains for the enclosure and its posts and bases; the curtain for the entrance of the enclosure and its ropes; the Tent pegs; all the equipment to be used in the Tent; 41 and the magnificent garments the priests were to wear in the Holy Place—the sacred clothes for Aaron the priest and for his sons. 42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses examined everything and saw that they had made it all just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Making the Vestments for the Priesthood
39 Of the blue, purple, and crimson yarns they made finely worked vestments, for ministering in the holy place; they made the sacred vestments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(A)
2 He made the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen.(B) 3 Gold leaf was hammered out and cut into threads to work into the blue, purple, and crimson yarns and into the fine twisted linen, in skilled design. 4 They made for the ephod shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. 5 The decorated band on it was of the same materials and workmanship, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 The onyx stones were prepared, enclosed in settings of gold filigree and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel.(C) 7 He set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(D)
8 He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen.(E) 9 It was square; the breastpiece was made double, a span in length and a span in width when doubled. 10 They set in it four rows of stones. A row of carnelian,[a] chrysolite, and emerald was the first row; 11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire,[b] and a moonstone;(F) 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were engraved like signets, each with its name, for the twelve tribes.(G) 15 They made on the breastpiece chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, 16 and they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece,(H) 17 and they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 18 Two ends of the two cords they had attached to the two settings of filigree; in this way they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two rings of gold and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod.(I) 20 They made two rings of gold and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its joining above the decorated band of the ephod. 21 They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it should lie on the decorated band of the ephod and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue yarn,(J) 23 and the opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening in a garment,[c] with a binding around its edge, so that it might not be torn. 24 On the lower hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns and of fine twisted linen.[d] 25 They also made bells of pure gold and put the bells between the pomegranates on the lower hem of the robe all around, between the pomegranates, 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate all around on the lower hem of the robe for ministering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
27 They also made the tunics, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons,(K) 28 and the turban of fine linen, and the headdresses of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twisted linen, 29 and the sash of fine twisted linen, and of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 They made the rosette of the holy diadem of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.”(L) 31 They tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it on the turban above, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Work Completed
32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished; the Israelites had done everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.(M) 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its clasps, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 34 the covering of tanned rams’ skins and the covering of fine leather[e] and the curtain for the screen; 35 the ark of the covenant with its poles and the cover;(N) 36 the table with all its utensils and the bread of the Presence; 37 the pure lampstand with its lamps set on it and all its utensils and the oil for the light; 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the finely worked vestments for ministering in the holy place, the sacred vestments for the priest Aaron, and the vestments of his sons to serve as priests.(O) 42 The Israelites had done all of the work as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 When Moses saw that they had done all the work as the Lord had commanded, he blessed them.(P)
Exodus 39
Complete Jewish Bible
39 From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made the garments for officiating, for serving in the Holy Place; and they made the holy garments for Aharon, as Adonai had ordered Moshe. (RY: v, LY: ii) 2 He made the ritual vest of gold, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely woven linen. 3 They hammered the gold into thin plates and cut them into threads in order to work it into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and the fine linen crafted by the skilled artisan. 4 They made shoulder-pieces for it, joined together; they were joined together at the two ends. 5 The decorated belt on the vest, used to fasten it, was of the same workmanship and materials — gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely twined linen — as Adonai had ordered Moshe. 6 They worked the onyx stones, mounted in gold settings, engraving them with the names of the sons of Isra’el as they would be engraved on a seal. 7 Then he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the vest to be stones calling to mind the sons of Isra’el, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
8 He made the breastplate; it was crafted by a skilled artisan and made like the work of the ritual vest — of gold; blue, purple and scarlet yarn; and finely woven linen. 9 When folded double, the breastplate was square — doubled, it was a hand-span by a hand-span. 10 They set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a carnelian, a topaz and an emerald; 11 the second row a green feldspar, a sapphire and a diamond; 12 the third row an orange zircon, an agate and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in settings of gold. 14 The stones corresponded to the names of the twelve sons of Isra’el; they were engraved with their names as a seal would be engraved, each name representing one of the twelve tribes.
15 On the breastplate they made two pure gold chains, twisted like cords. 16 Also for the breastplate they made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and they put the two rings at the two ends of the breastplate. 17 They put the two twisted gold chains in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate 18 and attached the other two ends of the twisted chains to the front of the shoulder-pieces of the ritual vest. 19 They also made two gold rings and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, at its edge, on the side facing in toward the vest. 20 Also they made two gold rings and attached them low on the front part of the vest’s shoulder-pieces, near the join, above the vest’s decorated belt. 21 Then they bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that it could be on the vest’s decorated belt, and so that the breastplate would not swing loose from the vest — as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
(RY: vi, LY: iii) 22 He made the robe for the ritual vest; it was woven entirely of blue, 23 with its opening in the middle, like that of a coat of mail, and with a border around the opening, so that it wouldn’t tear. 24 On the bottom hem they made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet, and woven linen; 25 and they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all the way around the hem of the robe — between the pomegranates, 26 that is, bell, pomegranate, bell, pomegranate, all the way around the hem of the robe for service — as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
27 They made the tunics of finely woven linen for Aharon and his sons, 28 the turban of fine linen, the splendid headgear of fine linen, the linen shorts, 29 and the sash of finely woven linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, the work of a weaver in colors — as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
30 They made the ornament for the holy turban of pure gold; wrote on it the words, “Set apart for Adonai,” like the engraving on a seal; 31 and tied a blue cord on it to fasten it to the front of the turban — as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
32 Thus all the work for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished, with the people of Isra’el doing everything exactly as Adonai had ordered Moshe.
(LY: iv) 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moshe — the tent and all its furnishings, clasps, planks, crossbars, posts and sockets; 34 the covering of tanned ram skins, the covering of fine leather and the curtain for the screen; 35 the ark for the testimony, its poles and the ark-cover; 36 the table, all its utensils and the showbread; 37 the pure menorah, its lamps and their arrangement for display, its accessories and 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, poles and all its utensils; the basin with its base; 40 the tapestries for the courtyard, with their posts and sockets; the screen for the entrance to the courtyard, with its ropes and tent pegs; all the utensils for the service in the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 41 the garments for officiating, for serving in the Holy Place; the holy garments for Aharon the cohen; and the garments for his sons to serve in the office of cohen.
42 The people of Isra’el did all the work just as Adonai had ordered Moshe. 43 Moshe saw all the work, and — there it was! — they had done it! Exactly as Adonai had ordered, they had done it. And Moshe blessed them.
Exodus 39
The Message
39 Vestments. Using the blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics, they made the woven vestments for ministering in the Sanctuary. Also they made the sacred vestments for Aaron, as God had commanded Moses.
2-5 Ephod. They made the Ephod using gold and blue, purple, and scarlet fabrics and finely twisted linen. They hammered out gold leaf and sliced it into threads that were then worked into designs in the blue, purple, and scarlet fabric and fine linen. They made shoulder pieces fastened at the two ends. The decorated band was made of the same material—gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine twisted linen—and of one piece with it, just as God had commanded Moses.
6-7 They mounted the onyx stones in a setting of filigreed gold and engraved the names of the sons of Israel on them, then fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the Ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites, just as God had commanded Moses.
8-10 Breastpiece. They made a Breastpiece designed like the Ephod from gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. Doubled, the Breastpiece was nine inches square. They mounted four rows of precious gemstones on it.
First row: carnelian, topaz, emerald.
11 Second row: ruby, sapphire, crystal.
12 Third row: jacinth, agate, amethyst.
13-14 Fourth row: beryl, onyx, jasper.
The stones were mounted in a gold filigree. The twelve stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve names engraved as on a seal, one for each of the twelve tribes.
15-21 They made braided chains of pure gold for the Breastpiece, like cords. They made two settings of gold filigree and two rings of gold, put the two rings at the two ends of the Breastpiece, and fastened the two ends of the cords to the two rings at the end of the Breastpiece. Then they fastened the cords to the settings of filigree, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the Ephod in front. Then they made two rings of gold and fastened them to the two ends of the Breastpiece on its inside edge facing the Ephod. They made two more rings of gold and fastened them in the front of the Ephod to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces, near the seam above the decorated band of the Ephod. The Breastpiece was fastened by running a cord of blue through its rings to the rings of the Ephod so that it rested secure on the decorated band of the Ephod and wouldn’t come loose, just as God had commanded Moses.
22-26 Robe. They made the robe for the Ephod entirely of blue. The opening of the robe at the center was like a collar, the edge hemmed so that it wouldn’t tear. On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. They also made bells of pure gold and alternated the bells and pomegranates—a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate—all around the hem of the robe that was worn for ministering, just as God had commanded Moses.
27-29 They also made the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons, the turban of fine linen, the linen hats, the linen underwear made of fine twisted linen, and sashes of fine twisted linen, blue, purple, and scarlet material and embroidered, just as God had commanded Moses.
30-31 They made the plate, the sacred crown, of pure gold and engraved on it as on a seal: “Holy to God.” They attached a blue cord to it and fastened it to the turban, just as God had commanded Moses.
32 That completed the work of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. The People of Israel did what God had commanded Moses. They did it all.
33-41 They presented The Dwelling to Moses, the Tent and all its furnishings:
fastening hooks
frames
crossbars
posts
bases
tenting of tanned ram skins
tenting of dolphin skins
veil of the screen
Chest of The Testimony
with its poles
and Atonement-Cover
Table
with its utensils
and the Bread of the Presence
Lampstand of pure gold
and its lamps all fitted out
and all its utensils
and the oil for the light
Gold Altar
anointing oil
fragrant incense
screen for the entrance to the Tent
Bronze Altar
with its bronze grate
its poles and all its utensils
Washbasin
and its base
hangings for the Courtyard
its posts and bases
screen for the gate of the Courtyard
its cords and its pegs
utensils for ministry in The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting
woven vestments for ministering in the Sanctuary
sacred vestments for Aaron the priest,
and his sons when serving as priests
42-43 The Israelites completed all the work, just as God had commanded. Moses saw that they had done all the work and done it exactly as God had commanded. Moses blessed them.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson