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
New English Translation
The Making of the Priestly Garments
39 From the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for serving in the sanctuary; they made holy garments that were for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.[a]
The Ephod
2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet yarn, and fine twisted linen. 3 They hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut it into narrow strips to weave[b] them into the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and into the fine linen, the work of an artistic designer. 4 They made shoulder pieces for it, attached to two of its corners, so it could be joined together. 5 The artistically woven waistband of the ephod that was on it was like it, of one piece with it,[c] of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 They set the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved as with the engravings of a seal[d] with the names of the sons of Israel.[e] 7 He put[f] them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of memorial for the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Breastpiece of Decision
8 He made the breastpiece, the work of an artistic designer, in the same fashion as the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine twisted linen. 9 It was square—they made the breastpiece doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide when doubled. 10 They set on it[g] four rows of stones: a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl—the first row; 11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold filigree settings. 14 The stones were for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, corresponding to the number of[h] their names. Each name corresponding to one of the twelve tribes was like the engravings of a seal.
15 They made for the breastpiece braided chains like cords of pure gold, 16 and they made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and they attached the two rings to the upper[i] two ends of the breastpiece. 17 They attached the two gold chains to the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece; 18 the other[j] two ends of the two chains they attached to the two settings, and they attached them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 19 They made two rings of gold and put them on the other[k] two ends of the breastpiece on its edge, which is on the inner side of the ephod.[l] 20 They made two more[m] gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the juncture above the waistband of the ephod. 21 They tied the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod by blue cord, so that it was above the waistband of the ephod, so that the breastpiece would not be loose from the ephod, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Other Garments
22 He made the robe of the ephod completely blue, the work of a weaver. 23 There was an opening in the center of the robe, like the opening of a collar,[n] with an edge all around the opening so that it could not be torn. 24 They made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and twisted linen[o] around the hem of the robe. 25 They made bells of pure gold and attached the bells between the pomegranates around the hem of the robe between the pomegranates. 26 There was[p] a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe, to be used in ministering,[q] just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
27 They made tunics of fine linen—the work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons— 28 and the turban of fine linen, the headbands of fine linen, and the undergarments of fine twisted linen. 29 The sash was of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 They made a plate, the holy diadem, of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription, as on the engravings of a seal, “Holiness to the Lord.” 31 They attached to it a blue cord to attach it to the turban above, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Moses Inspects the Tabernacle
32 [r] So all the work of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed, and the Israelites did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses—they did it exactly so. 33 They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings, clasps, frames, bars, posts, and bases; 34 and the coverings of ram skins dyed red, the covering of fine leather,[s] and the protecting[t] curtain; 35 the ark of the testimony and its poles, and the atonement lid; 36 the table, all its utensils, and the Bread of the Presence; 37 the pure[u] lampstand, its lamps, with the lamps set in order, and all its accessories, and oil for the light; 38 and the gold altar, and the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; and the curtain for the entrance to the tent; 39 the bronze altar and its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin with its pedestal; 40 the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway of the courtyard, its ropes and its tent pegs, and all the furnishings[v] for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the woven garments for serving[w] in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.
42 The Israelites did all the work according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected[x] all the work, and[y] they had done it just as the Lord had commanded—they had done it exactly—and Moses blessed them.[z]
Footnotes
- Exodus 39:1 sn This chapter also will be almost identical to the instructions given earlier, with a few changes along the way.
- Exodus 39:3 tn The verb is the infinitive that means “to do, to work.” It could be given a literal rendering: “to work [them into] the blue….” Weaving or embroidering is probably what is intended.
- Exodus 39:5 tn Heb “from it” or the same.
- Exodus 39:6 tn Or “as seals are engraved.”
- Exodus 39:6 sn The twelve names were those of Israel’s sons. The idea was not the remembrance of the twelve sons as such, but the twelve tribes that bore their names.
- Exodus 39:7 tn Or “attached.”
- Exodus 39:10 tn That is, they set in mountings.
- Exodus 39:14 tn The phrase “the number of” has been supplied.
- Exodus 39:16 tn Here “upper” has been supplied.
- Exodus 39:18 tn Here “other” has been supplied.
- Exodus 39:19 tn Here “other” has been supplied.
- Exodus 39:19 tn Heb “homeward side.”
- Exodus 39:20 tn Here “more” has been supplied.
- Exodus 39:23 tn See the note on this word in Exod 28:32 for discussion of its meaning.
- Exodus 39:24 tn The word is simply “twined” or “twisted.” It may refer to the twisted linen that so frequently is found in these lists; or, it may refer to the yarn twisted. The LXX reads “fine twined linen.” This is not found in the text of Exod 28:33, except in Smr and LXX.
- Exodus 39:26 tn The words “there was” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Exodus 39:26 tn The infinitive “to minister” is present; “to be used” is supplied from the context.
- Exodus 39:32 sn The last sections of the book bring several themes together to a full conclusion. Not only is it the completion of the tabernacle, it is the fulfillment of God’s plan revealed at the beginning of the book, i.e., to reside with his people.
- Exodus 39:34 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
- Exodus 39:34 tn Or “shielding” (NIV); NASB “the screening veil.”
- Exodus 39:37 tn Possibly meaning “pure gold lampstand.”
- Exodus 39:40 tn Heb “utensils, vessels.”
- Exodus 39:41 tn The form is the infinitive construct; it means the clothes to be used “to minister” in the Holy Place.
- Exodus 39:43 tn Or “examined” (NASB, TEV); NCV “looked closely at.”
- Exodus 39:43 tn The deictic particle draws attention to what he saw in such a way as to give the reader Moses’ point of view and a sense of his pleasure: “and behold, they….”
- Exodus 39:43 sn The situation and wording in Exod 39:43 are reminiscent of Gen 1:28 and 31, with the motifs of blessing people and inspecting what has been made.
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