Exodus 39
The Voice
39 For the priests who served in the holy place, they decorated finely woven garments with blue, purple, and scarlet thread donated by the people. They also made the sacred garments Aaron was to wear, exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.
2 Bezalel had Aaron’s vest of gold made out of finely woven linen embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. 3 Craftsmen hammered gold into gold leaf, sliced it into individual threads, and interlaced them with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread as they embroidered intricate designs into the fine linens. 4 They also made two pieces for the shoulders of the vest that attached so that the front and back form one piece. 5 The vest’s waistband was skillfully made of the same materials—blue, purple, and scarlet thread on finely woven linen—and with a similar design made by skilled artisans exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses. 6 They prepared onyx stones, engraved them the same way signet rings are engraved, and set them in ornamental gold settings. 7 As the Eternal instructed Moses, he positioned the onyx stones on the shoulder pieces of Aaron’s vest as a memorial for the people of Israel before the Eternal One.
8 He then had skilled workers make the breast piece in the same style as the vest out of finely woven linen embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with gold. 9 They made it square by folding over the material to double it and created a pouch in it nine inches by nine inches. 10 They placed four rows of stones in it. The first row was ruby, topaz, and emerald; 11 the second row was turquoise, sapphire, and diamond; 12 the third row was jacinth, agate, and amethyst; 13 the fourth row was beryl, onyx, and jasper. They were all attached to the breast piece with ornamental gold settings. 14 The twelve stones stood for the twelve tribes of Israel. Each was engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. 15 They braided strands of pure gold into chains and attached them to the breast piece. 16 They fashioned two ornamental gold settings and two gold rings, and they placed the two rings on opposite ends of the breast piece. 17 Then they fastened the two gold chains to the two gold rings at the two ends of the breast piece. 18 They fastened the loose ends of the chains to the two ornamental gold settings at the front of Aaron’s vest on the shoulders. 19 Then they fashioned two more gold rings and attached them to the breast piece at the inside edge next to the vest. 20 They made two additional gold rings and attached them to the front of the vest below the shoulders near the seam just above the waistband. 21 They connected the rings on the breast piece to the rings on the vest using blue cord, so that it would be attached above the vest’s waistband and not come loose from the vest. They did all this exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.
22 He then made the robe worn under the vest blue. 23 They made a hole for the head and formed a collar around the hole by lining it with extra material so that it might not tear. 24 All around the hem they stitched pomegranates out of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. 25 They also fashioned bells out of pure gold and attached them all around the hem between the pomegranates. 26 They used an alternating pattern: bell, pomegranate, bell, pomegranate, and so on. They did this exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.
27 They made tunics out of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons. 28 They made the turban, caps, and undergarments out of fine linen as well. 29 They also made the sash out of finely woven linen and embroidered it with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. They did all this exactly as the Eternal One instructed Moses.
30 They made the medallion, the sacred emblem that set the high priest apart, out of pure gold and engraved it like a seal with the inscription, “Holy to the Eternal.” 31 They fastened it with a blue cord to the front of Aaron’s turban, exactly as the Eternal One instructed Moses.
32 All the work that went into the sanctuary of the congregation tent was finally finished. The Israelites did everything exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.
33 Then the Israelites brought all they made to Moses. They brought the tent and all its furnishings, including its hooks, frame panels, crossbars, posts, and bases; 34 the layers of red-dyed rams’ skins and the sea-cow skin that covered the sanctuary; the veil shrouding the most holy place; 35 the covenant chest with its poles and the seat of mercy; 36 the table, its tools, the bread of the Presence; 37 the gold lampstand, its lamps and all its tools, the lamp oil; 38 the golden altar of incense, the anointing oil and the scented incense; the fabric screen for the tent’s entrance; 39 the bronze altar for burnt offerings, the bronze grating, its poles and tools, the basin and its stand; 40 the panels that enclose the courtyard, the posts and bases, the screen that covers the court’s entrance, the cords and pegs; and all the tools used in the sanctuary of the congregation tent, 41 the finely woven clothing for priests serving in the holy place, the sacred garments worn by Aaron the high priest, and the clothes his sons are to wear when they serve as priests as well. 42 The Israelites completed each part of the project exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.
43 Moses inspected every piece of work they had completed, and he saw that they had done it all with excellence according to the specifications given to Him by the Eternal One. So Moses blessed them.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
