Exodus 28
New Life Version
Clothes for Religious Leaders
28 “Take from among the people of Israel your brother Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, to work for Me as religious leaders. 2 Make holy clothing for your brother Aaron, for honor and for beauty. 3 Tell all the able workmen, whom I have given the spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron’s clothing to set him apart for My work. He will work for Me as a religious leader. 4 These are the clothes they will make: A breast-piece, a linen vest, a long piece of clothing, a long coat, a head-covering, and a wide belt. They will make holy clothing for your brother Aaron and his sons to work for Me as religious leaders. 5 They will use gold and blue and purple and red cloth and fine linen.
The Linen Vest
6 “They will use gold and blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen to make the linen vest that holds the breast-piece. It will be the work of the able workman. 7 It will have two shoulder pieces to join it at the two ends. 8 The well-made belt on it will be made of the same gold and blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen. 9 Take two onyx stones and cut on them the names of Israel’s sons. 10 Put six of their names on one stone, and the six names of the others on the other stone, from the oldest to the youngest. 11 As an able workman cuts words in a ring, cut the names of Israel’s sons on the two stones. Then set them into beautiful pieces of gold. 12 Put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the linen vest, as stones for the family groups of Israel to be remembered. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the Lord, to be remembered. 13 Make beautiful pieces of gold 14 and two chains of pure gold. Make them like ropes are made. And put the chains on the pieces of gold.
The Breast-Piece
15 “Make a breast-piece to be used when judging. It is to be made by an able workman. Make it like the work of the linen vest, of gold, and blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen. 16 It will be as long as it is wide, with one half laid over the other. Make it as long and as wide as a man’s fingers can spread. 17 Put four straight rows of stones on it. The first row will be a ruby, a topaz and an emerald. 18 The second row will be a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond. 19 The third row will be a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst. 20 And the fourth row will be a beryl, an onyx and a jasper. They will be set in beautiful pieces of gold. 21 There will be twelve stones, one for each name of the sons of Israel. The name of each family group will be cut on one of these special stones. 22 Make chains for the breast-piece, like ropes of pure gold. 23 And make two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breast-piece. 24 Join the two gold chains to the two rings at the ends of the breast-piece. 25 Join the other two ends of the two chains to the beautiful gold pieces that hold the two stones at the shoulders in the front. 26 Make two rings of gold to put on the two ends of the breast-piece, on the inside, next to the linen vest. 27 Then make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the linen vest in front, near where they join. They will be above the well-made belt of the linen vest. 28 Tie the rings of the breast-piece to the rings of the linen vest with a blue rope so the breast-piece may not come loose from the linen vest.
29 “Aaron will carry the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breast-piece of judging when he goes in the holy place, so they will be remembered before the Lord all the time.
Other Religious Leaders’ Clothes
30 “Put the Urim and the Thummim into the breast-piece over Aaron’s heart when he goes before the Lord. Aaron will carry the judging of the people of Israel over his heart before the Lord all the time.
31 “Make the long piece of clothing all of blue. 32 There will be an opening at its top in the center. Around the opening it will be sewed like the opening on heavy battle clothes, so it may not be torn. 33 Make pomegranates of blue and purple and red cloth to put all around the bottom of this clothing. And put bells of gold between them. 34 Put a gold bell and a pomegranate, then a gold bell and a pomegranate, all the way around the bottom of this clothing. 35 Aaron will wear it when he serves Me. The sound of the bells will be heard when he goes in the holy place and when he comes out so that he will not die.
36 “Make a plate of pure gold and write on it, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 Put it to the front of the head covering with a blue rope. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead. Aaron will take away the sin of the holy things which the people of Israel set apart for the Lord as their holy gifts. It will always be on his forehead, so they may be received by the Lord. 39 Make the long coat of fine linen, a head covering of fine linen, and a wide belt, the work of an able workman.
40 “Make long coats for Aaron’s sons. And make belts and head coverings for them, for honor and for beauty. 41 Dress your brother Aaron and his sons in them. Then pour oil on them, set them apart and make them holy, so they may serve Me as religious leaders. 42 Make for them linen clothing to cover their flesh from their belts to their legs. 43 Aaron and his sons will wear them when they go into the meeting tent, or when they go near the altar to serve in the holy place. Then they will not be guilty and die. It will be a law for him and for his children forever.
Exodus 28
Living Bible
28 “Consecrate Aaron your brother, and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to be priests, to minister to me. 2 Make special clothes for Aaron, to indicate his separation to God—beautiful garments that will lend dignity to his work. 3 Instruct those to whom I have given special skill as tailors to make the garments that will set him apart from others, so that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. 4 This is the wardrobe they shall make: a chestpiece, an ephod,[a] a robe, an embroidered shirt, a turban, and a sash. They shall also make special garments for Aaron’s sons.
5-6 “The ephod shall be made by the most skilled of the workmen, using gold, blue, purple, and scarlet threads of fine linen. 7 It will consist of two pieces, front and back, joined at the shoulders. 8 And the sash shall be made of the same material—threads of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet fine-twined linen. 9 Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the tribes of Israel. 10 Six names shall be on each stone, so that all the tribes are named in the order of their births. 11 When engraving these names, use the same technique as in making a seal; and mount the stones in gold settings. 12 Fasten the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod, as memorial stones for the people of Israel: Aaron will carry their names before the Lord as a constant reminder. 13-14 Two chains of pure, twisted gold shall be made and attached to gold clasps on the shoulder of the ephod.
15 “Then, using the most careful workmanship, make a chestpiece to be used as God’s oracle; use the same gold, blue, purple, and scarlet threads of fine-twined linen as you did in the ephod. 16 This chestpiece is to be of two folds of cloth, forming a pouch nine inches square. 17 Attach to it four rows of stones: A ruby, a topaz, and an emerald shall be in the first row. 18 The second row will be carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond. 19 The third row will be an amber, an agate, and an amethyst. 20 The fourth row will be an onyx, a beryl, and a jasper—all set in gold settings. 21 Each stone will represent one of the tribes of Israel and the name of that tribe will be engraved upon it like a seal.
22-24 “Attach the top of the chestpiece to the ephod by means of two twisted cords of pure gold. One end of each cord is attached to gold rings placed at the outer top edge of the chestpiece. 25 The other ends of the two cords are attached to the front edges of the two settings of the onyx stones on the shoulder of the ephod. 26 Then make two more gold rings and place them on the two lower, inside edges of the chestpiece; 27 also make two other gold rings for the bottom front edge of the ephod at the sash. 28 Now attach the bottom of the chestpiece to the bottom rings of the ephod by means of blue ribbons; this will prevent the chestpiece from coming loose from the ephod. 29 In this way Aaron shall carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the chestpiece over his heart (it is God’s oracle) when he goes into the Holy Place; thus Jehovah will be reminded of them continually. 30-31 Insert into the pocket of the chestpiece the Urim and Thummim,[b] to be carried over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before Jehovah. Thus Aaron shall always be carrying the oracle over his heart when he goes in before the Lord.
“The ephod shall be made of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for Aaron’s head. It shall have a woven band around this opening, just as on the neck of a coat of mail, so that it will not fray. 33-34 The bottom edge of the ephod shall be embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates, alternated with gold bells. 35 Aaron shall wear the ephod whenever he goes in to minister to the Lord; the bells will tinkle as he goes in and out of the presence of the Lord in the Holy Place, so that he will not die.
36 “Next, make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, just as you would upon a seal, ‘Consecrated to Jehovah.’ 37-38 This plate is to be attached by means of a blue ribbon to the front of Aaron’s turban. In this way Aaron will be wearing it upon his forehead, and thus bear the guilt connected with any errors regarding the offerings of the people of Israel. It shall always be worn when he goes into the presence of the Lord, so that the people will be accepted and forgiven.
39 “Weave Aaron’s embroidered shirt from fine-twined linen, using a checkerboard pattern; make the turban, too, of this linen; and make him an embroidered sash.
40 “Then, for Aaron’s sons, make robes, sashes, and turbans to give them honor and respect. 41 Clothe Aaron and his sons with these garments, and then dedicate these men to their ministry by anointing their heads with olive oil, thus sanctifying them as the priests, my ministers. 42 Also make linen undershorts for them, to be worn beneath their robes next to their bodies, reaching from hips to knees. 43 These are to be worn whenever Aaron and his sons go into the Tabernacle or to the altar in the Holy Place, lest they be guilty and die. This is a permanent ordinance for Aaron and his sons.
Footnotes
- Exodus 28:4 ephod. Apparently a sort of sleeveless tunic reaching from the shoulders to below the knees.
- Exodus 28:30 Urim and Thummim. What they looked like has been lost in antiquity. They were perhaps two gemstones located in the breastplate of the High Priest. They were marked in some way and used by the High Priest to determine God’s yes or no on urgent matters.
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.