Exodus 28:15-30
New English Translation
15 “You are to make a breastpiece for use in making decisions,[a] the work of an artistic designer; you are to make it in the same fashion as the ephod; you are to make it of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen. 16 It is to be square[b] when[c] doubled, nine inches[d] long and nine inches wide. 17 You are to set in it a setting for stones, four rows of stones, a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl—the first row; 18 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; 19 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper.[e] They are to be enclosed in gold in their filigree settings. 21 The stones are to be for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to the number of[f] their names. Each name according to the twelve tribes is to be like[g] the engravings of a seal.
22 “You are to make for the breastpiece braided chains like cords of pure gold, 23 and you are to make for the breastpiece two gold rings and attach[h] the two rings to the upper[i] two ends of the breastpiece. 24 You are to attach the two gold chains to the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece; 25 the other[j] two ends of the two chains you will attach to the two settings and then attach them[k] to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 26 You are to make two rings of gold and put them on the other[l] two ends of the breastpiece, on its edge that is on the inner side of the ephod. 27 You are to make two more[m] gold rings and attach 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. 28 They are to tie the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod by blue cord, so that it may be above the waistband of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece will not be loose from the ephod. 29 Aaron will bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of decision over his heart[n] when he goes into the Holy Place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.
30 “You are to put the Urim and the Thummim[o] into the breastpiece of decision; and they are to be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. Aaron is to bear the decisions[p] of the Israelites over his heart before the Lord continually.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 28:15 tn Heb “a breastpiece of decision” (חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט, khoshen mishpat; so NAB). The first word, rendered “breastpiece,” is of uncertain etymology. This item was made of material similar to the ephod. It had four rows of three gems on it, bearing the names of the tribes. In it were the urim and thummim. J. P. Hyatt refers to a similar object found in the Egyptian reliefs, including even the twisted gold chains used to hang it from the priest (Exodus [NCBC], 282).
- Exodus 28:16 tn Heb “four.”
- Exodus 28:16 tn “when” is added for clarification (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 375).
- Exodus 28:16 tn The word זֶרֶת (zeret) is half a cubit; it is often translated “span.”
- Exodus 28:20 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 375-76) points out that these are the same precious stones mentioned in Ezek 28:13 that were to be found in Eden, the garden of God. So the priest, when making atonement, was to wear the precious gems that were there and symbolized the garden of Eden when man was free from sin.
- Exodus 28:21 tn For clarity the words “the number of” have been supplied.
- Exodus 28:21 tn The phrase translated “the engravings of a seal” is an adverbial accusative of manner here.
- Exodus 28:23 tn Heb “give, put.”
- Exodus 28:23 tn Here “upper” has been supplied.
- Exodus 28:25 tn Here “the other” has been supplied.
- Exodus 28:25 tn Here “them” has been supplied.
- Exodus 28:26 tn Here “other” has been supplied.
- Exodus 28:27 tn Here “more” has been supplied.
- Exodus 28:29 sn So Aaron will have the names of the tribes on his shoulders (v. 12) which bear the weight and symbol of office (see Isa 9:6; 22:22), and over his heart (implying that they have a constant place in his thoughts [Deut 6:6]). Thus he was to enter the presence of God as the nation’s representative, ever mindful of the nation’s interests, and ever bringing the remembrance of it before God (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 306).
- Exodus 28:30 sn The Urim and the Thummim were two objects intended for determining the divine will. There is no clear evidence of their size or shape or the material of which they were made, but they seem to have been familiar items to Moses and the people. The best example of their use comes from 1 Sam 14:36-42. Some have suggested from the etymologies that they were light and dark objects respectively, perhaps stones or sticks or some other object. They seem to have fallen out of use after the Davidic period when the prophetic oracles became popular. It may be that the title “breastpiece of judgment” indicates that these objects were used for making “decisions” (J. P. Hyatt, Exodus [NCBC], 283-84). U. Cassuto has the most thorough treatment of the subject (Exodus, 378-82); he lists several very clear rules for their uses gathered from their instances in the Bible, including that they were a form of sacred lot, that priests or leaders of the people only could use them, and that they were used for discovering the divine will in areas that were beyond human knowledge.
- Exodus 28:30 tn Or “judgment” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). The term is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), the same word that describes the breastpiece that held the two objects. Here it is translated “decisions” since the Urim and Thummim contained in the breastpiece represented the means by which the Lord made decisions for the Israelites. The high priest bore the responsibility of discerning the divine will on matters of national importance.
Exodus 28:15-30
Common English Bible
Priest’s chest pendant used for making decisions
15 Make an embroidered chest pendant used for making decisions. Make it in the style of the vest, using gold, blue and purple and deep red yarns, and fine twisted linen. 16 It will be square and doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide. 17 Set in it four rows of gemstone settings. The first row will be a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald stones. 18 The second row will be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a moonstone. 19 The third row will be a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 20 The fourth row will be a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Their settings will be made of decorative gold. 21 There will be twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of Israel’s sons. They will be engraved like official seals, each with its name for the twelve tribes.
22 Make chains of pure gold twisted like cords for the chest pendant. 23 Make two gold rings for the chest pendant and attach the two rings to the two edges of the chest pendant. 24 Attach the two gold cords to the two rings at the edges of the chest pendant. 25 Then fasten the two ends of the cords to the two settings, which you should attach to the vest’s two front shoulder pieces. 26 Make two gold rings and attach them to the two ends of the chest pendant on its inside edge facing the vest. 27 Make two gold rings and fasten them on the front of the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the vest, at its seam just above the vest’s belt. 28 The chest pendant should be held in place by a blue cord binding its rings to the vest’s rings so that the chest pendant rests on the vest’s belt and won’t come loose from the vest. 29 In this way, Aaron will carry the names of Israel’s sons on the chest pendant for making decisions over his heart when he goes into the sanctuary as a reminder before the Lord at all times. 30 Put into the chest pendant used for making decisions the Urim and the Thummim, so they will be over Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence. In this way, Aaron will carry the means to make decisions for the Israelites over his heart when in the Lord’s presence at all times.
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