Making the Breastpiece

He(A) also made the embroidered[a] breastpiece with the same workmanship as the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. They made the breastpiece square and folded double, nine inches long and nine inches wide.[b] 10 They mounted four rows of gemstones[c] on it.

The first row was

a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald;[d]

11 the second row,

a turquoise,[e] a lapis lazuli, and a diamond;[f]

12 the third row,

a jacinth,[g] an agate, and an amethyst;

13 and the fourth row,

a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.

They were surrounded with gold filigree in their settings.

14 The twelve stones corresponded to the names of Israel’s sons. Each stone was engraved like a seal with one of the names of the twelve tribes.

15 They made braided chains of pure gold cord for the breastpiece. 16 They also fashioned two gold filigree settings and two gold rings and attached the two rings to its two corners. 17 Then they attached the two gold cords to the two gold rings on the corners of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the other ends of the two cords to the two filigree settings, and in this way they attached them to the ephod’s shoulder pieces in front. 19 They made two other gold rings and put them at the two other corners of the breastpiece on the edge that is next to the inner border of the ephod. 20 They made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the ephod’s two shoulder pieces on its front, close to its seam,[h] above the ephod’s woven waistband. 21 Then they tied the breastpiece from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece was above the ephod’s waistband and did not come loose from the ephod. They did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. 39:8 Or woven
  2. 39:9 Lit a span its length and a span its width
  3. 39:10 Many of these stones cannot be identified with certainty.
  4. 39:10 Or beryl
  5. 39:11 Or malachite, or garnet
  6. 39:11 Hb uncertain; LXX, Vg read jasper
  7. 39:12 Hb obscure
  8. 39:20 The place where the shoulder pieces join the front of the ephod

The Breast Piece

He made a breast piece, skillfully worked, like the work of the ephod: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen. They made the breast piece square when folded double: one span[a] in length and one span[b] in width when folded double. 10 They mounted on it four rows of stones. The first row was a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald; 11 the second row ruby,[c] sapphire, and crystal; 12 the third row jacinth, agate, and amethyst; 13 and the fourth row beryl, onyx, and jasper. They were set in gold filigree when they were mounted. 14 The stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve stones[d] corresponding to their names, with the engraving of a signet,[e] each with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

15 They made chains of pure gold twisted like cords for the breast piece. 16 They made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and they put the two rings on the two edges of the breast piece. 17 They put the two gold cords on the two gold rings at the edges of the breast piece, 18 and they attached the other two ends of the two cords to the filigree settings, and then attached them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod in front. 19 They made two gold rings and attached them to the two edges of the breast piece, on the side of it which is toward the inner side of the ephod. 20 They made two gold rings and attached them in front, on the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, close to the place where it’s joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 21 They tied the breast piece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord so it would rest on the skillfully woven band of the ephod and so the breast piece would not come loose from the ephod.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:9 I.e. about nine inches
  2. Exodus 39:9 I.e. about nine inches
  3. Exodus 39:11 Or turquoise
  4. Exodus 39:14 The Heb. lacks stones
  5. Exodus 39:14 I.e. A type of seal used to indicate ownership