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The Chest Pouch

Bezalel made a folded pouch, the work of a skillful craftsman. He made it with the same workmanship as the vest. He made it of gold, and of blue, purple, and scarlet material and of fine woven linen. It was square, nine inches by nine inches when it was folded double.

10 They mounted on it four rows of precious stones. The first row was carnelian, diamond, and jacinth; 11 the second row agate, sapphire, and emerald; 12 the third row beryl, jasper, and ruby; 13 and the fourth row topaz, onyx, and turquoise.[a] The stones were mounted in gold settings. 14 There were twelve stones, corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel. Each one was like an engraved seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

15 They made braided chains of pure gold for the pouch. 16 They made two gold rings for the pouch and attached the two rings to the top corners of the pouch. 17 They put the two braided gold chains into the two rings at the top corners of the pouch. 18 The other ends of the two braided chains they attached to the two settings, and then attached them to the shoulder straps on the front of the vest. 19 They made two gold rings and put them on the two lower corners of the pouch, on its inside edge, which is toward the vest. 20 They made two more gold rings and attached them to the two shoulder straps of the vest in the front, close to the bottom where it is joined to the sash of the vest. 21 They tied the rings of the pouch to the rings of the vest with a blue cord, so that the pouch was kept right next to the woven sash of the vest and would not swing out from the vest—just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:13 The specific identification of these gems is uncertain, and translations vary widely. The translation uses names of recognizable modern gemstones, even if they might not have the same mineral makeup as the ancient stones. The Jewish commentator Ibn Ezra writes, “We have no way to identify what they are, having no tradition to rely on.”

And he made the breast piece, the work of a skilled craftsman, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple and crimson yarns, and finely twisted linen. It was squared; they made the breast piece doubled; its length was a span, and its width was a span when doubled. 10 And they filled it with four rows of stone; a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald was the first row; 11 and the second row was a malachite, a sapphire, and a moonstone; 12 and the third row was a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row was a turquoise, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set with gold filigree settings in their mountings. 14 And the stones were according to the names of the Israelites;[a] they were twelve according to their names, with seal engravings, each according to its name for the twelve tribes.

15 And they made on the breast piece braided chains, a work of pure gold ornamental cord. 16 And they made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and they put the two rings on the two edges of the breast piece. 17 And they put the two gold ornamental cords on the two rings on the edges of the breast piece. 18 And they put the two ends of the two ornamental cords on the two filigree settings, and they put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 19 And they made two gold rings, and they placed them on the two edges of the breast piece, on its lip that is on the other side[b] of the ephod, to the inside.[c] 20 And they made two gold rings and put them on the ephod’s two shoulder pieces below, at its front near its seam above the waistband of the ephod. 21 And they tied the breast piece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord so that the breast piece would be on the waistband of the ephod and not come loose from the ephod, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:14 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  2. Exodus 39:19 Literally “beyond”
  3. Exodus 39:19 Literally “houseward,” “to house,” meaning “inward”