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The Breastpiece of Decision

He made the breastpiece, the work of an artistic designer, in the same fashion as the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine twisted linen. It was square—they made the breastpiece doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide when doubled. 10 They set on it[a] four rows of stones: a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl—the first row; 11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold filigree settings. 14 The stones were for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, corresponding to the number of[b] their names. Each name corresponding to one of the twelve tribes was like the engravings of a seal.

15 They made for the breastpiece braided chains like cords of pure gold, 16 and they made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and they attached the two rings to the upper[c] two ends of the breastpiece. 17 They attached the two gold chains to the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece; 18 the other[d] two ends of the two chains they attached to the two settings, and they attached them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 19 They made two rings of gold and put them on the other[e] two ends of the breastpiece on its edge, which is on the inner side of the ephod.[f] 20 They made two more[g] gold rings and attached 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. 21 They tied the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod by blue cord, so that it was above the waistband of the ephod, so that the breastpiece would not be loose from the ephod, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:10 tn That is, they set in mountings.
  2. Exodus 39:14 tn The phrase “the number of” has been supplied.
  3. Exodus 39:16 tn Here “upper” has been supplied.
  4. Exodus 39:18 tn Here “other” has been supplied.
  5. Exodus 39:19 tn Here “other” has been supplied.
  6. Exodus 39:19 tn Heb “homeward side.”
  7. Exodus 39:20 tn Here “more” has been supplied.

Making the Chestpiece

Bezalel made the chestpiece with great skill and care. He made it to match the ephod, using finely woven linen embroidered with gold and with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. He made the chestpiece of a single piece of cloth folded to form a pouch nine inches[a] square. 10 They mounted four rows of gemstones[b] on it. The first row contained a red carnelian, a pale-green peridot, and an emerald. 11 The second row contained a turquoise, a blue lapis lazuli, and a white moonstone. 12 The third row contained an orange jacinth, an agate, and a purple amethyst. 13 The fourth row contained a blue-green beryl, an onyx, and a green jasper. All these stones were set in gold filigree. 14 Each stone represented one of the twelve sons of Israel, and the name of that tribe was engraved on it like a seal.

15 To attach the chestpiece to the ephod, they made braided cords of pure gold thread. 16 They also made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings and attached them to the top corners of the chestpiece. 17 They tied the two gold cords to the rings on the chestpiece. 18 They tied the other ends of the cords to the gold settings on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the inside edges of the chestpiece next to the ephod. 20 Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the front of the ephod, below the shoulder-pieces, just above the knot where the decorative sash was fastened to the ephod. 21 They attached the bottom rings of the chestpiece to the rings on the ephod with blue cords. In this way, the chestpiece was held securely to the ephod above the decorative sash. All this was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. 39:9 Hebrew 1 span [23 centimeters].
  2. 39:10 The identification of some of these gemstones is uncertain.