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

And (A)he made the breastpiece, the work of a skilled embroiderer, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold and of violet, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. It was square; they made the breastpiece folded double, a [a]span [b]long and a span [c]wide when folded double. 10 And they [d]mounted four rows of stones on it. The first row was a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; 11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set in gold filigree settings when they were [e]mounted. 14 The stones corresponded to the names of the sons of Israel; they were twelve, corresponding to their names, engraved with the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made for the breastpiece chains like cords, work of twisted cords of pure gold. 16 They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. 17 Then they put the two gold cords in the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. 18 And they put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 19 They made two gold rings and placed them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inner edge which was next to the ephod. 20 Furthermore, they made two gold rings and placed them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it, close to the place where it joined, above the woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a violet cord, so that it would be on the woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:9 About 9 in. or 23 cm
  2. Exodus 39:9 Lit its length
  3. Exodus 39:9 Lit its width
  4. Exodus 39:10 Lit filled
  5. Exodus 39:13 Lit filled