Beginning

The Clothes for the Priests

28 “Have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites. His sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar must also be brought. They will serve me as priests. ² Make sacred clothes for your brother Aaron. When he is wearing them, people will honor him. They will have respect for him. ³ Speak to all the skilled workers. I have given them the skill to do this kind of work. Tell them to make clothes for Aaron. He will wear them when he is set apart to serve me as priest. ⁴ The workers must make a chest cloth, a linen apron and an outer robe. They must also make an inner robe, a turban and a belt. They must make sacred clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then they will serve me as priests. ⁵ Have the workers use thin gold wire, and blue, purple and bright red yarn, and fine linen.

The Linen Apron

⁶ “Make the linen apron out of thin gold wire, and out of blue, purple and bright red yarn, and out of finely twisted linen. Have a skilled worker make it. ⁷ It must have two shoulder straps joined to two of its corners. ⁸ Its skillfully made waistband must be like the apron. The waistband must be part of the apron itself. Make the waistband out of thin gold wire, and out of blue, purple and bright red yarn, and out of finely twisted linen.

⁹ “Get two onyx stones. Carve the names of the sons of Israel on them. ¹⁰ Arrange them in the order of their birth. Carve six names on one stone and six on the other. ¹¹ Carve the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a jewel cutter would carve them. Then put the stones in fancy gold settings. ¹² Connect them to the shoulder straps of the linen apron. The stones will stand for the sons of Israel. Aaron must carry the names on his shoulders as a constant reminder while he is serving the Lord. ¹³ Make fancy gold settings. ¹⁴ Make two braided chains out of pure gold. Make them like ropes. Join the chains to the settings.

The Chest Cloth

¹⁵ “Make a chest cloth that will be used for making decisions. Have a skilled worker make it. Make it like the linen apron. Use thin gold wire, and blue, purple and bright red yarn, and finely twisted linen. ¹⁶ Make it nine inches square. Fold it in half. ¹⁷ Put four rows of valuable jewels on it. Put carnelian, chrysolite and beryl in the first row. ¹⁸ Put turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald in the second row. ¹⁹ Put jacinth, agate and amethyst in the third row. ²⁰ And put topaz, onyx and jasper in the fourth row. Put them in fancy gold settings. ²¹ Use a total of 12 stones. Use one for each of the names of the sons of Israel. Each stone must be carved with the name of one of the 12 tribes.

²² “Make braided chains out of pure gold for the chest cloth. Make them like ropes. ²³ Make two gold rings for the chest cloth. Connect them to two corners of it. ²⁴ Join the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the chest cloth. ²⁵ Join the other ends of the chains to the two settings. Join them to the shoulder straps on the front of the linen apron. ²⁶ Make two gold rings. Connect them to the other two corners of the chest cloth. Put them on the inside edge next to the apron. ²⁷ Make two more gold rings. Connect them to the bottom of the shoulder straps on the front of the apron. Put them close to the seam. Put them right above the waistband of the apron. ²⁸ The rings of the chest cloth must be tied to the rings of the apron. Tie them to the waistband with blue cord. Then the chest cloth will not swing out from the linen apron.

²⁹ “When Aaron enters the Holy Room, he will carry the names of the sons of Israel over his heart. Their names will be on the chest cloth of decision. They will be a continuing reminder while he is serving the Lord. ³⁰ Also put the Urim and Thummim into the chest cloth. Then they will be over Aaron’s heart when he comes to serve the Lord. In that way, Aaron will always have what he needs to make decisions for the people of Israel. He will carry the Urim and Thummim over his heart while he is serving the Lord.

More Clothes for the Priests

³¹ “Make the outer robe of the linen apron completely out of blue cloth. ³² In the center of the robe, make an opening for the head of the priest. Make an edge like a collar around the opening. Then it will not tear. ³³ Make pomegranates out of blue, purple and bright red yarn. Sew them around the hem of the robe. Sew gold bells between them. ³⁴ Sew a gold bell between every two pomegranates all around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron must wear the robe when he serves as priest. The bells will jingle when he enters the Holy Room while he is serving the Lord. And they will jingle when he goes out. Then he will not die.

³⁶ “Make a plate out of pure gold. Carve words on it as if it were an official seal. Carve the words

Set Apart for the Lord.

³⁷ Tie the plate to the front of the turban with a blue cord. ³⁸ Aaron must wear this plate on his forehead all the time. He will be held responsible for all the sacred gifts the Israelites set apart. Then the Lord will accept the gifts.

³⁹ “Make the inner robe out of fine linen. And make the turban out of fine linen. The belt must be made by a person who sews skillfully. ⁴⁰ Make inner robes, belts and caps for Aaron’s sons. When they are wearing them, people will honor his sons. They will also have respect for them. ⁴¹ Put all these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons. Then pour olive oil on them and prepare them to serve me. Set them apart to serve me as priests.

⁴² “Make linen underwear that reaches from the waist to the thigh. ⁴³ Aaron and the priests in his family line must wear it when they enter the tent of meeting. They must also wear it when they approach the altar to serve in the Holy Room. Then they will not be found guilty and die.

“For all time to come, that will be a law for Aaron and the priests in his family line.

Directions for Setting Apart the Priests

29 “Here is what you must do to set apart Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Get a young bull and two rams. They must not have any flaws. ² Get the finest wheat flour. Make round loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Make thick loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Mix olive oil into the thick loaves of bread. Also make thin loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Brush the thin loaves with olive oil. ³ Put everything in a basket. Offer them along with the bull and the two rams. ⁴ Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting. Wash them with water. ⁵ Take the inner robe, the outer robe of the linen apron, the apron itself and the chest cloth. Dress Aaron in them. Take the skillfully made waistband and tie the apron on him with it. ⁶ Put the turban on his head. Connect the sacred plate to the turban. ⁷ Take the anointing oil and pour it on his head. ⁸ Bring his sons and dress them in their inner robes. ⁹ Put caps on their heads. Tie belts on Aaron and his sons. The work of the priests belongs to them. This is my law that will last for all time to come.

“Then you must prepare Aaron and his sons to serve me.

¹⁰ “Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on its head. ¹¹ Kill it in front of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹² Dip your finger into some of the bull’s blood. Put it on the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar. Pour the rest of it out at the base of the altar. ¹³ Then take all the fat on the inside parts. Take the long part of the liver. Get both kidneys with the fat on them. And burn all of it on the altar. ¹⁴ But burn the bull’s meat, hide and guts outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “Get one of the rams. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on its head. ¹⁶ Kill it. Take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Cut the ram into pieces. Wash the inside parts and the legs. Put them with the head and the other pieces. ¹⁸ Then burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to me. It has a pleasant smell. It is a food offering presented to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Get the other ram. Have Aaron and his sons place their hands on its head. ²⁰ Kill it. Put some of its blood on the right earlobes of Aaron and his sons. Put some on the thumbs of their right hands. Also put some on the big toes of their right feet. Then splash the blood against the sides of the altar. ²¹ Get some of the blood from the altar. Also get some of the anointing oil. Sprinkle both of them on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. Then he and his sons and their clothes will be set apart to serve the Lord.

²² “Here is what you must take from this second ram. Take the fat, the fat tail and the fat around the inside parts. Take the long part of the liver. Also take both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. It is the ram you must use when you prepare the priests to serve the Lord. ²³ Get one round loaf of bread and one thick loaf of bread with olive oil mixed in. Also get one thin loaf of bread. Take them from the basket of bread made without yeast. It is the one in front of the Lord. ²⁴ Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Tell them to lift them up and wave them in front of the Lord as a wave offering. ²⁵ Then take all these things from their hands. Burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. It is a food offering presented to the Lord. ²⁶ Get the breast of the ram used when you prepare Aaron to serve the Lord. Wave it in front of the Lord as a wave offering. It will be your share of the meat.

²⁷ “Here are the parts of the second ram that belong to Aaron and his sons. You must set apart the breast that was waved and the thigh that was offered. ²⁸ It will be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. The people must give it to the Lord from their friendship offerings.

²⁹ “Aaron’s sacred clothes will belong to his sons who will come after him. Then they can wear them when you anoint them and prepare them to serve the Lord. ³⁰ The son who comes after Aaron as priest must wear them seven days. He will come and serve in the Holy Room in the tent of meeting.

³¹ “Get the ram sacrificed when you prepare Aaron and his sons to serve the Lord. Cook the meat in a sacred place. ³² Aaron and his sons must eat the ram’s meat. And they must eat the bread in the basket. They must eat all of it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ³³ These are the offerings to pay for their sins. They must eat them. The offerings must be made when Aaron and his sons are set apart and prepared to serve the Lord. No one else can eat them. They are sacred. ³⁴ When you prepare Aaron and his sons to serve me, you will sacrifice the ram and the bread. If any parts of the ram or bread are left until morning, burn them up. They must not be eaten. They are sacred.

³⁵ “Do everything I have commanded you to do for Aaron and his sons. Take seven days when you prepare them to serve the Lord. ³⁶ Sacrifice a bull each day. It is a sin offering to pay for their sins. Make the altar pure. Pour olive oil on it to set it apart. ³⁷ Take seven days to make the altar pure. Set it apart. Then the altar will be a very holy place. Anything that touches it will be holy.

³⁸ “Every day sacrifice on the altar two lambs that are a year old. ³⁹ Sacrifice one in the morning and the other one when the sun goes down. ⁴⁰ Along with the first lamb, offer three and a half pounds of fine flour. Mix it with a quart of oil made from pressed olives. Along with that, sacrifice a quart of wine as a drink offering. ⁴¹ Sacrifice the other lamb when the sun goes down. Sacrifice it along with the same grain offering and its drink offering as you do in the morning. It has a pleasant smell. It is a food offering presented to the Lord.

⁴² “For all time to come, this burnt offering must be sacrificed regularly. Sacrifice it at the entrance to the tent of meeting in front of the Lord. There I will meet with you and speak to you. ⁴³ There I will also meet with the people of Israel. My glory will make the place holy.

⁴⁴ “So I will set apart the tent of meeting and the altar. And I will set apart Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. ⁴⁵ Then I will live among the people of Israel. And I will be their God. ⁴⁶ They will know that I am the Lord their God. They will know that I brought them out of Egypt so I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.