Beginning

Clothes for the Priests

28 “Tell your brother Aaron to come to you. His sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar must come with him. Separate them from the other Israelites. These men must serve as priests. ² Make holy clothes for your brother Aaron to give him honor and beauty. ³ Speak to all the people to whom I have given the ability to make clothes. Tell these skilled craftsmen to make the clothes for Aaron. Use these clothes to make him belong to me. Then he may serve me as a priest. ⁴ These are the clothes they must make: a chest covering, a holy vest, an outer robe, a woven inner robe, a turban and a cloth belt. The craftsmen must make these holy clothes. They are for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then Aaron and his sons may serve me as priests. ⁵ The craftsmen must use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.

The Holy Vest

⁶ “Use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen to make the holy vest. The craftsmen are to make this holy vest. ⁷ At each top corner of this holy vest there will be a pair of shoulder straps. These are to be tied together over each shoulder.

⁸ “The craftsmen will very carefully weave a belt on the holy vest. Make the belt with gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen.

⁹ “Take two onyx stones. Write the name of the 12 sons of Israel on these jewels. ¹⁰ Write 6 names on one stone and 6 names on the other stone. Write the names in order, from the oldest son to the youngest. ¹¹ Carve the names of the sons of Israel on these stones. Do this the same way a person carves words and designs on the seals. Put gold around the stones to hold them on the holy vest. ¹² Put the two stones on the two straps of the holy vest. These stones are reminders of the 12 sons of Israel. Aaron is to wear their names on his shoulders. They are before the Lord as reminders of the sons of Israel. ¹³ Make two gold pieces to hold the stones. ¹⁴ Then make two chains of pure gold. Twist them together like a rope. Attach the chains to the two gold pieces that hold the stones.

The Chest Covering

¹⁵ “Make a chest covering to help in making decisions. The craftsmen should make it as they made the holy vest. They must use gold and blue, purple and red thread, and fine linen. ¹⁶ The chest covering must be square. It should be nine inches long and nine inches wide. Fold it double to make a pocket. ¹⁷ Put four rows of beautiful gems on the chest covering. The first row of jewels must have a ruby, topaz and yellow quartz. ¹⁸ The second row must have turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald. ¹⁹ The third row must have a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row must have a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Put gold around these jewels to attach them to the chest covering. ²¹ There must be 12 jewels on the chest covering. That is 1 jewel for each of the names of the sons of Israel. Carve the name of one of the 12 tribes on each of the stones. Carve them as you would carve a seal.

²² “Make chains of pure gold for the chest covering. Twist them together like rope. ²³ Make two gold rings. Put them on the two upper corners of the chest covering. ²⁴ Attach the two gold chains to the two rings. These are at the upper corners of the chest covering. ²⁵ Attach the other ends of the two chains to the two gold pieces on the shoulder straps. This will tie the chains to the shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest.

²⁶ “Make two more gold rings. Put them at the two lower corners of the chest covering. Put them on the inside edge of the chest covering next to the holy vest. ²⁷ Make two more gold rings. Attach them to the bottom of the shoulder straps in the front of the holy vest. Put the gold rings close to the seam above the woven belt of the holy vest. ²⁸ Join the rings of the chest covering to the rings of the holy vest with blue ribbon. This will connect it to the woven belt. In this way the chest covering will not swing out from the holy vest.

²⁹ “When Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will wear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart. These names are on the chest covering that helps in making decisions. This will be a continual reminder before the Lord. ³⁰ And put the Urim and Thummim inside the chest covering. These things will be on Aaron’s heart when he goes before the Lord. They will help in making decisions for the Israelites. So Aaron will always carry them with him when he is before the Lord.

³¹ “Make the outer robe to be worn under the holy vest, using only blue cloth. ³² Make a hole in the center for Aaron’s head. And there must be a woven collar around the hole so it will not tear. ³³ Make balls like pomegranates of blue, purple and red thread. Hang these pomegranate balls around the bottom of the outer robe. And hang gold bells between them. ³⁴ So all around the bottom of the outer robe there should be a gold bell and a pomegranate ball, a gold bell and a pomegranate ball. ³⁵ Aaron must wear this robe when he serves as priest. The ringing of the bells will be heard. They will ring when he enters and leaves the Holy Place before the Lord. This way Aaron will not be killed.

³⁶ “Make a strip of pure gold. Carve these words on the gold strip as you would carve on a seal: ‘Holy to the Lord.’ ³⁷ Use blue ribbon to tie a strip of gold to the turban. Put it on the front of the turban. ³⁸ Aaron must wear this on his forehead. In this way, he will be blamed if anything is wrong with the gifts of the Israelites. Aaron must always wear this on his head so the Lord will accept the gifts of the people.

³⁹ “Make the woven inner robe of fine linen. Make the turban of fine linen, also. Make the cloth belt with designs sewn on it. ⁴⁰ Also make woven inner robes, cloth belts and headbands for Aaron’s sons. This will give them honor and beauty. ⁴¹ Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons. Then pour olive oil on their heads to appoint them as priests. Make them belong to me so they may serve me as priests.

⁴² “Make for them linen underclothes to cover them from the waist to the upper parts of the legs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons must wear these underclothes when they enter the Meeting Tent. And they must wear these clothes anytime they come near the altar to serve as priests in the Holy Place. If they do not wear these clothes, they will be guilty of wrong. And they will be killed. This will be a law that will last from now on for Aaron and all his descendants.

Appointing the Priests

29 “This is what you must do to appoint Aaron and his sons. Then they may serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two male sheep that have nothing wrong with them. ² Use fine wheat flour without yeast to make bread and cakes mixed with olive oil. Also use wheat flour without yeast to make wafers brushed with olive oil. ³ Put these in one basket. Bring them in the basket along with the bull and two male sheep. ⁴ Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Then wash them with water. ⁵ Take the clothes. Dress Aaron in the inner robe and the outer robe of the holy vest. Then put on him the holy vest and the chest covering. Then tie the holy vest on him with its skillfully woven belt. ⁶ Put the turban on his head. Put the holy crown, the strip of gold, on the turban. ⁷ Take the special olive oil and pour it on his head to make him a priest.

⁸ “Then bring his sons and put the inner robes on them. ⁹ Put the headbands on their heads. Then tie cloth belts around their waists. Aaron and his descendants will be priests in Israel. This is by a rule that will continue from now on. This is how you will appoint Aaron and his sons as priests.

¹⁰ “Bring the bull to the front of the Meeting Tent. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on the bull’s head. ¹¹ Then kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ¹² Take some of the bull’s blood and go to the altar. Use your finger to put some blood on the corners of the altar. Pour the blood that is left at the bottom of the altar. ¹³ Then take all the fat that covers the inner organs. Take the best part of the liver, and take both kidneys and the fat around them. Burn these on the altar. ¹⁴ Take the bull’s meat, skin and intestines. Burn these things outside the camp. This is an offering to take away sin.

¹⁵ “Take one of the male sheep. Have Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ¹⁶ Then kill that male sheep. Take its blood and sprinkle it on all four sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Then cut the male sheep into pieces. Wash its inner organs and its legs. Put them with its head and its other pieces. ¹⁸ Burn the whole male sheep on the altar. It is a burnt offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Take the other male sheep. Have Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ²⁰ Kill that male sheep and take some of its blood. Put it on the bottom of the right ears of Aaron and his sons. Also put it on the thumbs of their right hands. And put it on the big toes of their right feet. Then sprinkle the rest of the blood against all four sides of the altar. ²¹ Then take some of the blood from the altar. Mix it with the special oil used in appointing priests. Sprinkle this on Aaron and his clothes. And sprinkle this on his sons and their clothes. This will show that Aaron and his sons and their clothes are given to my service.

²² “Then take the fat from the male sheep. Take the fat tail and the fat that covers the inner organs. Take the best part of the liver. Take both kidneys and the fat around them and the right thigh. This is the male sheep to be used in appointing priests.

²³ “Then take the basket of bread that you made without yeast. This is the basket you put before the Lord. From it take a loaf of bread, a cake made with olive oil and a wafer. ²⁴ Put these in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Tell them to present these things in their hands before the Lord. This will be an offering presented to the Lord. ²⁵ Then take them from their hands. Burn them on the altar with the whole burnt offering. This is an offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord. ²⁶ Then take the breast of the male sheep used to appoint Aaron as priest. Present the breast of the male sheep before the Lord. It is an offering presented to the Lord. This part of the animal will be your share. ²⁷ Then give to the service of the Lord the parts of the male sheep used to appoint them as priests. They belong to Aaron and his sons. They are the breast and the right thigh. These were presented to the Lord. ²⁸ This is to be the regular share which the Israelites will always give to Aaron and his sons. This is the gift the Israelites must give to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.

²⁹ “The holy clothes made for Aaron will belong to his descendants. They must wear these clothes when they are appointed as priests. ³⁰ Aaron’s son will become high priest after Aaron. He will come to the Meeting Tent to serve in the Holy Place. He is to wear these clothes for seven days.

³¹ “Take the male sheep used to appoint priests. Boil its meat in a place made holy for serving me. ³² Then Aaron and his sons must eat the meat of the male sheep. They must do that at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. And they must also eat the bread that is in the basket. ³³ These offerings were used to remove their sins when they were made priests so they would belong to God. Now they should eat these offerings. But no one else is to eat these things because they are holy. ³⁴ If any of the meat from that male sheep or any of the bread is left the next morning, it must be burned. It shall not be eaten because it is holy.

³⁵ “Do all these things that I commanded you to do to Aaron and his sons. You are to spend seven days appointing them. ³⁶ Each day for seven days you are to offer a bull. This will remove the sins of Aaron and his sons so they will be given for service to the Lord. Make the altar ready for service to the Lord. Pour oil on it to make it holy. ³⁷ Spend seven days making the altar ready for service to God and making it holy. Then the altar will become very holy. Anything that touches it must be holy.

The Daily Sacrifices

³⁸ “Every day from now on, offer on the altar two lambs that are one year old. ³⁹ Offer one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening. ⁴⁰ In the morning, when you offer the first lamb, offer also two quarts of fine flour. Mix it with one quart of oil from pressed olives. Pour out a quart of wine as a drink offering. ⁴¹ Offer the second lamb in the evening. Also offer the same grain offering and drink offering as you did in the morning. This is an offering by fire to the Lord. And its smell is pleasing to the Lord.

⁴² “You must burn these things as an offering to the Lord every day. Do this at the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord from now on. When you make the offering, I, the Lord, will meet you there and speak to you. ⁴³ I will meet with the people of Israel there. And that place will be holy because of my greatness.

⁴⁴ “So I will make the Meeting Tent and the altar holy. And I will make Aaron and his sons holy so they may serve me as priests. ⁴⁵ I will live with the people of Israel. I will be their God. ⁴⁶ And they will know that I am the Lord their God. They will know that I am the one who led them out of Egypt. I did this so I could live with them. I am the Lord their God.