Beginning

Chapter 28

The Priestly Vestments. ¹ “Have Aaron, your brother, and his sons approach you. Take them from among the children of Israel to be your priests: Aaron and Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, his sons. ² You shall make sacred vestments for Aaron, your brother, for glory and beauty. ³ Speak to all the most expert artisans, those to whom I have given a spirit of wisdom, and they shall prepare vestments for Aaron, for his consecration, so that he might exercise his priesthood in my honor.

⁴ “These are the vestments that they shall make: the breastplate and the ephod,^[a] a robe, a checkered colored coat, a turban, and a sash. They will make sacred vestments for Aaron your brother and for his sons so that they may exercise their priesthood in my honor. ⁵ They must use gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and linen.

The Ephod. ⁶ “They shall make the ephod with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine linen, the work of skillful craftsmen. ⁷ It will have two shoulder pieces attached to its two ends so that it may be joined together. ⁸ The skillfully woven band to bind it together shall be placed over it and be of the same quality and materials: blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen.

⁹ “Take two pieces of onyx and engrave the names of the children of Israel on them. ¹⁰ Put six of their names on the first stone, and the other six names on the second piece, written in order of their birth. ¹¹ Engrave the names of the children of Israel on the two stones as an engraver engraves a signet ring. Insert them into settings of gold filigree. ¹² Set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the children of Israel. Thus, Aaron shall carry the names upon his shoulders^[b] before the Lord, as a memorial. ¹³ Also make settings of gold filigree ¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold that are twisted like cords. Then attach the chains to the settings.

¹⁵ The Breastplate.“You shall make a breastplate of judgment with skilled craftsmanship, the same as was used on the ephod. Make it of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen. ¹⁶ It is to be square and doubled over, a span in length and a span in width. ¹⁷ Then cover it with settings of precious stones arranged in four rows. The first row shall have a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald. ¹⁸ The second row shall have a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond. ¹⁹ The third row shall have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row shall have a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. ²¹ The stones shall correspond to the names of the children of Israel. There are to be twelve, standing for their names, each with engravings like that of a signet ring, each of them corresponding to a name of one of the twelve tribes.

²² “On the breastplate make chains of pure gold in the shape of twisted cords. ²³ On the breastplate also make two golden rings and place the two rings at the edges of the breastplate.

²⁴ “Attach the two golden chains to the two golden rings on the edges of the breastplate. ²⁵ As for the two other ends of the chains, attach them to two filigree settings and fasten them to the front part of the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ²⁶ Make two golden rings and place them at the two edges of the breastplate, on the inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷ Make another two golden rings and place them on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at their bottom on the front side, next to the place where it is attached to the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸ Tie the rings of the breastplate to the rings on the ephod with a cord of blue material so that it may lie upon the skillfully woven band of the ephod and so that the breastplate may not pull away from the ephod.

²⁹ “Thus Aaron shall carry the names of the children of Israel over his heart on the breastplate of judgment whenever he enters the sanctuary. This will serve as a memorial before the Lord forever. ³⁰ Put the Urim and the Thummim inside the breastplate of judgment so that they will be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters into the presence of the Lord.^[c] Aaron will forever bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart whenever he enters into the presence of the Lord.

³¹ Other Priestly Vestments.“Make the robe for the ephod all in blue ³² with an opening in the middle for the head, with a woven border around the opening, like the opening of a garment, so that it may not be torn. ³³ On its hem you shall design pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet cloth, and fine twisted linen, all around its hem, with bells of gold between them ³⁴ so that there shall be a golden bell^[d] and a pomegranate alternating all around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron must wear it when he ministers as priest, and one will hear the sound it makes when he enters the sanctuary, into the presence of the Lord, and when he leaves it, lest he die.

³⁶ “You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave ‘Holy to the Lord’ on it as one engraves a signet ring. ³⁷ Attach it with a blue cord to the front part of the turban. ³⁸ It will be on Aaron’s forehead, so that Aaron may carry the weight of whatever guilt the children of Israel may incur in the holy things, when they consecrate their holy offerings. He will always wear it on his forehead so that they may be pleasing to the Lord.

³⁹ “Weave the checkered tunic of fine linen and make a turban of fine linen and a sash embroidered with needlework. ⁴⁰ Make tunics and sashes for the sons of Aaron as well as caps for them to give them honor and renown. ⁴¹ Put these garments on Aaron, your brother, and his sons. Then anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests in my honor.

⁴² “Make linen undergarments to cover their nakedness. They must reach from their hips to their thighs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons will put them on whenever they enter into the meeting tent or when they approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, so that they may not incur guilt and die. This shall be a perpetual statute for him and his offspring forever.

Chapter 29

Consecration of the Priests. ¹ “You shall observe this rite to consecrate them as my priests: Take a bull and two rams without defect, ² and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers with oil spread on them. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. ³ Put them in one basket and bring them and offer them together with the young bull and the two rams.

⁴ “Then have Aaron and his sons approach the entrance to the meeting tent and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the garments and clothe Aaron in the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate. Wrap the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him. ⁶ Place the turban on his head and put the holy crown over the turban. ⁷ Then pour the anointing oil on his head and anoint him.

⁸ “As for his sons, make them draw near and clothe them in their tunics, ⁹ wrap their sashes around them, and tie their caps on them. They will participate in the priesthood by an eternal statute. This is how you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ The Offering of the Sacrifices.“Then have the young bull brought in front of the meeting tent. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. ¹¹ Kill the bull before the Lord, at the entrance to the meeting tent. ¹² Take part of its blood and with a finger put it on the horns of the altar. The rest of the blood shall be poured out at the base of the altar.

¹³ “Take the fat that surrounds its entrails, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that surrounds them, and burn them as a sacrifice on the altar. ¹⁴ But the meat of the bull, its skin and its dung, you must burn outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “Then take one of the rams. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. ¹⁶ Kill the ram and gather its blood and pour it around the altar. ¹⁷ Cut the ram into pieces. Wash the entrails and the legs and put them with the pieces and the head. ¹⁸ Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a pleasing fragrance^[e] to the Lord, a burnt offering to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Take the second ram. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head, ²⁰ and you shall kill it. Take part of its blood and place it on the right ear lobe of Aaron and the right ear lobes of his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then pour out the blood around the altar. ²¹ Take some of the blood on the altar and some anointing oil and sprinkle Aaron and his vestments, the sons of Aaron and their vestments. Thus, he shall be consecrated with his vestments together with his sons and their vestments.

²² “Take the fat of the ram: the tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh, for it is a ram of consecration. ²³ Also take a round loaf of bread, a cake of bread mixed with oil, and an unleavened wafer from the basket of unleavened breads placed before the altar. ²⁴ Put all of it into the hands of Aaron and the hands of his sons. They shall wave it as an offering before the Lord.^{[f] 25} Take everything from their hands and burn it on the altar. It shall be a pleasant fragrance to the Lord, a burnt offering to the Lord.

²⁶ “Take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration and wave it as an offering before the Lord. It shall be your portion. ²⁷ Consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the offering and wave it. It is offered from the ram of the consecration, and it is for Aaron and his sons. ²⁸ It is to belong to Aaron and his sons as the portion reserved to them. This shall be an eternal statute for the children of Israel. It will be the priests’ portion to be offered by the children of Israel from their peace offerings, an offering unto the Lord.

²⁹ The Transmission of the Sacred Vestments.“The sacred vestments of Aaron shall belong to his sons after him. They shall be anointed and consecrated in them. ³⁰ Those descendants of Aaron who succeed him in the priesthood and who enter into the meeting tent to minister in the sanctuary shall wear these vestments for seven days.

³¹ The Sacred Food of the Priests.“Take the ram of consecration and cook its meat in a holy place. ³² At the entrance to the meeting tent, Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread of the basket. ³³ They shall eat those things with which atonement was obtained. No outsider can eat them, for they are holy things. ³⁴ If any of the meat of consecration or the bread is left over in the morning, you shall burn whatever is left over with fire; it shall not be eaten, for it is holy. ³⁵ Do to Aaron and to his sons what I have commanded you to do. For seven days you shall consecrate them.

³⁶ The Consecrated Altar and the Daily Sacrifice.“For each of seven days you shall offer a young bull as a sin offering for atonement. You shall also make a sin offering for the atonement for the altar, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. ³⁷ For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. It shall thus become a most holy thing, and whatever touches the altar will become holy.^[g]

³⁸ “Now this is what you shall offer up on the altar every day and forever: two lambs, a year old. ³⁹ You shall offer one of these lambs in the morning and the second lamb in the evening. ⁴⁰ With the first lamb you shall offer a tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of olive oil and a fourth of a hin of wine as a libation. ⁴¹ Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same offering and libation as in the morning. It will be a pleasant fragrance to the Lord, a burnt offering to the Lord.

⁴² “It shall be a perpetual burnt offering throughout all your generations at the entrance to the meeting tent, in the presence of the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you.

⁴³ “I will meet with the children of Israel in this place that will be consecrated to my glory. ⁴⁴ I will consecrate the meeting tent and the altar. I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to be my priests. ⁴⁵ I will live in the midst of the children of Israel and I will be their God. ⁴⁶ They shall know that I am the Lord, their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I, the Lord, their God, might live in their midst.