Chronological

The Garments for the Priests

28 “You are to bring your brother Aaron, along with his sons, from among the Israelis so they can serve as priests for me: that is, Aaron and his sons^[a] Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ² You are to make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for dignity and beauty. ³ You are to speak to all who are skilled,^[b] whom I’ve endowed^[c] with talent,^[d] that they should make Aaron’s garments for consecrating him to serve me as priest. ⁴ These are the garments that they are to make: a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for Aaron your brother and for his sons to serve me as priests. ⁵ They are to use^[e] gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, as well as fine linen.”

The Ephod

⁶ “They are to make the ephod from gold, along with blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine woven linen, all of it^[f] skillfully worked. ⁷ It is to have two shoulder-pieces attached to its two edges so it can be joined together. ⁸ The skillfully woven band that is on it is to be made like it, that is, of one piece with it, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and fine woven linen. ⁹ You are to take two onyx stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them, ¹⁰ six of their names on one stone, and the six remaining names on the other stone. Engrave them^[g] according to their order of birth. ¹¹ With work like a jeweler engraves on a signet,^[h] you are to inscribe the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel, and you are to mount them in settings of gold filigree. ¹² You are to put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance representing the sons of Israel, and Aaron is to carry their names into the Lord’s presence on his two shoulders as a memorial. ¹³ You are to make settings of gold filigree, ¹⁴ and you are to make two chains of pure gold twisted like cords, and then fasten the twisted chains to the filigree settings.”

The Breast Piece

¹⁵ “You are to make a breast piece to be worn by the high priest when he makes legal decisions.^[i] It is to be skillfully worked, made like the work of the ephod from gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material, and from fine woven linen. ¹⁶ It is to be square when folded double, one hand span^[j] long and one hand span wide.^{[k] 17} You are to mount on it a setting for four rows of stones. The first row is to contain carnelian,^[l] topaz, and emerald; ¹⁸ the second row ruby,^[m] sapphire, and crystal; ¹⁹ the third row jacinth, agate, and amethyst; ²⁰ the fourth row beryl, onyx, and jasper, and they are to be set in gold filigree. ²¹ The stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve stones^[n] corresponding to their names. They are to be engraved like a signet,^[o] each with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

²² “You are to make chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, for the breast piece. ²³ You are to make two gold rings for the breast piece, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breast piece. ²⁴ You are to put the two gold cords on the two gold rings at the edges of the breast piece, ²⁵ and you are to attach the other two ends of the two cords to the filigree settings and attach them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod in front.

²⁶ “You are to make two gold rings and attach them to the two edges of the breast piece, on the side of it that is toward the inner side of the ephod. ²⁷ You are to make two gold rings and attach them in front on the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod close to the place where it’s joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸ They are to fasten the rings on the breast piece to the rings on the ephod with a blue cord so it will rest^[p] on the skillfully woven band of the ephod and so the breast piece won’t come loose from the ephod.

²⁹ “Aaron is to carry the names of Israel’s sons on his heart on the breast piece to be worn by the high priest when he makes legal decisions,^[q] that is, whenever he goes into the Holy Place in order to remember them continuously in the Lord’s presence. ³⁰ You are to put the Urim and Thummim^[r] into the breast piece of judgment, and they are to be on Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence. He is to carry the breast piece of decision^[s] that depicts Israel’s sons^[t] on his heart in the Lord’s presence continuously.”

Other Garments for the Priests

³¹ “You are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue. ³² There is to be an opening at its top, in the middle, with a woven binding around the opening like the opening of a coat of mail so that it cannot be torn. ³³ On its hem you are to make blue and purple and scarlet pomegranates, all around the skirt, with gold bells between them all the way^[u] around. ³⁴ You are to have a gold bell and a pomegranate, then^[v] a gold bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe all the way^[w] around it. ³⁵ Aaron is to wear the robe when he ministers^[x] so its sound may be heard when he enters and leaves the Holy Place in the Lord’s presence, so that he won’t die.

³⁶ “You are to make a medallion^[y] of pure gold, and engrave on it ‘Holy to the Lord,’ like the engravings of a signet. ³⁷ You are to put it on a blue cord and place it on the turban. It is to be on the front of the turban ³⁸ and worn on Aaron’s forehead in order to take away any guilt contained in the holy things which the Israelis consecrate as holy gifts. It is to remain on his forehead continuously, so they may be accepted in the Lord’s presence.

³⁹ “You are to weave the checkered tunic of fine linen, you are to make a turban of fine linen, and you are to make an embroidered sash. ⁴⁰ “You are to make tunics for the sons of Aaron, you are to make sashes for them, and you are to make head coverings for them for dignity and beauty. ⁴¹ You are to put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and you are to anoint them, ordain them,^[z] and consecrate them to serve as my priests.

⁴² “You are to make linen undergarments for them to cover their naked flesh, and they are to reach^[aa] from the loins to the thighs. ⁴³ They are to be on Aaron and his sons when they enter the Tent of Meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place so they don’t incur guilt and die. This is to be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants^[ab] after him.”

The Consecration of the Priests

29 “This is what you are to do to them in order to consecrate them to serve me as priests: Take a young bull, two rams without blemish, ² unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread^[ac] with oil, which you are to make from fine wheat flour. ³ You are to put them^[ad] in one basket and bring them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. ⁴ You are to bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, and wash them with water. ⁵ Take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breast piece, and then gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ⁶ Then put the turban on his head, and place the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ You are to take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. ⁸ Then you are to bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. ⁹ You are to gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and tie headdresses on them. The priesthood is to belong to them by perpetual ordinance, and you are to ordain^[ae] Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ “You are to bring the bull in front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ Then you are to slaughter the bull in the Lord’s presence at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ¹² Take some of the blood of the bull, put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest^[af] of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹³ You are to take all the fat that covers the entrails, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them and send them up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁴ You are to burn the flesh of the bull, its hide, and its refuse with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “You are to take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on its^[ag] head. ¹⁶ Then you are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and scatter it around the altar. ¹⁷ You are to cut the ram into pieces,^[ah] wash its entrails and legs, put them on the altar along^[ai] with the pieces^[aj] and its head, ¹⁸ and send up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord; it’s a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

¹⁹ “You are to take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the head of the ram. ²⁰ You are to slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, the lobe of his sons’ right ears, the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet. Then you are to scatter the rest of the blood around the altar. ²¹ You are to take some of the blood which is on the altar, along with some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and their^[ak] garments. He is to be consecrated with his garments, along with his sons and their garments.

²² “You are to take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, the right thigh (for it’s a ram of ordination), ²³ and one loaf of bread, one cake of bread mixed with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is in the Lord’s presence. ²⁴ You are to put all of these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and present them as a wave offering in the Lord’s presence. ²⁵ Then you are to take them from their hands and send them up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering for a soothing aroma in the Lord’s presence. It is an offering by fire to the Lord.

²⁶ “You are to take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination, and present it as a wave offering in the Lord’s presence, and it is to be your portion. ²⁷ You are to consecrate the portion of the ram of ordination that belongs to Aaron and his sons:^[al] the breast of the wave offering that was waved and the thigh of the presented offering that was presented.^{[am] 28} These offerings^[an] from the Israelis are to be a perpetual ordinance for Aaron and his sons. They are presented offerings, and they are to be presented offerings from the Israelis out of their peace offerings. They are presented offerings to the Lord.

²⁹ “The holy garments of Aaron are to be for his sons after him^[ao] so that they may be anointed in them and ordained in them. ³⁰ Aaron’s son, who is priest in his place, is to wear them for seven days when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

³¹ “You are to take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a Holy Place. ³² Then Aaron and his sons are to eat the flesh of the ram along with the bread that is in the basket at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ³³ They are to eat these things by which atonement was made at their ordination to consecrate them, but an unqualified person^[ap] is not to eat because these things are holy. ³⁴ If any of the flesh of the ordination ram^[aq] or any of the bread is left until morning, you are to burn what is left with fire. Because it’s holy, what remains is not to be eaten. ³⁵ You are to do this for Aaron and his sons, just as I’ve commanded you. You are to ordain them for seven days, ³⁶ and every day you are to offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Offer the sin offering on the altar when you make atonement for it and anoint the altar to consecrate it. ³⁷ You are to make atonement for the altar for seven days and consecrate it. It will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.”

The Altar for Burnt Offering^(A)

³⁸ “This is what you are to offer on the altar continually: two one year old lambs each day. ³⁹ “You are to offer one lamb in the morning and the other^[ar] at twilight, ⁴⁰ and there is to be a tenth measure of choice flour mixed with one fourth of a hin^[as] of oil extracted by hand,^[at] and one fourth of a hin^[au] of wine as a drink offering for one lamb. ⁴¹ You are to offer the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning. You are to offer it as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁴² It is to be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway to the Tent of Meeting in the Lord’s presence, where I’ll meet with you to speak to you there. ⁴³ I’ll meet there with the Israelis, and it is to be consecrated by my glory. ⁴⁴ I’ll consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I’ll consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve as my priests. ⁴⁵ I’ll live among the Israelis, and I’ll be their God. ⁴⁶ They are to know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I may live among them. I am the Lord your God.”