You shall bring forward your brother Aaron, with his sons, from among the Israelites, to serve Me as priests: Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron.
Make sacral vestments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and adornment.
Next you shall instruct all who are aLit. “wise of heart, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom.”skillful, whom I have endowed with the gift of skill,-a to make Aaron’s vestments, for consecrating him to serve Me as priest.
These are the vestments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a fringedbOthers “checkered.” tunic, a headdress, and a sash. They shall make those sacral vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons, for priestly service to Me;
they, therefore, shall receive the gold, the blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and the fine linen.
They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen, worked into designs.
It shall have two shoulder-pieces attached; they shall be attached at its two ends.
And the decorated band that is upon it shall be made like it, of one piece with it: of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen.
Then take two lazuli stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:
six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth.
On the two stones you shall make seal engravings—the work of a lapidary—of the names of the sons of Israel. Having bordered them with frames of gold,
attach the two stones to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, as stones for remembrance of the Israelite people, whose names Aaron shall carry upon his two shoulder-pieces for remembrance before the LORD.
Then make frames of gold
and two chains of pure gold; braid these like corded work, and fasten the corded chains to the frames.
You shall make a breastpiece of decision,cSee v. 30 below; others “judgment.” worked into a design; make it in the style of the ephod: make it of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen.
It shall be square and doubled, a span in length and a span in width.
Set in it mounted stones, in four rows of stones. The first row shall be a row of dThe identity of several of these twelve stones is uncertain.carnelian, chrysolite, and emerald;
the second row: a turquoise, a sapphire, and an amethyst;
the third row: a jacinth, an agate, and a crystal;
and the fourth row: a beryl, a lapis lazuli, and a jasper. They shall be framed with gold in their mountings.
The stones shall correspond [in number] to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, corresponding to their names. They shall be engraved like seals, each with its name, for the twelve tribes.
On the breastpiece make braided chains of corded work in pure gold.
Make two rings of gold on the breastpiece, and fasten the two rings at the two ends of the breastpiece,
attaching the two golden cords to the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece.
Then fasten the two ends of the cords to the two frames, which you shall attach to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, at the front.
Make two rings of gold and attach them to the two ends of the breastpiece, at its inner edge, which faces the ephod.
And make two other rings of gold and fasten them on the front of the ephod, low on the two shoulder-pieces, close to its seam above the decorated band.
The breastpiece shall be held in place by a cord of blue from its rings to the rings of the ephod, so that the breastpiece rests on the decorated band and does not come loose from the ephod.
Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel on the breastpiece of decision over his heart, when he enters the sanctuary, for remembrance before the LORD at all times.
Inside the breastpiece of decision you shall place the Urim and Thummim,eMeaning of these two words uncertain. They designate a kind of oracle; cf. Num. 27.21. so that they are over Aaron’s heart when he comes before the LORD. Thus Aaron shall carry the instrument of decision for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD at all times.
You shall make the robe of the ephod of pure blue.fOthers “all of blue.”
The opening for the head shall be in the middle of it; the opening shall have a binding of woven work round about—it shall be like the opening of a coat of mail—so that it does not tear.
On its hem make pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, all around the hem, with bells of gold between them all around:
a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe.
Aaron shall wear it while officiating, so that the sound of it is heard when he comes into the sanctuary before the LORD and when he goes out—that he may not die.
You shall make a frontlet of pure gold and engrave on it the seal inscription: “Holy to the LORD.”
Suspend it on a cord of blue, so that it may remain on the headdress; it shall remain on the front of the headdress.
It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may take away any sin arising from the holy things that the Israelites consecrate, from any of their sacred donations; it shall be on his forehead at all times, to win acceptance for them before the LORD.
You shall make the fringed tunic of fine linen.
You shall make the headdress of fine linen.
You shall make the sash of embroidered work.
And for Aaron’s sons also you shall make tunics, and make sashes for them, and make turbans for them, for dignity and adornment.
Put these on your brother Aaron and on his sons as well; anoint them, and ordain themgLit. “and fill their hands.” and consecrate them to serve Me as priests.
You shall also make for them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; they shall extend from the hips to the thighs.
They shall be worn by Aaron and his sons when they enter the Tent of Meeting or when they approach the altar to officiate in the sanctuary, so that they do not incur punishment and die. It shall be a law for all time for him and for his offspring to come.
