Exodus 28

Modern

Literal

Garments for the Priests

¹“Next, have your brother Aaron brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to serve Me as priests.

¹“ And you, bring near to you Aaron your brother and his sons with him from the midst of the sons of Israel, that he may minister as priest to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron.

²Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, to give him glory and splendor.

²And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

³You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make garments for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest.

³And you shall speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aaron to sanctify him, that he may minister as priest to Me.

⁴These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make these holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may serve Me as priests.

⁴And these are the garments that they shall make: A breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. And they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and for his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me.

⁵They shall use gold, along with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

⁵And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet yarn, and the fine linen.

The Ephod

⁶They are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn.

⁶And they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely woven linen, the work of a designer.

⁷It shall have two shoulder pieces attached at two of its corners, so it can be fastened.

⁷It shall have unto it two shoulder straps joined at the two ends, and it shall be joined.

⁸And the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod must be of one piece, of the same workmanship—with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen.

⁸And the skillfully woven waistband of his ephod, that is on it, from it it shall be, according to its work: gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely woven linen.

⁹Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:

⁹And you shall take two onyx stones and you shall engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel,

¹⁰six of their names on one stone and the remaining six on the other, in the order of their birth.

¹⁰six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the second stone, according to their births;

¹¹Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings.

¹¹the work of an engraver of stone, engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; turned in settings of gold you shall make them.

¹²Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear their names on his two shoulders as a memorial before the LORD.

¹²And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod, stones of memorial for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the face of YHWH on his two shoulders for a memorial.

¹³Fashion gold filigree settings

¹³And you shall make settings of gold,

¹⁴and two chains of pure gold, made of braided cord work; and attach these chains to the settings.

¹⁴and two chains of pure gold, a braided work, you shall make them cord; and you shall put the cords of chains on the settings.

The Breastpiece

¹⁵You are also to make a breastpiece of judgment with the same workmanship as the ephod. Construct it with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen.

¹⁵And you shall make the breastplate of judgment, the work of a designer. You shall make it according to the workmanship of the ephod; you shall make it of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely woven linen.

¹⁶It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.^a

¹⁶It shall be square, doubled, a span its length, and a span its width.

¹⁷And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones:^a

In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;

¹⁷And you shall fill in it fillings of stone, four rows of stone: a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald are the first row;

¹⁸in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;

¹⁸and the second row is turquoise, sapphire, and diamond;

¹⁹in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

¹⁹and the third row is jacinth, agate, and amethyst;

²⁰and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.

Mount these stones in gold filigree settings.

²⁰and the fourth row is beryl, and onyx, and jasper. They shall be set in gold in their fillings.

²¹The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

²¹And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, two and ten, according to their names, the engravings of a signet, each one according to his name, they shall be for the two and ten tribes.

²²For the breastpiece, make braided chains like cords of pure gold.

²²And you shall make on the breastplate chains, cords of braided work of pure gold.

²³You are also to make two gold rings and fasten them to the two corners of the breastpiece.

²³And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and you shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

²⁴Then fasten the two gold chains to the two gold rings at the corners of the breastpiece,

²⁴And you shall put the two cords of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

²⁵and fasten the other ends of the two chains to the two filigree settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.

²⁵And the two ends of the two cords you shall put on the two settings, and you shall put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, toward the front of its face.

²⁶Make two more gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the inside edge next to the ephod.

²⁶And you shall make two rings of gold, and you shall put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge that is toward the side of the ephod inwardly.

²⁷Make two additional gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on its front, near its seam just above its woven waistband.

²⁷And you shall make two rings of gold and you shall put them on the two shoulders of the ephod from below, toward its face, right at the seam above the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod.

²⁸The rings of the breastpiece shall be tied to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the waistband of the ephod and does not swing out from the ephod.

²⁸And they shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, to be on the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod, and the breastplate shall not come loose from on the ephod.

²⁹Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he shall bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of judgment, as a continual reminder before the LORD.

²⁹And Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart when he goes into the Holy Place, for a memorial before the face of YHWH continually.

³⁰And place the Urim and Thummim^a in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD.

³⁰And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over the heart of Aaron when he goes in before the face of YHWH. And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the face of YHWH continually.

Additional Priestly Garments

³¹You are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth,

³¹And you shall make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue.

³²with an opening at its top in the center. Around the opening shall be a woven collar with an opening like that of a garment,^a so that it will not tear.

³²And there shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have an edge for its opening all around, the work of a weaver, like the opening of a corselet, it shall be that it does not tear.

³³Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all the way around the lower hem, with gold bells between them,

³³And you shall make upon its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet on its hem all around, and bells of gold in the midst of them all around,

³⁴alternating the gold bells and pomegranates around the lower hem of the robe.

³⁴a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around.

³⁵Aaron must wear the robe whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters or exits the sanctuary before the LORD, so that he will not die.

³⁵And it shall be upon Aaron to minister, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the face of YHWH and when he comes out, and he shall not die.

³⁶You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal:

HOLY TO THE LORD.^a

³⁶And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and you shall engrave on it the engravings of a signet: HOLY TO YHWH.

³⁷Fasten to it a blue cord to mount it on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban.

³⁷And you shall put it on a blue cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be toward the front of the face of the turban.

³⁸And it will be worn on Aaron’s forehead, so that he may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be acceptable before the LORD.

³⁸And it shall be on the forehead of Aaron, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel shall sanctify for all their holy gifts; and it shall be on his forehead continually, for a pleasing thing for them before the face of YHWH.

³⁹You are to weave the tunic with fine linen, make the turban of fine linen, and fashion an embroidered sash.

³⁹And you shall weave the tunic of fine linen, and you shall make the turban of fine linen, and the sash you shall make, the work of a weaver.

⁴⁰Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons, to give them glory and splendor.

⁴⁰And for the sons of Aaron you shall make tunics, and you shall make for them sashes, and you shall make headbands for them for glory and for beauty.

⁴¹After you put these garments on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint them, ordain them, and consecrate them so that they may serve Me as priests.

⁴¹And you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him, and you shall anoint them and you shall fill their hand and you shall sanctify them, and they shall minister as priests to Me.

⁴²Make linen undergarments to cover their bare flesh, extending from waist to thigh.

⁴²And you shall make for them linen undergarments to cover naked flesh; they shall be from the waist and to the thighs.

⁴³Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants.

⁴³And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the Holy Place, and they shall not bear iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever for him and for his seed after him.