Instructions for the Garments of Priests

¹“Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

²You are to make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

³You are to speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.

⁴These are the garments which they are to make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a fitted tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.

⁵They are to use the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen.

⁶“They are to make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful artisan.

⁷It is to have two shoulder straps joined to the two ends of it, that it may be joined together.

⁸The skillfully woven band, which is on it, is to be like it: the same piece with gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.

⁹You are to take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel.

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

¹¹With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you are to engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel. You are to make them to be enclosed in settings of gold.

¹²You are to put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel. Aaron is to bear their names before YHWH on his two shoulders as a memorial.

¹³You are to make settings of gold,

¹⁴and two chains of pure gold; you are to make them like cords of braided work, and attach the braided chains on the settings.

¹⁵“You are to make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you are to make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, you are to make it.

¹⁶It is to be square and folded double; a span long and a span wide.[#28:16 A span is the length from the tip of a man’s thumb to the tip of his little finger when his hand is stretched out (about half a cubit, or 9 inches, or 22.8 cm.)]

¹⁷You are to set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl–the first row;

¹⁸and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;[#28:18 or, lapis lazuli]

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

²⁰and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They are to be enclosed in gold in their settings.

²¹The stones are to be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, they will be for the twelve tribes.

²²You are to make on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.

²³You are to make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

²⁴You are to put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

²⁵The other two ends of the two braided chains you are to put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in its forepart.

²⁶You are to make two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which is toward the side of the ephod inward.

²⁷You are to make two rings of gold and put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its forepart, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

²⁸They are to bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod.

²⁹Aaron is to bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before YHWH continually.

³⁰You are to put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they are to be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before YHWH. Aaron will bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before YHWH continually.

³¹“You are to make the robe of the ephod all of blue.

³²It are to have a hole for the head in the middle of it. It is to have a binding of woven work around its hole, as it were the hole of a coat of mail, that it not be torn.

³³On its hem you are to make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, all around its hem; with bells of gold between and around them:

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

³⁵It is to be on Aaron to minister: and its sound will be heard when he goes in to the holy place before YHWH, and when he comes out, that he not die.

³⁶“You are to make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘HOLY TO YHWH.’

³⁷You are to put it on a lace of blue so that it will be on the sash. It is to be on the front of the sash.

³⁸It is to be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron is to bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel are to make holy in all their holy gifts. It must always be on his forehead, so that they may be accepted before YHWH.

³⁹You are to weave the tunic with fine linen. You are to make a turban of fine linen. You are to make a sash, the work of the embroiderer.

⁴⁰“You are to make tunics for Aaron’s sons. You are to make sashes for them. You are to make headbands for them, for glory and for beauty.

⁴¹You are to put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office.

⁴²You are to make them linen pants to cover their naked flesh. They are to reach from the waist even to the thighs.

⁴³They are to be on Aaron and on his sons, when they go in to the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place, that they don’t bear iniquity, and die. This is to be a permanent statute to him and to his offspring after him.