Exodus 27–28

Chapter 27

¹And thou shalt make the altar of acacia-wood, five cubits the length, and five cubits the breadth; the altar shall be square; and the height thereof three cubits. ²And thou shalt make its horns at the four corners thereof; its horns shall be of itself; and thou shalt overlay it with copper. ³And thou shalt make its pots to cleanse it of the fat, its shovels, and its bowls, and its forks, and its firepans; for all the utensils thereof thou shalt employ copper. ⁴And thou shalt make for it a grating of network of copper; and on the net shalt thou make four copper rings at its four corners; ⁵and thou shalt put it under the ledge of the altar beneath, and the net shall be to the very middle of the altar. ⁶And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with copper. ⁷And its staves shall be put into the rings, that the staves may be on both sides of the altar, when it is carried. ⁸Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it hath been shewn thee on the mountain, so shall they make it.

⁹And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side, southward, hangings for the court of twined byssus; a hundred cubits the length for the one side, ¹⁰and the twenty pillars thereof, and their twenty bases of copper, the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver. ¹¹And likewise on the north side in length, hangings a hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars, and their twenty bases of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver. ¹²—And the breadth of the court on the west side, hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their bases ten. ¹³—And the breadth of the court on the east side, eastward, fifty cubits; ¹⁴the hangings on the one wing, of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their bases three. ¹⁵And on the other wing hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their bases three. ¹⁶—And for the gate of the court a curtain of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus, embroidered with needlework; their pillars four, and their bases four. ¹⁷All the pillars of the court round about shall be fastened together with rods of silver; their hooks of silver, and their bases of copper. ¹⁸The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty everywhere, and the height five cubits of twined byssus; and their bases of copper. ¹⁹All the utensils of the tabernacle for the service thereof and all the pegs thereof, and all the pegs of the court shall be of copper.

²⁰And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee olive oil, pure, beaten, for the light, to light the lamp continually. ²¹In the tent of meeting outside the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall dress them from evening to morning before Jehovah: it is an everlasting statute, for their generations, on the part of the children of Israel.

Chapter 28

¹And thou shalt take thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may serve me as priest—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. ²And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for ornament. ³And thou shalt speak with all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to hallow him, that he may serve me as priest. ⁴And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a cloak, and a checkered vest, a turban, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may serve me as priest. ⁵And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus,

⁶and shall make the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, scarlet and twined byssus, of artistic work. ⁷It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined at the two ends thereof, where it is joined together. ⁸And the girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to its work of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet and twined byssus. ⁹And thou shalt 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 six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. ¹¹According to the work of an engraver in stone, as the engravings of a seal, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; surrounded by enclosures of gold shalt thou make them. ¹²And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod as stones of memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial. ¹³And thou shalt make enclosures of gold; ¹⁴and two chains of pure gold; of laced work shalt thou make them, of wreathen work, and fasten the wreathen chains to the enclosures.

¹⁵And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment of artistic work, like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus shalt thou make it. ¹⁶Square shall it be, doubled; a span the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof. ¹⁷And thou shalt set in it settings of stones—four rows of stones: one row, a sardoin, a topaz, and an emerald—the first row; ¹⁸and the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹⁹and the third row, an opal, an agate, and an amethyst; ²⁰and the fourth row, a chrysolite, and an onyx, and a jasper; enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings. ²¹And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, engraved as a seal: every one according to his name shall they be for the twelve tribes. ²²And thou shalt make on the breastplate chains of laced work, of wreathen work, of pure gold. ²³And thou shalt make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. ²⁴And thou shalt put the two wreathen cords of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate; ²⁵and the two ends of the two wreathen cords thou shalt fasten to the two enclosures, and shalt put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, on the front thereof. ²⁶And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and shalt put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the border thereof, which faceth the ephod inwards. ²⁷And two rings of gold shalt thou make, and shalt put them upon the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, to the front thereof just by the coupling thereof, above the girdle of the ephod. ²⁸And they shall bind the breastplate with its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. ²⁹And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the sanctuary, for a memorial before Jehovah continually. ³⁰And thou shalt put into the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, that they may be upon Aaron’s heart when he goeth in before Jehovah; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually.

³¹And thou shalt make the cloak of the ephod all of blue. ³²And its opening for the head shall be in the midst thereof; there shall be a binding of woven work at its opening round about; as the opening of a coat of mail, it shall be in it—it shall not rend. ³³And on the skirts thereof thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: ³⁴a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, in the skirts of the cloak round about. ³⁵And it shall be on Aaron for service; that his sound may be heard when he goeth into the sanctuary before Jehovah, and when he cometh out, that he may not die. ³⁶And thou shalt make a thin plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, as the engravings of a seal, Holiness to Jehovah! ³⁷And thou shalt put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be upon the turban—upon the front of the turban shall it be. ³⁸And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all gifts of their holy things; and it shall be continually on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah. ³⁹And thou shalt weave the vest of byssus; and thou shalt make a turban of byssus; and thou shalt make a girdle of embroidery.

⁴⁰And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make vests; and thou shalt make for them girdles; and high caps shalt thou make for them, for glory and for ornament. ⁴¹And thou shalt clothe with them Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and hallow them, that they may serve me as priests. ⁴²And thou shalt make them linen trousers to cover the flesh of nakedness; from the loins even to the hips shall they reach. ⁴³And they shall be upon Aaron and his sons when they enter into the tent of meeting, or when they come near to the altar to serve in the sanctuary; that they may not bear iniquity and die—an everlasting statute for him and his seed after him.