Exodus 28–29

The Priestly Garments

28“Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the Israelites to serve Me as priest—Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ^j2Make holy garments ^kfor your brother Aaron, for glory and beauty. ³You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, ^lmwhom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron’s garments for consecrating him to serve Me as priest. ⁴These are the garments that they must make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a specially woven tunic, ⁿa turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve Me as priests. ⁵They should use ^ogold; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; and fine linen.

The Ephod

⁶“They ^pare to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. ⁷It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges so that it can be joined together. ⁸The artistically woven waistband that is on the ephod ^qmust be of one piece, ^raccording to the same workmanship of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen.

⁹“Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Israel’s sons: ¹⁰six of their names on the first stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, in the order of their birth. ¹¹Engrave the two stones with the names of Israel’s sons as a gem cutter engraves a seal. Mount them, surrounded with gold filigree settings. ¹²Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the Lord as a reminder. ^s13Fashion gold filigree settings ¹⁴and two chains of pure gold; you will make them of braided cord work, and attach the cord chains to the settings.

The Breastpiece

¹⁵“You ^tare to make an embroidered breastpiece for making decisions. ^uMake it with the same workmanship as the ephod; make it of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. ¹⁶It must be square and folded double, nine inches long and nine inches wide. ^v17Place a setting of gemstones ^won it, four rows of stones:

The first row should be

a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald; ^x

¹⁸the second row,

a turquoise, ^ya sapphire, ^zand a diamond; ^a

¹⁹the third row,

a jacinth, ^ban agate, and an amethyst;

²⁰and the fourth row,

a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.

They should be adorned with gold filigree in their settings. ²¹The 12 stones are to correspond to the names of Israel’s sons. Each stone must be engraved like a seal, with one of the names of the 12 tribes.

²²“You are to make braided chains ^cof pure gold cord work for the breastpiece. ²³Fashion two gold rings for the breastpiece and attach them to its two corners. ²⁴Then attach the two gold cords to the two gold rings at the corners of the breastpiece. ²⁵Attach the other ends of the two cords to the two filigree settings, and in this way attach them to the ephod’s shoulder pieces in the front. ²⁶Make two other gold rings and put them at the two other corners of the breastpiece on the edge that is next to the inner border of the ephod. ²⁷Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the ephod’s two shoulder pieces on its front, close to its seam, ^dand above the ephod’s woven waistband. ²⁸The craftsmen are to tie the breastpiece from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the ephod’s waistband and does not come loose from the ephod.

²⁹“Whenever he enters the sanctuary, Aaron is to carry the names of Israel’s sons over his heart on the breastpiece for decisions, as a continual reminder before the Lord. ³⁰Place the Urim and Thummim ^ein the breastpiece for decisions, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the Lord. Aaron will continually carry the means of decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.

The Robe

³¹“You ^fare to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue yarn. ³²There should be an opening at its top in the center of it. Around the opening, there should be a woven collar with an opening like that of body armor ^gso that it does not tear. ³³Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn ^hon its lower hem and all around it. Put gold bells between them all the way around, ³⁴so that gold bells and pomegranates alternate around the lower hem of the robe. ³⁵The robe must be worn by Aaron whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters the sanctuary before the Lord and when he exits, so that he does not die.

The Turban

³⁶“You are to make a pure gold medallion and engrave it, like the engraving of a seal: ⁱ

HOLY TO THE LORD.

³⁷Fasten it to a cord of blue yarn so it can be placed on the turban; the medallion is to be on the front of the turban. ³⁸It will be on Aaron’s forehead so that Aaron may bear the guilt ^jconnected with the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate as all their holy gifts. It is always to be on his forehead, so that they may find acceptance with the Lord.

Other Priestly Garments

³⁹“You are to weave the tunic from fine linen, make a turban of fine linen, and make an embroidered sash. ⁴⁰Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons to give them glory and beauty. ^k41Put these on your brother Aaron and his sons; then anoint, ^lordain, ^mand consecrate ⁿthem, so that they may serve Me as priests. ⁴²Make them linen undergarments ^oto cover their naked bodies; they must extend from the waist ^pto the thighs. ⁴³These must be worn by Aaron and his sons whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary area, so that they do not incur guilt ^qand die. This is to be a permanent statute ^rfor Aaron and for his future descendants.

Instructions about Consecration

29“This is what you are to do for them to consecrate them to serve Me as priests. Take a young bull and two unblemished rams, ²with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour, ^s3put them in a basket, and bring them in the basket, along with the bull and two rams. ⁴Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. ^t5Then take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe for the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastpiece; fasten the ephod on him with its woven waistband. ^u6Put the turban on his head and place the holy diadem ^von the turban. ⁷Take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint ^whim. ⁸You must also bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. ⁹Tie the sashes on Aaron and his sons and fasten headbands on them. The priesthood is to be theirs by a permanent statute. This is the way you will ordain Aaron and ^xhis sons. ^y

¹⁰“You are to bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the bull’s head. ^z11Slaughter the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹²Take some of the bull’s blood and apply it to the horns ^aof the altar with your finger; then pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. ¹³Take all the fat ^bthat covers the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴But burn up the bull’s flesh, its hide, and its dung outside the camp; ^cit is a sin offering.

¹⁵“Take one ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head. ^d16You are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar. ¹⁷Cut the ram into pieces. Wash its entrails and shanks, and place them with its head and its pieces on the altar. ¹⁸Then burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, ^ea fire offering to the Lord.

¹⁹“You are to take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the ram’s head. ^f20Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on his sons’ right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the remaining blood on all sides of the altar. ²¹Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, ^gand sprinkle them on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. In this way, he and his garments will become holy, as well as his sons and their garments.

²²“Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination ^h); ²³take one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord; ²⁴and put all of them in the hands of Aaron and his ⁱsons and wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord. ^j25Take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord; it is a fire offering to the Lord.

²⁶“Take the breast from the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it as a presentation offering before the Lord; it is to be your portion. ^k27Consecrate for Aaron and his sons ^lthe breast of the presentation offering that is waved and the thigh of the contribution that is lifted up from the ram of ordination. ²⁸This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is a contribution. It will be the Israelites’ contribution from their fellowship sacrifices, their contribution to the Lord.

²⁹“The holy garments that belong to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they can be anointed and ordained ^min them. ⁿ³⁰Any priest who is one of his sons and who succeeds him and enters the tent of meeting to minister in the sanctuary must wear them for seven days. ^o

³¹“You are to take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. ³²Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in…