Exodus 28:6–35

The Linen Apron

⁶“Make the linen apron out of fine gold wire, and out of blue, purple and bright red yarn, and out of finely twisted linen. Have a skilled worker make it. ⁷It must have two shoulder straps joined to two of its corners.

⁸“Its skillfully made waistband must be like it. The waistband must be part of the apron itself. Make the waistband out of fine gold wire, and out of blue, purple and bright red yarn, and out of finely twisted linen.

⁹“Get two onyx stones. Carve the names of the sons of Israel on them. ¹⁰Arrange them in the order of their birth. Carve six names on one stone and six on the other. ¹¹Carve the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a jewel cutter carves a seal.

“Then put the stones in fancy gold settings. ¹²Connect them to the shoulder straps of the linen apron. The stones will stand for the sons of Israel. Aaron must carry the names on his shoulders as a reminder while he is serving me. ¹³Make fancy gold settings. ¹⁴Make two braided chains out of pure gold. Make them like ropes. Join the chains to the settings.

The Chest Cloth

¹⁵“Make a chest cloth that will be used for making decisions. Have a skilled worker make it. Make it like the linen apron. Use fine gold wire, and blue, purple and bright red yarn, and finely twisted linen. ¹⁶Make it nine inches square. Fold it in half.

¹⁷“Put four rows of valuable jewels on it. Put a ruby, a topaz and a beryl in the first row. ¹⁸Put a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald in the second row. ¹⁹Put a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst in the third row. ²⁰And put a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper in the fourth row. Put them in fancy gold settings.

²¹“Use a total of 12 stones. Use one for each of the names of the sons of Israel. Each stone must be carved like a seal with the name of one of the 12 tribes.

²²“Make braided chains out of pure gold for the chest cloth. Make them like ropes. ²³Make two gold rings for the chest cloth. Connect them to two corners of it. ²⁴Join the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the chest cloth. ²⁵Join the other ends of the chains to the two settings. Join them to the shoulder straps on the front of the linen apron.

²⁶“Make two gold rings. Connect them to the other two corners of the chest cloth. Put them on the inside edge next to the apron. ²⁷Make two more gold rings. Connect them to the bottom of the shoulder straps on the front of the apron. Put them close to the seam. Put them right above the waistband of the apron. ²⁸The rings of the chest cloth must be tied to the rings of the apron. Tie them to the waistband with blue cord. Then the chest cloth will not swing out from the linen apron.

²⁹“When Aaron enters the Holy Room, he will carry the names of the sons of Israel over his heart. Their names will be on the chest cloth of decision. They will be a continuing reminder while he is serving me.

³⁰“Also put the Urim and Thummim into the chest cloth. Then they will be over Aaron’s heart when he comes to serve me. In that way, Aaron will always have what he needs to make decisions for the people of Israel. He will carry the Urim and Thummim over his heart while he is serving me.

More Clothes for the Priests

³¹“Make the outer robe of the linen apron completely from blue cloth. ³²In the center of the robe, make an opening for the head of the priest. Make an edge like a collar around the opening. Then it will not tear.

³³“Make pomegranates out of blue, purple and bright red yarn. Sew them around the hem of the robe. Sew gold bells between them. ³⁴Sew a gold bell between every two pomegranates all around the hem of the robe.

³⁵“Aaron must wear the robe when he serves. The bells will jingle when he enters the Holy Room while he is serving me. And they will jingle when he goes out. Then he will not die.