Exodus 28

1 And thou shalt let come near unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may be a priest unto me; Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Elazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron.

Call to yourself Aaron your brother and his sons—Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar—from among the Israelites so that they may serve me as priests.

2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for ornament.

You must make for Aaron, your brother, garments that are set apart to me. These garments will be for his honor and splendor.

3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wisehearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make garments for Aaron, to sanctify him, that he may be a priest unto me.

You must speak to all people who are wise in heart, those whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, so that they may make Aaron's garments to set him apart to serve me as my priest.

4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a checkered coat, a mitre, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and for his sons, to be a priest unto me.

The garments that they must make are a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of woven work, a turban, and a sash. They must make these garments that are set them apart to me. They will be for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve me as priests.

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

Craftsmen must use fine linen that is gold, blue, purple, and scarlet.

6 And they shall make the ephod, of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet yarn, and twisted linen, of weaver's work.

They must make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine-twined linen. It must be the work of a skillful craftsman.

7 Two shoulder-pieces shall it have joined at the two edges thereof; by which it shall be joined together.

It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two upper corners.

8 And the belt for girding, which is upon it, shall be of the same make, out of the same piece with itself; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet yarn, and twisted linen.

Its finely-woven waistband must be like the ephod; it must be made of one piece with the ephod, made of fine twined linen that is gold, blue, purple, and scarlet.

9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel:

You must take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Israel's twelve sons.

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

Six of their names must be on one stone, and six names must be on the other stone, in order of the sons' birth.

11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engraving of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel; fitted in settings of gold shalt thou make them.

With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engraving on a signet, you must engrave the two stones with the names of Israel's twelve sons. You must mount the stones in settings of gold.

12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod as stones of memorial unto the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

You must put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, to be stones to remind Yahweh of Israel's sons. Aaron will carry their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders as a reminder to him.

13 And thou shalt make casings of gold;

You must make settings of gold

14 And two chains of pure gold, with knots at the ends, of wreathed work shalt thou make them, and thou shalt fasten the wreathed chains to the casings.

and two braided chains of pure gold like cords, and you must attach the chains to the settings.

15 And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment, of weaver's work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet yarn, and of twisted linen, shalt thou make it.

You must make a breastpiece for decision making, the work of a skillful workman, fashioned like the ephod. Make it of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine linen.

16 Four-square shall it be, double; a span in length, and a span in breadth.

It is to be square. You must fold the breastpiece double. It must be one span long and one span wide.

17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row, a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row.

You must place in it four rows of precious stones. The first row must have a ruby, a topaz, and a garnet.

18 And the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond.

The second row must have an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

19 And the third row, an opal, a turquoise, and an amethyst.

The third row must have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst.

20 And the fourth row, a chrysolite, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be fitted in golden casings when they are set in.

The fourth row must have a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper. They must be mounted in gold settings.

21 And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; [engraved] with the engraving of a signet, every one according to his name, shall they be for the twelve tribes.

The stones must be arranged by the names of Israel's twelve sons, each in order by name. They must be like the engraving on a signet ring, each name standing for one of the twelve tribes.

22 And thou shalt make on the breastplate chains with knots at the ends, of wreathed work, of pure gold.

You must make on the breastpiece chains like cords, braided work of pure gold.

23 And thou shalt make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

You must make two rings of gold for the breastpiece and must attach them to the two ends of the breastpiece.

24 And thou shalt put the two wreathed chains of gold in the two rings, on the ends of the breastplate.

You must attach the two golden chains to the two corners of the breastpiece.

25 And the [other] two ends of the two wreathed chains thou shalt fasten on the two casings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod on the outside thereof.

You must attach the other ends of the two braided chains to the two settings. Then you must attach those to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at its front.

26 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them on the two ends of the breastplate on its border, which is on the opposite side of the ephod, inward.

You must make two rings of gold, and you must put them on the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the edge next to the inner border.

27 And thou shalt make two more rings of gold, and shalt put them on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, toward its front part, close by its seam, above the girdle of the ephod.

You must make two more gold rings, and you must attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the front of the ephod, close to its seam above the finely-woven waistband of the ephod.

28 And they shall fasten the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may remain on the girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.

They must tie the breastpiece by its rings to the ephod's rings with a blue cord, so that it might be attached just above the ephod's woven waistband. This is so that the breastpiece might not become unattached from the ephod.

29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

When Aaron goes into the holy place, he must carry the names of the people of Israel over his heart in the breastpiece for decision making, as a continuing memorial before Yahweh.

30 And thou shalt put into the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

You are to put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece for decision making, so they may be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before Yahweh. Thus Aaron will always carry the means for making decisions for the people of Israel over his heart before Yahweh.

31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod altogether of blue woolen yarn.

You will make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue fabric.

32 And there shall be an opening in the top of it, in the midst thereof; it shall have a binding of woven work, round about its opening, as it is on the opening of a habergeon, so shall it be thereon, that it be not rent.

It must have an opening for the head in the middle. The opening must have a woven edge round about so that it does not tear. This must be the work of a weaver.

33 And thou shalt make on its lower hem pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet yarn, round about its lower hem; and bells of gold between them round about:

On the bottom hem, you must make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all around. Gold bells must be between them all around.

34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, on the lower hem of the robe round about.

There must be a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate—and so on—all around the hem of the robe.

35 And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministereth; and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in into the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not.

The robe is to be on Aaron when he serves, so that its sound can be heard when he goes into the holy place before Yahweh and when he leaves. This is so that he does not die.

36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engraving of a signet, Holy unto the Lord.

You must make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving on a signet, “Holy to Yahweh.”

37 And thou shalt fasten it on a lace of blue, and it shall be upon the mitre; upon the front of the mitre shall it be.

You must attach this plate by a blue cord to the front of the turban.

38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead; and Aaron shall atone for the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be upon his forehead always, that they may be received in favor before the Lord.

It must be on Aaron's forehead; he must always bear any guilt that might attach to the offering of the holy gifts that the Israelites set apart to Yahweh. The turban must be always on his forehead so that Yahweh may accept their gifts.

39 And thou shalt make the coat of linen checkered, and thou shalt make a mitre of linen, and a girdle shalt thou make of embroiderer's work.

You must make the coat with fine linen, and you must make a turban of fine linen. You must also make a sash, the work of an embroiderer.

40 And for Aaron's sons shalt thou make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles; and bonnets thou shalt make for them, for glory and for ornament.

For Aaron's sons you must make coats, sashes, and headbands for their honor and splendor.

41 And thou shalt clothe therewith Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and thou shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may be priests unto me.

You must clothe Aaron your brother, and his sons with him. You must anoint them, ordain them, and set them apart to me, so that they may serve me as priests.

42 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs shall they reach.

You must make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh, that will cover them from the waist to the thighs.

43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die; a statute for ever shall it be for him and for his seed after him.

Aaron and his sons must wear these garments when they enter the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to serve in the holy place. They must do this so they would not be guilty or else they would die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants after him.