EXODUS 28

Then bring your brother Aaron near to you, together with his sons, from among the sons of Israel, so that he may minister to me as a priest-Aaron, with Nadab and Abihu, and Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. 2 And you shall make sacred robes for your brother Aaron, for glory and adornment. 3 And you shall tell all the wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron's robes to sanctify him so that he may minister as a priest to me. 4 And these are the robes which they shall make: a breast-piece, an ephod, a robe, a tunic of woven work, a turban, and a girdle; and they shall make sacred robes for your brother Aaron and his sons so that he may minister as a priest to me.

5 And they shall take the gold, the violet, the purple, the double-dyed scarlet, and the fine linen, 6 and they shall make the ephod of gold, of violet and purple, of double-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen, the work of a designer. 7 It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. 8 And the sash which is on it, to tie it on, shall be of similar work and part of it, of gold, of violet and purple and double-dyed scarlet, and of fine twined linen. 9 And you shall take two shoham stones, and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them, 10 six of their names on one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engraving on a signet ring, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; you shall enclose them in settings of gold. 12 And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Yehowah on his two shoulders for a remembrance. 13 And you shall make settings of gold; 14 and you shall make two chains of pure gold of plaited work, to hang from the edges; and you shall fasten the plaited chains to the settings.

15 And you shall make the breastpiece of judgment, the work of a designer; you shall make it like the work of the ephod; you shall make it of gold, of violet and purple and double-dyed scarlet, and of fine twined linen. 16 It shall be square when doubled; its length shall be a span, and its width a span. 17 And you shall adorn it with settings of stones, four columns of stones: a column of a ruby,* a topaz, and a carbuncle, for the first column; 18 and for the second column a chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and for the third column a lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and for the fourth column a beryl, a shoham, and a jasper; they shall be framed in gold in their settings. 21 And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names; with engraving as on a signet ring, each one with its name, they shall be according to the twelve tribes. 22 And on the breastpiece you shall make border-chains of plaited work; they shall be of pure gold. 23 And on the breastpiece you shall make two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two plaits of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece; 25 and you shall fasten the two edges of the two plaits to the two settings, and so fasten them on the front of the shoulder-pieces of the ephod. 26 And you shall make two rings of gold, and you shall put them on the two edges of the breastpiece; they shall be on the border of the inner side of the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them to the front of the lower part of the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod, just above where it joins the sash of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of violet, so that it maybe on the sash of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not be displaced from the ephod. 29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the sanctuary, for a remembrance before Yehowah continually. 30 And to the breastpiece of judgment you shall attach the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron's heart when he goes in before Yehowah; so Aaron shall bear the judgment of the sons of Israel on his heart before Yehowah continually. * Precise identification of these stones is difficult

31 And you shall make the robe of the ephod all of violet. 32 And there shall be a hole for the head in the middle of it; the hole shall have an edging around it, the work of a weaver, like the hole in woven armour, so that it will not be torn. 33 And on its skirts you shall make pomegranates of violet and purple and double-dyed scarlet, all the way round its skirts, with bells of gold between them all round: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, on the skirts of the robe all the way round. 35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the sanctuary before Yehowah, and when he comes out, or else he will die.

36 And you shall make a plate of pure gold; and you shall engrave on it, like the engraving on a signet ring, Holiness to Yehowah. 37 And you shall put it on a cord of violet, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38 And it shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel sanctify in all their holy gifts; and it shall be on his forehead continually, so that they may be accepted before Yehowah.

39 And you shall weave the tunic of fine linen, and you shall make the turban of fine linen; and you shall make a girdle, the work of an embroiderer.

40 And you shall make tunics for Aaron's sons, and you shall make girdles for them, and you shall make skull-caps for them, for glory and adornment. 41 And with these you shall clothe your brother Aaron and his sons who are with him; and you shall anoint them and consecrate them and sanctify them, so that they may be priests to me. 42 And you shall make them linen breeches to cover their bare flesh; they shall cover both the loins and the thighs; 43 and they shall be on Aaron and his sons when they come into the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, or else they will bear iniquity and will die. It shall be a statute for ever to him and to his descendants after him.