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39 For the priests who served in the holy place, they decorated finely woven garments with blue, purple, and scarlet thread donated by the people. They also made the sacred garments Aaron was to wear, exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.

Bezalel had Aaron’s vest of gold made out of finely woven linen embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Craftsmen hammered gold into gold leaf, sliced it into individual threads, and interlaced them with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread as they embroidered intricate designs into the fine linens. They also made two pieces for the shoulders of the vest that attached so that the front and back form one piece. The vest’s waistband was skillfully made of the same materials—blue, purple, and scarlet thread on finely woven linen—and with a similar design made by skilled artisans exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses. They prepared onyx stones, engraved them the same way signet rings are engraved, and set them in ornamental gold settings. As the Eternal instructed Moses, he positioned the onyx stones on the shoulder pieces of Aaron’s vest as a memorial for the people of Israel before the Eternal One.

He then had skilled workers make the breast piece in the same style as the vest out of finely woven linen embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with gold. They made it square by folding over the material to double it and created a pouch in it nine inches by nine inches. 10 They placed four rows of stones in it. The first row was ruby, topaz, and emerald; 11 the second row was turquoise, sapphire, and diamond; 12 the third row was jacinth, agate, and amethyst; 13 the fourth row was beryl, onyx, and jasper. They were all attached to the breast piece with ornamental gold settings. 14 The twelve stones stood for the twelve tribes of Israel. Each was engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. 15 They braided strands of pure gold into chains and attached them to the breast piece. 16 They fashioned two ornamental gold settings and two gold rings, and they placed the two rings on opposite ends of the breast piece. 17 Then they fastened the two gold chains to the two gold rings at the two ends of the breast piece. 18 They fastened the loose ends of the chains to the two ornamental gold settings at the front of Aaron’s vest on the shoulders. 19 Then they fashioned two more gold rings and attached them to the breast piece at the inside edge next to the vest. 20 They made two additional gold rings and attached them to the front of the vest below the shoulders near the seam just above the waistband. 21 They connected the rings on the breast piece to the rings on the vest using blue cord, so that it would be attached above the vest’s waistband and not come loose from the vest. They did all this exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.

22 He then made the robe worn under the vest blue. 23 They made a hole for the head and formed a collar around the hole by lining it with extra material so that it might not tear. 24 All around the hem they stitched pomegranates out of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. 25 They also fashioned bells out of pure gold and attached them all around the hem between the pomegranates. 26 They used an alternating pattern: bell, pomegranate, bell, pomegranate, and so on. They did this exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.

27 They made tunics out of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons. 28 They made the turban, caps, and undergarments out of fine linen as well. 29 They also made the sash out of finely woven linen and embroidered it with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. They did all this exactly as the Eternal One instructed Moses.

30 They made the medallion, the sacred emblem that set the high priest apart, out of pure gold and engraved it like a seal with the inscription, “Holy to the Eternal.” 31 They fastened it with a blue cord to the front of Aaron’s turban, exactly as the Eternal One instructed Moses.

32 All the work that went into the sanctuary of the congregation tent was finally finished. The Israelites did everything exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.

33 Then the Israelites brought all they made to Moses. They brought the tent and all its furnishings, including its hooks, frame panels, crossbars, posts, and bases; 34 the layers of red-dyed rams’ skins and the sea-cow skin that covered the sanctuary; the veil shrouding the most holy place; 35 the covenant chest with its poles and the seat of mercy; 36 the table, its tools, the bread of the Presence; 37 the gold lampstand, its lamps and all its tools, the lamp oil; 38 the golden altar of incense, the anointing oil and the scented incense; the fabric screen for the tent’s entrance; 39 the bronze altar for burnt offerings, the bronze grating, its poles and tools, the basin and its stand; 40 the panels that enclose the courtyard, the posts and bases, the screen that covers the court’s entrance, the cords and pegs; and all the tools used in the sanctuary of the congregation tent, 41 the finely woven clothing for priests serving in the holy place, the sacred garments worn by Aaron the high priest, and the clothes his sons are to wear when they serve as priests as well. 42 The Israelites completed each part of the project exactly as the Eternal One had instructed Moses.

43 Moses inspected every piece of work they had completed, and he saw that they had done it all with excellence according to the specifications given to Him by the Eternal One. So Moses blessed them.

The Priestly Garments

39 From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn(A) they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary.(B) They also made sacred garments(C) for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Ephod(D)

They[a] made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of skilled hands. They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened. Its skillfully woven waistband was like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses.

They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel. Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial(E) stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Breastpiece(F)

They fashioned the breastpiece(G)—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It was square—a span[b] long and a span wide—and folded double. 10 Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 11 the second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 12 the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; 13 the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper.[c] They were mounted in gold filigree settings. 14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.(H)

15 For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 16 They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece. 17 They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 18 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 19 They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 20 Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 21 They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod—as the Lord commanded Moses.

Other Priestly Garments(I)

22 They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth—the work of a weaver— 23 with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar,[d] and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. 24 They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. 25 And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates. 26 The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the Lord commanded Moses.

27 For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen(J)—the work of a weaver— 28 and the turban(K) of fine linen, the linen caps and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. 29 The sash was made of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the Lord commanded Moses.

30 They made the plate, the sacred emblem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: holy to the Lord.(L) 31 Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban,(M) as the Lord commanded Moses.

Moses Inspects the Tabernacle(N)

32 So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.(O) 33 Then they brought the tabernacle(P) to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of another durable leather[e] and the shielding curtain; 35 the ark of the covenant law(Q) with its poles and the atonement cover; 36 the table(R) with all its articles and the bread of the Presence;(S) 37 the pure gold lampstand(T) with its row of lamps and all its accessories,(U) and the olive oil(V) for the light; 38 the gold altar,(W) the anointing oil,(X) the fragrant incense,(Y) and the curtain(Z) for the entrance to the tent; 39 the bronze altar(AA) with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin(AB) with its stand; 40 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;(AC) the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 41 and the woven garments(AD) worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests.

42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses.(AE) 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded.(AF) So Moses blessed(AG) them.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:2 Or He; also in verses 7, 8 and 22
  2. Exodus 39:9 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
  3. Exodus 39:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
  4. Exodus 39:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  5. Exodus 39:34 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals