Exodus 28 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~1446 BC on the earlier dating, or ~1260 BC on the later one, while Moses is receiving instructions on Sinai
Location
Mount Sinai, with the instructions concerning the priests who would serve at the tent sanctuary
Audience
The people of Israel, and the priestly families descended from Aaron who wore these garments for centuries
Situation
God appoints Aaron and his sons as priests and describes their clothing in detail: a sleeveless outer garment called the ephod with two engraved onyx stones on the shoulders, a jewelled breastpiece holding twelve stones for the twelve tribes, a blue robe hemmed with bells and pomegranates, a tunic, a turban with an engraved gold plate, a sash, and linen undergarments.
Key Background
The clothing is deliberately regal, using the same gold, blue and purple as royal dress, because the priest represented the whole nation before God rather than acting as a private holy man. Carrying the tribes' names on the shoulders and over the heart made the priest a walking reminder that he entered God's presence on behalf of others, a role that ancient Near Eastern priests generally did not carry in that representative way. The Urim and Thummim kept in the breastpiece were objects used to seek a yes or no answer from God, a practice with rough parallels in other cultures, and the bells on the hem announced the priest's movements in a space where careless approach was understood to be lethal.
Now bring your brother Aaron close to you, along with his sons — Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar — from among the Israelites, so they can serve me as
Make your brother Aaron that to clothing that carries and
Talk to all the skilled craftspeople, the ones I've filled with the of and have them make Aaron's clothing to for serving me as priest.
Here's what they'll make: a for a a robe, a woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. These are the clothes kept for God, made for your brother Aaron and his sons so they can serve me as priests.
They'll use gold thread, and and yarn, along with fine linen.
They'll make the vest out of gold thread, and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with finely twisted linen—all expertly crafted.
It will have two shoulder straps attached at its two edges to hold it together.
The skillfully woven waistband on it will be made the same way—out of gold thread, and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with finely twisted linen. It should be one piece with the vest.
Take two stones and engrave on them the names of Israel's sons —
six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other, arranged by birth order.
Have a gem engraver—someone who carves seals—engrave the names of Israel's sons on the two stones. Then set them in gold filigree.
Attach the two to the shoulder straps of the vest as for Israel's sons. Aaron will carry their names on his shoulders as a before Yahweh.
Make gold filigree settings
and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, and attach the cord-like chains to the settings.
Make the chest piece for decisions with the same expert craftsmanship as the vest—gold thread, and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with finely twisted linen.
It should be square when folded — a long and a wide.
Set four rows of in it. The first row: a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald.
The second row: a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond.
The third row: a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst.
The fourth row: a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Each one should be set in gold filigree.
There should be stones — one for each of Israel's sons, with their names. Each stone should be engraved like a seal with the name of one of the
Make chains of pure gold for the chest piece, twisted like cords.
Make two gold rings for the chest piece and attach them to the two upper corners.
Attach the two gold cords to the two rings at the corners of the chest piece.
Attach the other ends of the two cords to the two filigree settings, and then attach them to the front of the vest's shoulder straps.
Make two more gold rings and attach them to the two lower corners of the chest piece, on the inside edge next to the vest.
Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the vest's shoulder straps, on the front, close to the seam just above the waistband.
The chest piece should be tied from its rings to the vest's rings with a blue cord, keeping it above the waistband so it doesn't come loose from the vest.
Whenever Aaron enters the he'll carry the names of Israel's sons on the chest piece for decisions, a constant reminder before Yahweh.
Put the and into the chest piece for decisions. They'll be over Aaron's heart whenever he comes before Yahweh, and Aaron will carry the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before Yahweh at all times.
Make the robe that goes under the vest entirely out of blue yarn.
It should have an opening for the head in the center, with a woven collar around the opening—like the collar of armor—so it won't tear.
Along the bottom hem, make out of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with gold bells between them all around.
The pattern should go: gold bell, pomegranate, gold bell, pomegranate—all the way around the hem.
Aaron must wear it whenever he serves. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Sacred Room before Yahweh and when he comes out, so he
Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it like a seal: to
Attach it to the front of the turban with a blue cord.
It will be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron will on the for with the offerings, all the gifts the Israelites give to God. It will always be on his forehead so that the offerings will be acceptable before Yahweh.
Weave the with fine linen. Make the turban out of fine linen too, and make a sash with embroidered work.
For Aaron's sons, make tunics, sashes, and headbands—clothing that carries weight and beauty.
Dress your brother Aaron and his sons in these. Then them, them, and set them apart so they can serve me as priests.
Make linen undergarments to cover their bare skin, reaching from the waist to the thighs.
Aaron and his sons must wear these whenever they enter the or approach the altar to serve in the Sacred Room, so they don't carry guilt and die. This is a for Aaron and all his descendants after him.