Exodus 28

1 “And you — bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, out of the children of Israel, to serve me as priests: Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron. 2 And you are to make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for honor and glory. 3 And you — speak to all who are wise in mind, whom I have filled with a spirit of understanding, and they will make Aaron’s holy garments for the holy place, in which he will serve me as priest. 4 And these are the garments they are to make: the breastpiece, and the shoulder-piece, and the full-length robe, and the fringed tunic, and the turban, and the sash. They are to make holy garments for Aaron and his sons, for serving me as priests, [a] 5 and they themselves are to take the gold and the blue and the purple and the scarlet and the fine linen.

6 And they are to make the shoulder-piece of fine twisted linen, the woven work of an embroiderer. 7 It is to have two shoulder-straps joined to each other, fastened at its two edges, 8 and the weaving of the straps that lies on it is to be of one piece with it, made the same way: of gold and blue and purple and spun scarlet and fine twisted linen. 9 And you are to take the two stones — emerald stones — and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: 10 six names on the one stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, in the order of their births. 11 A stone-cutter’s work, like the engraving of a seal — so you are to engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. 12 And you are to set the two stones on the shoulders of the shoulder-piece. They are stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel: Aaron will carry the names of the sons of Israel before the Lord on his two shoulders, a remembrance for them. 13 And you are to make small shields of pure gold, 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, worked through with blossoms, braided work; and you are to fasten the braided chains to the small shields, at the shoulder-straps in front.

15 And you are to make the oracle-piece of judgment, an embroiderer’s work; make it to match the shoulder-piece — of gold and blue and purple and twisted scarlet and fine twisted linen you are to make it. 16 It is to be square, and doubled: nine inches long and nine inches wide. 17 And you are to weave into it a setting of stones in four rows. The first row of stones: carnelian, topaz, and emerald; [b] 18 and the second row: garnet, sapphire, and jasper; 19 and the third row: jacinth, agate, and amethyst; 20 and the fourth row: chrysolite, beryl, and onyx. They are to be wrapped in gold and bound together with gold, row by row. 21 And the stones are to carry the names of the sons of Israel — twelve, for their names, engraved like seals, each with its own name, for the twelve tribes. 22 And you are to make braided tassels on the oracle-piece, chain-work of pure gold. 23 So Aaron will carry the names of the sons of Israel on the oracle-piece of judgment, on his chest, as he goes into the holy place — a remembrance before God. 24 And you are to set the tassels on the oracle-piece of judgment — fasten the chain-work on both edges of the oracle-piece, 25 and fasten the two small shields on both shoulders of the shoulder-piece, at the front. 26 And you are to put the Manifestation and the Truth on the oracle-piece of judgment, and it will be on Aaron’s chest whenever he goes into the holy place before the Lord. So Aaron will carry the judgments of the sons of Israel on his chest before the Lord always. [c]

27 And you are to make the robe that goes underneath, full-length, all of blue. 28 Its opening for the head is to be in the middle, with a woven binding all around the opening — a weaver’s work, the join woven in one piece with it, so that it cannot tear. 29 And on the hem of the robe, below, you are to make pomegranates, like the buds of a flowering pomegranate tree, of blue and purple and spun scarlet and fine twisted linen, all around the hem of the robe — and golden pomegranates of the same shape, with bells between them all around: 30 a bell beside a golden pomegranate, with blossom-work, around the hem of the robe. 31 And Aaron’s sound will be heard as he does the work of the service — when he goes into the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out — so that he does not die. 32 And you are to make a plate of pure gold, and stamp on it, like the stamp of a seal: Holiness of the Lord. [d] 33 And you are to set it on twisted blue cord, and it is to be on the turban — at the front of the turban it is to be. 34 And it will be on Aaron’s forehead; and Aaron will bear away the faults in the holy things that the children of Israel make holy, in every gift of their holy things. It is to be on Aaron’s forehead always, to win them acceptance before the Lord. 35 And the fringes of the tunics are to be of fine linen; and you are to make a turban of fine linen, and make a sash, an embroiderer’s work. 36 And for the sons of Aaron you are to make tunics and sashes, and make turbans for them, for honor and glory. 37 And you are to put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and anoint them and fill their hands and make them holy, so that they may serve me as priests. 38 And you are to make linen underclothes for them, to cover the bareness of their flesh; they are to reach from the waist to the thighs. 39 And Aaron and his sons are to wear them whenever they go into the tent of witness, or when they come up to the altar of the holy place to do the work of the service — so that they do not bring sin on themselves and die. It is a lasting practice for him, and for his descendants after him.” [e]