Chapter 28

Special clothes for the *priests

v1 Fetch Aaron your brother with his sons, from among the *Israelites. The names of Aarons sons are Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. I want them to be my servants, my *priests. v2 Make special clothes for your brother Aaron. These clothes will show that he is important and special to me. v3 I have made certain men very *wise so that they can make these clothes. Tell them that they must make Aarons clothes. The clothes must be ready for the day when I make him my servant, my *priest. v4 These are the clothes that the *wise men must make: a *breastpiece an *ephod a *robe a *tunic a *turban a long belt. They must make these special clothes for your brother Aaron and for his sons. Then Aaron and his sons can be my servants, my *priests. v5 The *wise men must use beautiful material, gold, blue, *purple, red and white.

The *ephod
v6 Make the *ephod out of gold and out of blue, *purple and red material. Use also special white material that a *wise worker has made. v7 On two of its corners you must fix pieces for Aarons shoulders. Then you can fasten the *ephod. v8 Make the special belt like the *ephod. The belt and the *ephod must be one piece of work. You must make them with gold and with blue, *purple and red material and with special white material. v9 Take two *onyx stones. With a sharp tool, write on them the names of the sons of *Israel. v10 Begin with the name of the oldest son and finish with the name of the youngest son. Write six names on one stone and six names on the other. v11 Write these names on the two stones like a *wise man draws on valuable metal. Then fix the stones to some thin gold pieces that you have made beautiful. v12 Fasten the stones on the shoulder pieces of the *ephod. When the *Lord sees the stones, he will remember his promises to the sons of *Israel. Aaron will carry the names on his shoulders and the *Lord will see them. v13 Make special pieces of thin gold v14 and two *chains of gold. Fix these *chains to the thin pieces of gold.

The *breastpiece
v15 A *wise worker must make the *breastpiece. This will give Aaron help when he must decide any matter. Make it like the *ephod, out of gold and out of blue, *purple and red material. Use special white material too. v16 Bend a piece of cloth to make a square, 22 centimetres long and 22 centimetres wide. v17 Then fix four sets of valuable stones on it. Fix a *ruby, a *topaz and a *beryl in the first set. v18 Fix a *turquoise, a *sapphire and an *emerald in the second set. v19 Fix a *jacinth, an *agate and an *amethyst in the third set. v20 Fix a *chrysolite, an *onyx and a *jasper in the fourth set. Fix each stone in a thin piece of gold that you have made beautiful. v21 There will be 12 stones, one stone for each of *Israels sons. You must write their names on the stones with a sharp tool. Write one name on each stone.

v22 Make thin lines out of gold and put them together. This will make a *chain. v23 Then make two gold rings for the *chains. Fasten them to two corners of the *breastpiece. v24 Fasten the two gold *chains to the rings at the corners of the *breastpiece. v25 Fasten the other ends of the *chains to the shoulder pieces of the *ephod, in the front. v26 Make two gold rings and fasten them to the two other corners of the *breastpiece. Put them inside, next to the *ephod. v27 Make two more gold rings. Fix them to the lower edge of the shoulder pieces, on the front of the *ephod. Put them just above the *ephods belt. v28 Tie the rings of the *breastpiece to the rings of the *ephod with a line of blue cotton. Fix it to the belt, then the *breastpiece and the belt will not become separated. v29 When Aaron goes into the *Holy Place, he will wear the *breastpiece over his heart. So he will carry the names of *Israels sons over his heart. And the *Lord will always remember the *Israelites. v30 Put the *Urim and *Thummim in the *breastpiece. Then they will also be over Aarons heart when he goes into the *Lords home. So Aaron will always carry over his heart the help that he needs. He will always carry this help with him, to decide matters for the *Israelites.

Other clothes for the *priests

v31 Make the *robe of the *ephod completely out of blue cloth. v32 Make a hole in the centre of the *robe, for the *priests head. You must make a *collar round this hole, and then it will not tear. v33 Make *pomegranates out of blue, *purple and red material. Fix them to the lower edge of the *robe, with gold bells between them. v34 Fix a bell, then a *pomegranate, a bell, then a *pomegranate round the whole lower edge of the *robe. v35 Aaron must wear the *robe when he works as the *Lords servant. The bells will make a sound when he goes into the *Holy Place. And they will make a sound when he comes out. So he will not die. v36 Make a thin plate out of gold and write on it with a sharp tool: *HOLY TO THE *LORD. v37 Fasten a line of blue cotton to the plate. Then fix the plate to the front of the *turban. v38 Aaron will wear the *turban, with the plate, on his head for a special reason. When the *Israelites bring gifts to God, Aaron himself will carry any bad things in the gifts. Then the *Lord will accept the gifts because of the *turban on Aarons head. v39 Make the *tunic and the *turban out of good white material. A *wise worker must make the long belt. v40 Make *tunics, long belts and hats for Aarons sons. These things will make them look important and beautiful. v41 Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and on his sons. Then pour oil on their heads and give them authority. Make them separate from the other *Israelites so that they can be the *Lords *priests. v42 Make trousers out of white material that will cover the lower parts of the *priests bodies. v43 Aaron and his sons must wear them when they go into the *Tent of Meeting. They must also wear them when they go near to the *altar in the *Holy Place. Then the *Lord will not become angry with them, and they will not die. This rule is for Aaron and for all his children and grandchildren. The rule remains the same for all time.