Exodus 28
Their Names on His Shoulders and Over His Heart
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The Call to Priesthood
28:1Bring Aaron your brother and his sons from among the sons of Israel to serve Me as priests: Aaron and Aaron’s sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
28:2You shall make a holy robe for Aaron your brother, for honor and glory.
28:3Speak to everyone skilled in understanding whom I have filled with a spirit of perception. They shall make Aaron’s holy robe for the sanctuary, in which he shall serve Me as priest.
28:4These are the robes they shall make: a breastpiece, a shoulder-piece, a full-length robe, a tasseled tunic, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy robes for Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests.
28:5They shall take gold, blue, purple, scarlet yarn, and fine linen.
The Shoulder-Piece
28:6They shall make the shoulder-piece of spun fine linen, the work of a skilled weaving embroiderer.
28:7It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined to one another, fitted at the two sides.
28:8The woven work of the shoulder-pieces upon it shall be made as one piece with it, of the same workmanship: gold, blue, purple, spun scarlet yarn, and spun fine linen.
28:9You shall take two emerald stones and engrave the names of the sons of Israel on them,
28:10six names on one stone and the six remaining names on the other, according to their generations.
28:11With a stoneworker’s craftsmanship, like a seal engraving, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel.
28:12You shall place the two stones on the shoulders of the shoulder-piece. They are memorial stones for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on his two shoulders before the Lord as a memorial concerning them.
28:13You shall make small rosettes of pure gold,
28:14You shall make two braided ornaments of pure gold, intertwined with flowers, and place the braided work on the rosettes along their shoulder-pieces in front.
The Breastpiece of Decision
28:15You shall make an oracle-piece of judgments, embroidered work, according to the pattern of the shoulder-piece, of gold, blue, purple, spun scarlet yarn, and spun fine linen.
28:16It shall be square and doubled, a span long and a span wide.
28:17You shall weave into it a fabric set with four rows of stones. The first row shall be a sardius, topaz, and emerald;
28:18the second row a carbuncle, sapphire, and jasper;
28:19the third row a ligure, agate, and amethyst;
28:20the fourth row a chrysolite, beryl, and onyx. They shall be enclosed in gold and bound in gold according to their rows.
28:21The stones shall bear the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
28:22You shall make braided chains of pure gold for the oracle-piece.
28:29–29aAaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the oracle-piece of judgment over his chest when he enters the sanctuary, as a memorial before God. You shall place the braided ornaments on the oracle-piece of judgment, the chains on both its sides, and the two rosettes on the two shoulders of the shoulder-piece in front.
28:30You shall place Manifestation and Truth on the oracle-piece of judgment, and it shall be over Aaron’s chest when he enters the sanctuary before the Lord. Aaron shall bear the judgments of the sons of Israel over his chest before the Lord continually.
The High-Priest Robe
28:31You shall make a full-length under-robe entirely blue.
28:32Its neck opening shall be in the middle, with a woven border around it and a seam woven as one piece with it, so that it does not tear.
28:33Around the under-robe’s lower hem you shall make little pomegranates like those of a flowering pomegranate tree, of blue, purple, spun scarlet yarn, and spun fine linen; likewise gold pomegranates, with bells between them all around.
28:34Beside a gold pomegranate there shall be a bell and a floral ornament around the under-robe’s hem.
28:35Aaron’s sound shall be heard when he ministers, entering the sanctuary before the Lord and leaving, so that he does not die.
The Turban and Tunic
28:36You shall make a plate of pure gold and stamp on it like a seal: “The Lord’s consecrated thing.”
28:37You shall fasten it to spun blue material so that it rests on the headband, at the front of the headband.
28:38It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall remove the sins of the holy things the sons of Israel consecrate, of every holy gift. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead continually, acceptable for them before the Lord.
28:39The tunics’ tassels shall be of fine linen. You shall make a fine-linen turban and an embroidered sash.
The Common-Priest Garments
28:40You shall make tunics, sashes, and turbans for Aaron’s sons, for honor and glory.
28:41You shall clothe Aaron your brother and his sons with these garments, anoint them, fill their hands, and consecrate them to serve Me as priests.
28:42You shall make linen undergarments for them to cover the nakedness of their flesh, reaching from the waist to the thighs.
28:43Aaron and his sons shall wear them when they enter the Tent of Testimony or approach the sanctuary’s altar to minister, so that they do not bring sin upon themselves and die. This is a perpetual statute for him and his descendants after him.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.