The Ephod
Study note
The ephod was a special vest-like garment worn by the high priest. The workers made it from gold thread woven together with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen. They hammered gold into thin sheets, then cut it into thin wires that could be woven into the fabric. It had two shoulder pieces that were joined together. On each shoulder they placed an onyx stone set in gold, with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel engraved on them — six names on each stone. This meant the high priest symbolically carried the whole nation on his shoulders before God.
1 Using blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, the workers made the special woven clothing for serving in the Holy Place. They also made the sacred clothing for Aaron. They followed every detail the Lord had told Moses. And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.
2 They crafted the ephod from gold thread, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely twisted linen. And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
3 They hammered gold into thin sheets, then sliced the sheets into narrow threads. These gold threads were expertly woven in among the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and the fine linen. And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.
4 They made shoulder pieces for the ephod and attached them at the two top edges so it could be fastened. They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together.
5 The decorative belt was made as one piece with the ephod. It used the same materials: gold thread, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely twisted linen. This was just as the Lord had told Moses. And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses.
6 They set the onyx stones into gold frames and engraved them with the names of Israel's sons, the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.
7 They put the carved stones on the vest's shoulder pieces. These were memorial stones for the sons of Israel. They did just as the Lord had told Moses. And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.
The Breastpiece
Study note
The breastpiece was a square pouch made of the same fine materials as the ephod. It was folded double and about nine inches square. Set into it were twelve precious stones in four rows, each stone engraved with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The stones were: ruby, topaz, emerald, turquoise, sapphire, diamond, jacinth, agate, amethyst, beryl, onyx, and jasper, all set in gold. Gold chains and rings attached the breastpiece to the ephod so it would not come loose. The high priest wore the names of all twelve tribes over his heart whenever he entered God's presence.
8 The breastpiece was made with the same skilled work as the ephod. It was made from gold thread, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely twisted linen. And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9 It was square and folded in half — one span long and one span wide. It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.
10 They mounted four rows of gemstones on it. The first row contained a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald. And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.
11 The second row held a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
12 The third row featured a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
13 The fourth row held a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Every gem was set in a gold frame. And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings.
14 There were twelve stones altogether — one for each tribe of Israel. Each stone was engraved like a seal with the name of its tribe. And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.
15 For the breastpiece, they braided chains of pure gold, twisted like cords. And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.
16 They made two gold settings and two gold rings, attaching the rings to the two upper corners of the breastpiece. And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.
17 They connected the two braided gold chains to the rings at the breastpiece corners. And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.
18 The other ends of the chains were secured to the two gold settings on the shoulder pieces at the front of the ephod. And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it.
19 They crafted two more gold rings and fastened them to the lower corners of the breastpiece, on the inner side next to the ephod. And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.
20 They made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom front of the shoulder pieces, right near the seam above the fancy belt. And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
21 They used blue cord to lace the breastpiece rings to the ephod rings, holding the breastpiece snugly against the belt so it would not swing around. Everything was done exactly as the Lord had told Moses. And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Other Priestly Garments
Study note
They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue woven fabric, with a strong woven collar so it would not tear. Around the bottom hem they attached pomegranates made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with gold bells between them. The bells would ring as the priest moved in the Holy Place. They also made tunics of fine linen for Aaron and his sons, the turban and caps of fine linen, linen undergarments, and a sash of embroidered linen. Finally, they made the gold plate for the turban — the sacred crown — and engraved on it 'Holy to the Lord.' They tied it to the turban with a blue cord.
22 The robe worn under the ephod was woven entirely from blue fabric. And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
23 It had an opening at the center for the head, edged with a sturdy woven collar to prevent tearing. And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend.
24 They made pomegranates from blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and twisted linen, attaching them around the bottom edge of the robe. And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.
25 They also crafted bells of pure gold, which they placed between the pomegranates all around the hem. And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
26 The pattern alternated — bell, pomegranate, bell, pomegranate — all the way around the robe's hem. This was the robe worn for priestly service, made exactly as the Lord had told Moses. A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.
27 For Aaron and his sons, they wove tunics from fine linen. And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
28 They also made the turban from fine linen. They made the linen caps. They made the linen underclothes from fine twisted linen. And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen,
29 and the sash from finely twisted linen with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. It had sewn-in patterns — just as the Lord had told Moses. And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.
30 They shaped the plate for the sacred crown from pure gold. They engraved it just like carving a seal, with the words: HOLY TO THE LORD. And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
31 They attached it to the turban with a blue cord, just as the Lord had told Moses. And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses.
The Work Is Completed and Inspected
Study note
At last, all the work on the Tabernacle was finished. The people of Israel had done everything exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. They brought all the pieces to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the courtyard, the basin, the priestly robes, and everything else. Moses looked over every single piece. He saw that they had made everything just as the Lord had commanded. Then Moses blessed them. This was a moment of great joy — the people had obeyed God faithfully after their terrible failure with the golden calf.
32 With that, every piece of work on the Tabernacle — the Tent of Meeting — was complete. The Israelites had done everything precisely as the Lord had instructed Moses. Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
33 They brought the finished Tabernacle to Moses. It included the tent with all its parts — clasps, frames, crossbars, posts, and base sockets. And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,
34 the ram skin covering dyed red, the fine leather covering, and the inner curtain that shielded the Ark, And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the veil of the covering,
35 the Ark of the Testimony with its carrying poles and the mercy seat, The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat,
36 the table with every utensil and the bread of God's Presence, The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread,
37 the pure gold lampstand with its lamps properly arranged, all its accessories, and the oil for the lamps, The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,
38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the tent entrance, And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,
39 the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its carrying poles, and all its tools, the washing basin and its stand, The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
40 They also brought the courtyard curtains with their posts and base sockets. They brought the curtain for the courtyard entrance with its ropes and tent pegs. They brought every item needed for the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. The hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation,
41 and the special clothes for serving in the Holy Place. This included the holy clothes for Aaron the priest. It also included the priestly clothes for his sons. The cloths of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister in the priest's office.
42 The Israelites had finished every part of the work. They did it all exactly as the Lord had told Moses. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work.
43 Moses carefully inspected all the work. He confirmed that they had done everything precisely the way the Lord had commanded. Then Moses blessed them. And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.