“They shall also make (A)the ephod of gold, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, the work of the skilled embroiderer. It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, so that it may be joined. The skillfully woven band of its overlay, which is on it, shall be like its workmanship, [a]of the same material: of gold, of violet and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the [b]other stone, according to their birth. 11 [c]As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall [d]set them in filigree settings of gold. 12 And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall (B)carry their names before the Lord on his two shoulders (C)as a memorial. 13 And (D)you shall make filigree settings of gold, 14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them of twisted cord work, and you shall put the corded chains on the filigree settings.

15 (E)You shall make a [e]breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skilled embroiderer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen you shall make it. 16 It shall be square and folded double, a [f]span [g]in length and a [h]span [i]in width. 17 And you shall [j]mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; 18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. 21 The stones shall be engraved according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a signet, each (F)according to his name for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall also make on the [k]breastpiece twisted chains of cord work in pure gold. 23 And you shall make on the breastpiece two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. 25 You shall put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it. 26 And you shall make two rings of gold and place them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a violet cord, so that it will be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the Holy Place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. 30 And (G)you shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the [l](H)Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.

31 (I)You shall make the robe of the ephod all of violet. 32 There shall be an opening [m]at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. 33 You shall make on its hem pomegranates of violet, purple, and scarlet material all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. 35 It shall be on Aaron [n]when he ministers; and its sound shall be heard when he enters and leaves the Holy Place before the Lord, so that he will not die.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 28:8 Lit from it
  2. Exodus 28:10 Lit second
  3. Exodus 28:11 Lit A work of a lapidary, engravings of a seal
  4. Exodus 28:11 Lit make them to be surrounded
  5. Exodus 28:15 Or pouch
  6. Exodus 28:16 About 9 in. or 23 cm
  7. Exodus 28:16 Lit its
  8. Exodus 28:16 About 9 in. or 23 cm
  9. Exodus 28:16 Lit its
  10. Exodus 28:17 Lit fill in a setting of stones, four rows of stones
  11. Exodus 28:22 Or pouch, and so through v 30
  12. Exodus 28:30 I.e., lights and perfections
  13. Exodus 28:32 Or for his head
  14. Exodus 28:35 Lit for ministering

The Ephod(A)

“Make the ephod(B) of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. Its skillfully woven waistband(C) is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.

“Take two onyx stones and engrave(D) on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders(E) as a memorial(F) before the Lord. 13 Make gold filigree settings 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.

The Breastpiece(G)

15 “Fashion a breastpiece(H) for making decisions—the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 16 It is to be square—a span[a] long and a span wide—and folded double. 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones(I) on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite(J) and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper.[b] Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel,(K) each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.(L)

22 “For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 23 Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. 24 Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 25 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 26 Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 28 The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.

29 “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place,(M) he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. 30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim(N) in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.

Other Priestly Garments(O)

31 “Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar[c] around this opening, so that it will not tear. 33 Make pomegranates(P) of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. 34 The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 28:16 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
  2. Exodus 28:20 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
  3. Exodus 28:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

And the man Micah had a [a](A)shrine and he made an (B)ephod and [b](C)household idols, and [c]consecrated one of his sons, (D)so that he might become his priest.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 17:5 Lit house of gods
  2. Judges 17:5 Heb teraphim
  3. Judges 17:5 Lit filled the hand of

Now this man Micah had a shrine,(A) and he made an ephod(B) and some household gods(C) and installed(D) one of his sons as his priest.(E)

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Danites Take Micah’s Idols

14 Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish [a]said to their kinsmen, “Do you know that there are in these houses (A)an ephod and [b]household idols, and a carved image and a cast metal image? Now then, consider what you should do.” 15 So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked [c]him how he was doing. 16 Meanwhile, the six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were positioned at the entrance of the gate. 17 Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there; they took (B)the carved image, the ephod, the [d]household idols, and the cast metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. 18 When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, [e]household idols, and the cast metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Be silent, (C)put your hand over your mouth, and go with us, and be to us (D)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the [f]household idols, and the carved image, and went among the people.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 18:14 Lit answered and said
  2. Judges 18:14 Heb teraphim
  3. Judges 18:15 Lit his well-being
  4. Judges 18:17 Heb teraphim
  5. Judges 18:18 Heb teraphim
  6. Judges 18:20 Heb teraphim

14 Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish(A) said to their fellow Danites, “Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod,(B) some household gods and an image overlaid with silver?(C) Now you know what to do.” 15 So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and greeted him. 16 The six hundred Danites,(D) armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate. 17 The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods(E) while the priest and the six hundred armed men(F) stood at the entrance of the gate.

18 When the five men went into Micah’s house and took(G) the idol, the ephod and the household gods,(H) the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

19 They answered him, “Be quiet!(I) Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest.(J) Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan(K) in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” 20 The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people.

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