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39 Then, for the priests, the people made beautiful garments of blue, purple, and scarlet cloth—garments to be used while ministering in the Holy Place. This same cloth was used for Aaron’s sacred garments, in accordance with the Lord’s instructions to Moses. The ephod was made from this cloth too, woven from fine-twined linen thread. Bezalel beat gold into thin plates and cut it into wire threads, to work into the blue, purple, and scarlet linen; it was a skillful and beautiful piece of workmanship when finished.

4-5 The ephod was held together by shoulder straps at the top and was tied down by an elaborate one-piece woven sash made of the same gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth cut from fine-twined linen thread, just as God had directed Moses. 6-7 The two[a] onyx stones, attached to the two shoulder straps of the ephod, were set in gold, and the stones were engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel, just as initials are engraved upon a ring. These stones were reminders to Jehovah concerning the people of Israel; all this was done in accordance with the Lord’s instructions to Moses.

The chestpiece was a beautiful piece of work, just like the ephod, made from the finest gold, blue, purple, and scarlet linen. It was a piece nine inches square, doubled over to form a pouch; 10 there were four rows of stones across it. In the first row were a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle; 11 in the second row were an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 12 In the third row were a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 In the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper—all set in gold filigree. 14 The stones were engraved like a seal, with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

15-18 To attach the chestpiece to the ephod,[b] a gold ring was placed at the top of each shoulder strap of the ephod, and from these gold rings, two strands of twined gold attached to gold clasps on the top corners of the chestpiece. 19 Two gold rings were also set at the lower edge of the chestpiece, on the under side, next to the ephod. 20 Two other gold rings were placed low on the shoulder straps of the ephod, close to where the ephod joined its beautifully woven sash. 21 The chestpiece was held securely above the beautifully woven sash of the ephod by tying the rings of the chestpiece to the rings of the ephod with a blue ribbon.

All this was commanded to Moses by the Lord.

22 The main part of the ephod was woven, all of blue, 23 and there was a hole at the center, just as in a coat of mail, for the head to go through, reinforced around the edge so that it would not tear. 24 Pomegranates were attached to the bottom edge of the robe; these were made of linen cloth, embroidered[c] with blue, purple, and scarlet. 25-26 Bells of pure gold were placed between the pomegranates along the bottom edge of the skirt, with bells and pomegranates alternating all around the edge. This robe was worn when Aaron ministered to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

27 Robes were now made for Aaron and his sons from fine-twined linen thread. 28-29 The chestpiece, the beautiful turbans, and the caps and the underclothes were all made of this linen, and the linen belt was beautifully embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet threads, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses. 30 Finally, they made the holy plate of pure gold to wear on the front of the turban, engraved with the words, “Consecrated to Jehovah.” 31 It was tied to the turban with a blue cord, just as the Lord had instructed.

32 And so at last the Tabernacle was finished, following all of the Lord’s instructions to Moses.

33-40 Then they brought the entire Tabernacle to Moses:

Furniture; clasps; frames; bars;

Posts; bases; layers of covering for the roof and sides—the rams’ skins dyed red, the specially tanned goatskins, and the entrance drape; the Ark with the Ten Commandments in it;

The carrying poles;

The place of mercy;

The table and all its utensils;

The Bread of the Presence;

The pure gold[d] lampstand with its lamps, utensils, and oil;

The gold altar;

The anointing oil;

The sweet incense;

The curtain-door of the Tabernacle;

The bronze altar;

The bronze grating;

The poles and the utensils;

The washbasin and its base;

The drapes for the walls of the court and the posts holding them up;

The bases and the drapes at the gate of the court;

The cords and nails;

All the utensils used there in the work of the Tabernacle.

41 They also brought for his inspection the beautifully tailored garments to be worn while ministering in the Holy Place and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and those for his sons, to be worn when on duty.

42 So the people of Israel followed all the Lord’s instructions to Moses. 43 And Moses inspected all their work and blessed them because it was all as the Lord had instructed him.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:6 two . . . two, implied. reminders to Jehovah concerning the people of Israel, literally, “to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel.”
  2. Exodus 39:15 to the ephod, implied.
  3. Exodus 39:24 embroidered, implied.
  4. Exodus 39:33 gold, implied.

The Priestly Garments

39 From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn(A) they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary.(B) They also made sacred garments(C) for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Ephod(D)

They[a] made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen—the work of skilled hands. They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened. Its skillfully woven waistband was like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses.

They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel. Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial(E) stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Breastpiece(F)

They fashioned the breastpiece(G)—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It was square—a span[b] long and a span wide—and folded double. 10 Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 11 the second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 12 the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; 13 the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper.[c] They were mounted in gold filigree settings. 14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.(H)

15 For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 16 They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece. 17 They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 18 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 19 They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 20 Then they made two more gold rings and attached 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. 21 They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod—as the Lord commanded Moses.

Other Priestly Garments(I)

22 They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth—the work of a weaver— 23 with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar,[d] and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. 24 They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. 25 And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates. 26 The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the Lord commanded Moses.

27 For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen(J)—the work of a weaver— 28 and the turban(K) of fine linen, the linen caps and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. 29 The sash was made of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the Lord commanded Moses.

30 They made the plate, the sacred emblem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: holy to the Lord.(L) 31 Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban,(M) as the Lord commanded Moses.

Moses Inspects the Tabernacle(N)

32 So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.(O) 33 Then they brought the tabernacle(P) to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red and the covering of another durable leather[e] and the shielding curtain; 35 the ark of the covenant law(Q) with its poles and the atonement cover; 36 the table(R) with all its articles and the bread of the Presence;(S) 37 the pure gold lampstand(T) with its row of lamps and all its accessories,(U) and the olive oil(V) for the light; 38 the gold altar,(W) the anointing oil,(X) the fragrant incense,(Y) and the curtain(Z) for the entrance to the tent; 39 the bronze altar(AA) with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin(AB) with its stand; 40 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;(AC) the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; 41 and the woven garments(AD) worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests.

42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses.(AE) 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded.(AF) So Moses blessed(AG) them.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 39:2 Or He; also in verses 7, 8 and 22
  2. Exodus 39:9 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
  3. Exodus 39:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
  4. Exodus 39:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  5. Exodus 39:34 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals