Exodus 28-30

English Standard Version

The Priests' Garments

28 “Then bring near to you ^(A)Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, ^(B)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ^2 (C)And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. ³ You shall speak to all the ^(D)skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. ⁴ These are the garments that they shall make: a ^(E)breastpiece, an ^(F)ephod, ^(G)a robe, ^(H)a coat of checker work, ^(I)a turban, and ^(J)a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. ⁵ They shall receive ^(K)gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.

^6 (L)“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. ⁷ It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. ⁸ And the ^(M)skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ⁹ 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 other stone, in the order of their birth. ¹¹ As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. ¹² And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And ^(N)Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders ^(O)for remembrance. ¹³ You shall make settings of gold filigree, ¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.

^15 (P)“You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. ¹⁶ It shall be square and doubled, a span^[a] its length and a span its breadth. ^17 (Q)You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius,^[b] topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; ¹⁸ and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹⁹ and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ²⁰ and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. ²¹ There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. ²² You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. ²³ And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. ²⁴ And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. ²⁵ The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ²⁶ You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷ And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the ^(R)skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸ And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. ^29 (S)So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular ^(T)remembrance before the Lord. ³⁰ And in the breastpiece of judgment ^(U)you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.

^31 (V)“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. ³² It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment,^[c] so that it may not tear. ³³ On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, ³⁴ a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.

³⁶ “You shall make ^(W)a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ^(X)‘Holy to the Lord.’ ³⁷ And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall ^(Y)bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

³⁹ “You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.

^40 (Z)“For Aaron's sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them ^(AA)for glory and beauty. ⁴¹ And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall ^(AB)anoint them and ordain them and ^(AC)consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ⁴² You shall make for them ^(AD)linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; ⁴³ and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they ^(AE)bear guilt and die. ^(AF)This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.

Consecration of the Priests

29 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ^(AG)Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, ^2 (AH)and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. ³ You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. ⁴ You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^(AI)wash them with water. ⁵ Then ^(AJ)you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the ^(AK)skillfully woven band of the ephod. ^6 (AL)And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ You shall take ^(AM)the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. ⁸ Then you ^(AN)shall bring his sons and put coats on them, ⁹ and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with ^(AO)sashes and bind caps on them. And ^(AP)the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall ^(AQ)ordain Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. ^(AR)Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. ¹¹ Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, ¹² and ^(AS)shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the ^(AT)horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of^[d] the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. ¹³ And you shall take all ^(AU)the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. ¹⁴ But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire ^(AV)outside the camp; ^(AW)it is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “Then ^(AX)you shall take one of the rams, and ^(AY)Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, ¹⁶ and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Then you shall ^(AZ)cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, ¹⁸ and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a ^(BA)pleasing aroma, a food offering^[e] to the Lord.

^19 (BB)“You shall take the other ram, ^(BC)and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, ²⁰ and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. ²¹ Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the ^(BD)anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons' garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.

²² “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the ^(BE)fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ^(BF)ordination), ²³ and ^(BG)one loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. ²⁴ You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and ^(BH)wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁵ Then ^(BI)you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a ^(BJ)pleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.

²⁶ “You shall take the ^(BK)breast of the ram of Aaron's ^(BL)ordination and ^(BM)wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. ²⁷ And you shall consecrate the ^(BN)breast of the wave offering that is waved and the ^(BO)thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of ^(BP)ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'. ²⁸ It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a ^(BQ)perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a ^(BR)contribution. It shall be a ^(BS)contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.

²⁹ “The holy garments of Aaron ^(BT)shall be for his sons after him; they shall ^(BU)be anointed in them and ordained in them. ³⁰ The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them ^(BV)seven days.

³¹ “You shall take the ram of ordination and ^(BW)boil its flesh in a holy place. ³² And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the ^(BX)bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^33 (BY)They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an ^(BZ)outsider shall not eat of them, because they are holy. ³⁴ And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall ^(CA)burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through ^(CB)seven days shall you ordain them, ³⁶ and every day you shall offer a ^(CC)bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall ^(CD)anoint it to consecrate it. ³⁷ Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the ^(CE)altar shall be most holy. ^(CF)Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

³⁸ “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: ^(CG)two lambs a year old ^(CH)day by day regularly. ³⁹ One lamb you shall offer ^(CI)in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer ^(CJ)at twilight. ⁴⁰ And with the first lamb a tenth measure^[f] of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin^[g] of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering. ⁴¹ The other lamb you shall offer ^(CK)at twilight, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as ^(CL)in the morning, for a ^(CM)pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. ⁴² It shall be a ^(CN)regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, ^(CO)where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. ⁴³ There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be ^(CP)sanctified by my glory. ⁴⁴ I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. ^(CQ)Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. ^45 (CR)I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. ⁴⁶ And they shall know that ^(CS)I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

The Altar of Incense

30 ^(CT)“You shall make ^(CU)an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ² A cubit^[h] shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. ^(CV)Its horns shall be of one piece with it. ³ You shall ^(CW)overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. ⁴ And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be ^(CX)holders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵ You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the ^(CY)mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷ And Aaron shall ^(CZ)burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he ^(DA)dresses the lamps he shall burn it, ⁸ and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹ You shall not offer ^(DB)unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. ^10 (DC)Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the ^(DD)sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

The Census Tax

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ^12 (DE)“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give ^(DF)a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. ¹³ Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel^[i] according to the ^(DG)shekel of the sanctuary (the ^(DH)shekel is twenty gerahs),^{[j] (DI)}half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord's offering. ¹⁵ The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than ^(DJ)the half shekel, when you give the Lord's offering to make atonement for your lives. ¹⁶ You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall ^(DK)give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to ^(DL)remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

The Bronze Basin

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “You shall also make a ^(DM)basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. ^(DN)You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, ¹⁹ with which Aaron and his sons ^(DO)shall wash their hands and their feet. ²⁰ When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering^[k] to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. ²¹ They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall ^(DP)be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil and Incense

²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Take the ^(DQ)finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of ^(DR)aromatic cane, ²⁴ and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a ^(DS)hin^[l] of olive oil. ²⁵ And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the ^(DT)perfumer; it shall be a ^(DU)holy anointing oil. ^26 (DV)With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, ²⁷ and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, ²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the ^(DW)basin and its stand. ²⁹ You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. ^(DX)Whatever touches them will become holy. ^30 (DY)You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ³¹ And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. ³² It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. ^(DZ)It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ^33 (EA)Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ^(EB)“Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), ³⁵ and make an ^(EC)incense blended as by the ^(ED)perfumer, ^(EE)seasoned with salt, pure and holy. ³⁶ You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting ^(EF)where I shall meet with you. ^(EG)It shall be most holy for you. ³⁷ And the incense that you shall make ^(EH)according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. ^38 (EI)Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.”