Exodus 28-29

Easy-to-Read Version

Clothes for the Priests

28 “Tell your brother Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to come to you from the Israelites. These men will serve me as priests.

² “Make special clothes for your brother Aaron. These clothes will give him honor and respect. ³ I have given special wisdom to some of the skilled men. Tell them to make the clothes for Aaron. These clothes will show that he serves me in a special way. Then he can serve me as a priest. ⁴ These are the clothes the men should make: the judgment pouch, the ephod, a blue robe, a white woven robe, a turban, and a cloth belt. They must make these special clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then Aaron and his sons can serve me as priests. ⁵ Tell the men to use gold thread, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn.

The Ephod and the Cloth Belt

⁶ “Use gold thread, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn to make the ephod. This must be the work of a very skilled person. ⁷ At each shoulder of the ephod, there should be a shoulder piece. These shoulder pieces should be tied to the two corners of the ephod.

⁸ “The men will very carefully weave a cloth belt for the ephod. This belt must be made the same way as the ephod—use gold threads, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn.

⁹ “Take two onyx stones. Write the names of the twelve sons of Israel on these jewels. ¹⁰ Write six names on one jewel and six names on the other jewel. Write the names in order, from the oldest son to the youngest. ¹¹ Cut the names of the sons of Israel into these stones. Do this the way a worker makes a seal. Put the jewels in gold settings. ¹² Then put these two jewels on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. Aaron will wear this special coat when he stands before the Lord. And the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel will be on the ephod. These jewels will cause the Lord to remember the Israelites. ¹³ Use fine gold to hold the stones on the ephod. ¹⁴ Twist chains of pure gold together like a rope. Make two of these gold chains and fasten them to the gold settings.

The Judgment Pouch

¹⁵ “Make the judgment pouch for the high priest. Skilled workers should make this pouch just as they made the ephod. They must use gold threads, fine linen, and blue, purple, and red yarn. ¹⁶ The judgment pouch should be folded double to make a square pocket. It should be 1 span^[a] long and 1 span wide. ¹⁷ Put four rows of beautiful jewels on the judgment pouch. The first row of jewels should have a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl. ¹⁸ The second row should have a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald. ¹⁹ The third row should have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰ The fourth row should have a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. Set all these jewels in gold. ²¹ There will be twelve jewels on the judgment pouch—one stone for each of the sons of Israel. Each stone will be like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes cut into it.

²² “Make chains of pure gold for the judgment pouch. These chains must be braided like a rope. ²³ Make two gold rings and put them on two corners of the judgment pouch. ²⁴ Put the two golden chains through the two rings at the corners of the judgment pouch. ²⁵ Fasten the other ends of the gold chains to the two settings. This will fasten them to the two shoulder pieces of the ephod on the front. ²⁶ Make two more gold rings and put them on the other two corners of the judgment pouch. This will be on the inside edge of the judgment pouch next to the ephod. ²⁷ Make two more gold rings and put them on the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod. Put the gold rings above the cloth belt of the ephod. ²⁸ Use blue ribbon to tie the rings of the judgment pouch to the rings of the ephod. In this way the judgment pouch will rest close to the cloth belt and will be held against the ephod.

²⁹ “When Aaron enters the Holy Place, he must wear the judgment pouch. In this way he will wear the names of the twelve sons of Israel over his heart. And the Lord will always be reminded of them. ³⁰ Put the Urim and Thummim inside the judgment pouch. They will be over Aaron’s heart when he goes before the Lord. So Aaron will always carry with him a way of judging for the Israelites when he is before the Lord.

Other Clothes for the Priests

³¹ “Make a blue robe for the ephod. ³² Make a hole in the center for the head. And sew a piece of cloth around the edge of this hole. This cloth will be like a collar that keeps the hole from tearing. ³³ Use blue, purple, and red yarn to make cloth pomegranates. Hang these pomegranates around the bottom edge of the robe, and hang gold bells between the pomegranates. ³⁴ So around the bottom edge of the robe there should be bells and pomegranates. There should be a bell following each pomegranate. ³⁵ Aaron will wear this robe when he serves as a priest. The bells will ring as Aaron goes into the Holy Place to stand before the Lord, and the bells will ring as he leaves the Holy Place. This way Aaron will not die.

³⁶ “Make a strip of pure gold and carve these words into the gold like the writing on a seal: holy to the lord.^{[b] 37} Fasten the gold strip to a blue ribbon. Tie the blue ribbon around the turban. The gold strip should be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ Aaron will wear this on his head. In this way he will remove the guilt if anything is wrong with the gifts that the Israelites^[c] give to God. Aaron will always wear this on his head so that the Lord will accept the gifts of the people.

³⁹ “Use fine linen to make the white woven robe and the turban. The cloth belt should have designs sewn into it. ⁴⁰ Also make coats, belts, and cloth caps for Aaron’s sons. This will give them honor and respect. ⁴¹ Put the clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons. Then pour the special oil on them to make them priests. This will make them holy, and they will serve me as priests.

⁴² “Use linen to make underclothes for the priests. These underclothes will cover them from the waist to the thighs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons must wear these clothes whenever they enter the Meeting Tent. They must wear these clothes when they come near to the altar to serve as priests in the Holy Place. If they don’t wear these clothes, they will be guilty of wrong and will have to die. All this should be a law that continues forever for Aaron and all his family after him.

The Ceremony for Appointing the Priests

29 “Now I will tell you what you must do to show that Aaron and his sons serve me in a special way as priests. Find one young bull and two rams that have nothing wrong with them. ² Then use fine wheat flour without yeast to make bread. And use the same things to make cakes mixed with olive oil. Make small thin cakes spread with oil. ³ Put this bread and the cakes in a basket. Then give the basket to Aaron and his sons. At the same time, give them the bull and the two rams.

⁴ “Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Wash them with water. ⁵ Put the special clothes on Aaron. Put on him the white woven robe and the blue robe that is worn with the ephod. Put the ephod and the judgment pouch on him. Then tie the beautiful cloth belt on him. ⁶ Put the turban on his head and the special crown around the turban. ⁷ Take the anointing oil and pour it on Aaron’s head. This will show that he is chosen for this work.

⁸ “Then bring Aaron’s sons to that place. Put the white woven robes on them. ⁹ Then tie cloth belts around their waists, and give them cloth caps to wear. At that time they will begin to be priests. They will be priests because of the special law that will continue forever. This is the way you will make Aaron and his sons priests.

¹⁰ “Then bring the bull to that place at the front of the Meeting Tent. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on the bull’s head. ¹¹ Then kill the bull there in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ¹² Then take some of the bull’s blood and go to the altar. Use your finger to put some blood on the horns of the altar. Pour out all the blood that is left at the bottom of the altar. ¹³ Then take all the fat from inside the bull, the fatty part of the liver, both kidneys, and the fat around them. Burn this fat on the altar. ¹⁴ Then take the bull’s meat, his skin, and his other parts and go outside your camp and burn them. This bull is an offering to take away the sins of the priests.

¹⁵ “Then tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the head of one of the rams. ¹⁶ Kill that ram and save the blood. Throw the blood against the altar on all four sides. ¹⁷ Then cut the ram into several pieces. Wash all the parts from inside the ram and the legs. Put these things with the head and the other pieces of the ram. ¹⁸ Then burn everything on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.

¹⁹ “Tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on the other ram. ²⁰ Kill that ram and save some of its blood. Put that blood on the right ear lobes of Aaron and his sons. Also put some of the blood on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then throw blood against all four sides of the altar. ²¹ Then take some of the blood from the altar. Mix it with the special oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes. And sprinkle it on his sons and their clothes. This will show that Aaron and his sons serve me in a special way. And it will show that their clothes are used only at special times.

²² “Then take the fat from the ram. (This is the ram that will be used in the ceremony to make Aaron the high priest.) Take the fat from around the tail and the fat that covers the organs inside the body. Then take the fat that covers the liver, both kidneys and the fat on them, and the right leg. ²³ Then take the basket of bread that you made without yeast. This is the basket you put before the Lord. Take these things out of the basket: one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one small thin cake. ²⁴ Give them to Aaron and his sons. Tell them to hold these things in their hands before the Lord. This will be a special offering to the Lord. ²⁵ Then take them from Aaron and his sons and put them on the altar with the ram. Then burn everything on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord.

²⁶ “Then take the breast from the ram. (This is the ram that will be used in the ceremony to make Aaron the high priest.) Hold the breast of the ram before the Lord as a special offering. Then take it back and keep it. This part of the animal will be for you. ²⁷ Take the breast and the leg of the ram that was used to make Aaron the high priest and make these parts holy. Then give these special parts to Aaron and his sons. ²⁸ The Israelites will always give Aaron and his sons these parts. These parts will always belong to the priests when the Israelites make an offering to the Lord. When they give these parts to the priest, it will be the same as giving them to the Lord.

²⁹ “Save these special clothes that were made for Aaron and his descendants. They will wear these clothes when they are chosen to be priests. ³⁰ Aaron’s son will become the next high priest after him. That son will wear these clothes seven days when he comes to the Meeting Tent to serve in the Holy Place.

³¹ “Cook the meat from the ram that was used to make Aaron the high priest. Cook that meat in a holy place. ³² Then Aaron and his sons must eat the meat at the front door of the Meeting Tent. And they must also eat the bread that is in the basket. ³³ These offerings were used to take away their sins when they were made priests. Now they should eat these offerings. ³⁴ If any of the meat from that ram or any of the bread is left the next morning, then it must be burned. You must not eat that bread or the meat because it should be eaten only in a special way at a special time.

³⁵ “You must do all these things for Aaron and his sons. You must do them exactly as I told you. The ceremony for appointing them to be priests must continue for seven days. ³⁶ You must kill one bull every day for seven days. This will be an offering for the sins of Aaron and his sons. You will use these sacrifices to make the altar pure, and pour olive oil on the altar to make it holy. ³⁷ You will make the altar pure and holy for seven days. At that time the altar will be most holy. Anything that touches the altar will also be holy.

³⁸ “Every day you must make an offering on the altar. You must kill two lambs that are one year old. ³⁹ Offer one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening. ^40-41 When you kill the first lamb, also offer 8 cups^[d] of fine wheat flour. Mix that flour with 1 quart^[e] of the best oil. Also offer 1 quart of wine as an offering. When you kill the second lamb in the evening, also offer the 8 cups of fine flour mixed with 1 quart of the best oil and offer 1 quart of wine. This is the same as you did in the morning. This will be a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. When you burn this offering, he will smell it, and it will please him.

⁴² “You must burn these things as an offering to the Lord every day. Do this at the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord. Continue to do this for all time. When you make the offering, I will meet you there and speak to you. ⁴³ I will meet with the Israelites at that place, and my Glory will make that place holy.

⁴⁴ “So I will make the Meeting Tent and the altar holy. I will also make Aaron and his sons holy so that they can serve me as priests. ⁴⁵ I will live with the Israelites. I will be their God. ⁴⁶ The people will know that I am the Lord their God. They will know that I am the one who led them out of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am the Lord their God.