Exodus

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.

1They used blue, purple, and red yarn to weave special clothes. These clothes were worn for serving God in the holy place. They also made the holy clothes for Aaron, the priest. The LORD had told Moses to do all this.

2And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

2He made the ephod, a special vest for the priest. He used gold, blue, purple, and red yarn, and fine cloth.

3And 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.

3They hammered gold into thin sheets. Then they cut the sheets into long, thin threads. They wove the gold in with the yarn and the fine cloth. Skilled workers did this.

NoteIn 1611 English, "cunning work" meant skilled work, not sneaky work. In verse 5, a "curious girdle" means a carefully woven belt, not an odd one.

4They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together.

4They made shoulder pieces for the vest. The pieces joined the front and back at its two corners.

5And 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.

5The belt of the vest was woven right onto it. It was made the same way and of the same things. It used gold, blue, purple, and red yarn, and fine cloth. The LORD had told Moses to do this.

6And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.

6They set onyx stones into gold holders. They carved the names of Israel's sons on the stones. They carved them the way a name stamp is carved.

Note"Ouches" are gold settings that hold a stone in place, like the setting on a ring.

7And 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.

7He put the stones on the shoulders of the vest. The stones helped everyone remember the people of Israel. The LORD had told Moses to do this.

8And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

8He made the breastpiece, a cloth pouch worn on the chest. Skilled workers made it just like the vest. They used gold, blue, purple, and red yarn, and fine cloth.

9It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.

9It was folded double, so it made a square. It was about nine inches long and nine inches wide.

10And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.

10They set four rows of jewels on it. The first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle. These are old names for shiny stones.

11And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

11The second row was an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

12And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

12The third row was a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

13And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings.

13The fourth row was a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Each stone sat in its own gold holder.

14And 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.

14There were twelve stones, one for each son of Israel. Each stone had a name carved on it, like a name stamp. The names were the twelve family groups of Israel.

15And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.

15They made chains for the breastpiece out of pure gold. The chains were braided like little ropes.

16And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.

16They made two gold holders and two gold rings. They put the rings on two corners of the breastpiece.

17And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.

17They fastened the two braided gold chains to those two rings.

18And 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.

18They fastened the other ends of the chains to the two gold holders. Then they attached them to the shoulder pieces on the front of the vest.

19And 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.

19They made two more gold rings. They put them on the other two corners of the breastpiece. These rings were on the inside edge, next to the vest.

20And 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.

20They made two more gold rings. They put them low on the front of the vest's shoulder pieces. This was near the seam, just above the woven belt.

21And 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.

21They tied the breastpiece rings to the vest rings with a blue cord. This held the breastpiece above the belt. It kept the breastpiece from swinging loose from the vest. The LORD had told Moses to do this.

22And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.

22He made the robe that goes with the vest. A weaver made it, and it was all blue.

23And 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.

23The robe had an opening in the middle for the head. It was like the opening in a coat of armor. A woven band went around the opening so it would not tear.

24And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.

24On the bottom edge of the robe they made pomegranates. A pomegranate is a round fruit. They made them from blue, purple, and red yarn and fine cloth.

25And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;

25They made little bells of pure gold. They put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem.

26A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.

26A bell, then a pomegranate, then a bell, all around the hem. The robe was worn for serving God. The LORD had told Moses to do this.

27And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,

27They made long shirts of fine cloth for Aaron and his sons. A weaver made them.

28And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen,

28They made a turban of fine cloth. A turban is cloth wrapped around the head. They also made fancy head coverings and linen underclothes.

29And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.

29They made a sash of fine cloth with blue, purple, and red yarn sewn in. The LORD had told Moses to do this.

30And 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.

30They made the plate of the holy crown out of pure gold. They carved words on it, the way a name stamp is carved. The words said: HOLY TO THE LORD.

31And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses.

31They tied a blue cord to the plate. The cord held the plate high on the front of the turban. The LORD had told Moses to do this.

32Thus 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.

32So all the work on the tabernacle was finished. The tabernacle was the special tent where God met with his people. The people of Israel did everything just as the LORD told Moses.

33And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,

33Then they brought it all to Moses. They brought the tent and everything in it. They brought its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases.

34And the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers’ skins, and the vail of the covering,

34They brought the cover made of ram skins dyed red. They brought the cover made of fine leather. They brought the curtain that hangs inside.

Note"Badgers' skins" was the old translators' guess. No one is sure which animal it was. It was some kind of strong, fine leather.

35The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat,

35They brought the ark, the gold box that held God's words. They brought its carrying poles and its gold lid.

36The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread,

36They brought the table and all its dishes. They brought the special bread that was kept on the table.

Note"Shewbread" means "bread of the presence." It was bread set out on a table before God.

37The 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,

37They brought the pure gold lampstand with its lamps set in a row. They brought its tools and the oil for the light.

38And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,

38They brought the gold altar, a place for burning sweet-smelling incense. They brought the special oil, the incense, and the curtain for the tent door.

39The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,

39They brought the bronze altar with its bronze grate. They brought its poles and all its tools. They brought the big washing bowl and its stand.

40The 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,

40They brought the curtains for the yard around the tent. They brought its posts, its bases, and the curtain for the gate. They brought its ropes, its tent pegs, and all the tools for serving there.

41The 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.

41They brought the woven clothes for serving in the holy place. These were Aaron's holy clothes and his sons' clothes for their priest work.

42According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work.

42The people of Israel did all the work just as the LORD told Moses.

43And 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.

43Moses looked closely at all the work. They had done it just as the LORD commanded. So Moses blessed them.