Exodus 39

From the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn they made finely woven garments for serving in the holy place. They also made the holy garments for Aaron, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

1And 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.

NoteChapters 35–39 report the carrying out, item by item, of the instructions given to Moses in chapters 25–31, which is why the wording keeps echoing the earlier commands. "The LORD" in capitals stands where the Hebrew has the personal name of God, four consonants usually written YHWH, which Jewish readers traditionally do not pronounce. The "holy place" is the sanctuary, the curtained tent and its enclosure where the priests served.

2He made the ephod out of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine twisted linen.

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

NoteAn ephod was a sleeveless garment worn over the priest's robe, something like an apron hanging front and back, joined at the shoulders and held by a woven band at the waist. The Hebrew word is usually left untranslated because no English garment matches it.

3They hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work into the blue, the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. It was the work of a skilled craftsman.

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.

4They made shoulder pieces for the ephod to join it together. It was joined together at its two edges.

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

5The skillfully woven waistband on the ephod was made in one piece with it and in the same way: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine twisted linen, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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.

6They worked the onyx stones and set them in gold settings. The stones were engraved with the names of the sons of Israel, the way a seal is engraved.

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

NoteA seal (the King James "signet") was a small carved stone pressed into soft clay or wax to leave a mark identifying its owner. The stones were cut with the same fine engraving technique.

7He fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, so they would be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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.

NoteThe Hebrew word rendered "remembrance" means a reminder or memorial: the priest carried the names of the tribes on his shoulders whenever he served.

8He made the breastpiece as the work of a skilled craftsman, made like the ephod: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine twisted linen.

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.

NoteThe breastpiece was a folded square of cloth worn on the chest over the ephod, forming a pouch. Exodus 28 says it held the Urim and Thummim, objects used to seek a decision from God.

9It was square. They made the breastpiece folded double: a span long and a span wide when folded over.

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

NoteA span was the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger on a spread hand, about nine inches or twenty-three centimetres. So the folded breastpiece was roughly a nine-inch square.

10They set four rows of stones in it. The first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle. That was the first row.

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.

NoteThe names of the twelve stones in verses 10–13 are uncertain. The Hebrew words are ancient trade names, and no one now knows exactly which minerals they meant; modern translations differ widely. "Sardius" is a deep red stone (some translations say ruby or carnelian) and "carbuncle" is an older English word for a red gem.

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

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

Note"Diamond" here is a traditional guess rather than a certainty; ancient jewellers had no way of cutting diamonds, so some other hard pale stone is likely. "Emerald" and "sapphire" are also uncertain, sapphire probably standing for the deep blue stone lapis lazuli.

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

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

Note"Ligure" is an old English name for a yellow or orange stone, often identified with jacinth or with amber.

13The fourth row was a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were mounted in gold settings in their frames.

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

14The stones matched the names of the sons of Israel. There were twelve of them, one for each name, engraved like a seal, each one with its own name, for the twelve tribes.

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.

NoteThe twelve tribes were the family groups descended from the twelve sons of Jacob, who was also called Israel; together they made up the nation. Each tribe's name was cut into one of the stones.

15For the breastpiece they made chains at the ends, braided like cords, of pure gold.

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

16They also made two gold settings and two gold rings, and they put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece.

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

17They put the two braided gold chains into the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece.

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

18They fastened the other two ends of the two braided chains into the two settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it.

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.

19They made two more gold rings and put them on the two other ends of the breastpiece, on its edge, on the inside next to the ephod.

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.

20They made two more gold rings and put them on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, underneath, at its front, near its seam, just above the skillfully woven waistband of the ephod.

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.

21They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would sit above the woven waistband of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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.

22He made the robe that goes with the ephod as woven work, all of blue.

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

NoteThis robe was a long sleeveless blue garment worn under the ephod and reaching below the knees.

23There was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of armor, with a band around the opening so it would not tear.

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.

NoteThe King James compares the neck opening to that of a "habergeon", a coat of mail or armor, which had a reinforced collar so the head-hole would not tear. The Hebrew term is uncertain and may simply mean a stout garment.

24On the lower hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and twisted linen.

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

NotePomegranates are a round red fruit with a small crown at the top, common in the region. Here they are ornaments made of colored yarn, hanging from the lower edge of the robe.

25They made bells of pure gold and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe, all the way around, between the pomegranates.

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;

NoteExodus 28:35 says the bells were to be heard when Aaron went into the holy place and came out again.

26A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe worn for serving, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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.

27They made tunics of fine linen, as woven work, for Aaron and for his sons,

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

28and the turban of fine linen, the fine linen headbands, and the linen undergarments of fine twisted linen,

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

NoteThe turban was a length of linen wound round the head; the headbands were simpler versions for Aaron's sons. The undergarments (King James "breeches") were short linen trousers reaching from waist to thigh, which Exodus 28:42 says were to cover the body while the priests served.

29and the sash of fine twisted linen with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, done in needlework, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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

30They made the plate of the holy crown out of pure gold, and they wrote on it, engraved the way a seal is engraved: HOLY TO THE LORD.

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.

NoteThis was a thin strip of gold worn across the front of the turban. "Holy" in Hebrew means set apart or dedicated, so the inscription marks the wearer, and the object, as belonging to the LORD and reserved for his service.

31They tied a blue cord to it, to fasten it high on the turban, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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

32So all the work of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. That is what they did.

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.

NoteThe tabernacle was the portable tent-sanctuary the Israelites carried with them, built to the specifications of chapters 25–31. It is also called the tent of meeting because it was the appointed place where God met with Moses and the people.

33Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases,

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,

NoteThe tent stood on a wooden framework: upright frames set into heavy metal bases, kept in line by crossbars running through rings, with the fabric panels joined edge to edge by clasps.

34and the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of fine leather, and the curtain that serves as a screen,

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

NoteThe Hebrew word behind "fine leather" (King James "badgers' skins") is of unknown meaning; suggestions include dolphin or porpoise hide, goat or antelope skin, and specially treated leather. The "curtain that serves as a screen" is the heavy embroidered veil that hung inside the tent, separating off the innermost room.

35the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat,

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

NoteThe ark was a gilded wooden chest carried on poles through rings at its corners; the "testimony" it held was the pair of stone tablets inscribed with the commandments. The mercy seat was its solid gold lid; the Hebrew word means covering, and "mercy seat" is a phrase coined by the early English translator William Tyndale.

36the table with all its dishes and utensils, and the bread of the Presence,

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

NoteThe King James calls this "shewbread": twelve loaves kept on the table in the holy place, set out fresh each sabbath and then eaten by the priests.

37the pure gold lampstand with its lamps, the lamps set out in their row, and all its utensils, and the oil for the light,

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,

NoteThe lampstand (Hebrew menorah) was a gold stand with six branches and a central shaft, holding seven lamps that burned olive oil and stood inside the tent.

38the gold altar, the anointing oil, the sweet-smelling incense, and the curtain for the entrance of the tabernacle,

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

NoteThe gold altar was the small altar for burning incense, which stood inside the tent, as distinct from the large bronze altar outside. The anointing oil was a perfumed olive-oil mixture poured on people and objects to mark them as set apart for the sanctuary's service.

39the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand,

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

NoteThe bronze altar stood in the open courtyard; animals were burned on it as offerings, and the grating held the fire and let ash fall through. The basin, called a "laver" in the King James, was a bronze bowl of water in which the priests washed their hands and feet before serving.

40the curtains of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, the curtain for the courtyard gate, its ropes and its tent pegs, and all the equipment used in serving at the tabernacle, the tent of meeting,

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,

NoteThe courtyard was the open enclosure around the tabernacle, its walls formed of linen curtains hung on posts and held upright by guy ropes and tent pegs.

41the finely woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear when they served as priests.

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.

42The Israelites did all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

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

43Moses looked over all the work, and there it was: they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. That is how they had done it. And Moses blessed them.

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.