Exodus 28:6-30

6Use gold, blue, purple and red material, as well as good linen, to make the ephod. A worker should use special skills to make it so that it looks beautiful.

7Fix pieces of cloth on its two edges. These will go over the priest's shoulders to join the front and the back parts of the ephod.

8Make a beautiful belt to tie around the ephod. The belt and the ephod must be one piece of work. Use the same materials to make both of them: gold, blue, purple and red material, and good linen.

9Take two onyx stones and write on them with a sharp tool. Write the names of the sons of Israel.

10Begin with the name of the oldest son and finish with the name of the youngest son. Write six names on one stone and six names on the other stone.

11A worker who has skill to cut letters into metal must do this work. Then fix the stones into beautiful gold around their edges.

12Fix the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod so that they show the names of the 12 sons of Israel. Aaron will carry the names on his shoulders as he serves the Lord. Then the Lord will remember to bless his people.

13Use gold to make beautiful pieces to hold the stones.

14And use pure gold to make two thin chains, like strings. Fix these chains to the gold pieces that hold the onyx stones.

15A worker must use special skills to make a breastpiece so that it looks beautiful. The breastpiece will help the priest to know what God is saying. Make it like the ephod. Use gold, blue, purple and red material, and good linen to make it.

16Bend a piece of cloth over to make a square pocket, 22 centimetres long and 22 centimetres wide.

17Then fix four rows of jewels on it. These are the names of the jewels: a ruby, a topaz and a beryl in the first row;

18a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald in the second row;

19a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst in the third row;

20a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper in the fourth row. Fix each jewel into beautiful gold around its edges.

21There will be 12 jewels, one jewel for each of Israel's sons. You must carefully write one tribe's name on each jewel with a sharp tool.

22Use pure gold to make two thin chains like strings. These will fix the breastpiece to the ephod.

23Make two gold rings and fix them to the two top corners of the breastpiece.

24Fix the two gold chains to the two rings on the corners of the breastpiece.

25Fix the other ends of the two chains to the shoulder pieces of the ephod, in the front. Join them to the gold pieces that hold the onyx stones.

26Make two gold rings and fix them to the two bottom corners of the breastpiece. Put them on its inside edge, so that they are next to the ephod.

27Make two more gold rings. Fix them to the bottom edge of the shoulder pieces, on the front of the ephod. Put them just above the ephod's belt.

28Use a string of blue material to tie the rings on the breastpiece to the rings on the ephod. Fix them together above the ephod's belt. Then the breastpiece and the belt will not become separate.

29When Aaron goes into the Holy Place, he will wear the breastpiece. So he will carry the names of Israel's sons over his heart. And the Lord will always remember to bless the Israelites.

30Put the Urim and Thummim in the pocket of the breastpiece. They will also be over Aaron's heart when he goes in there to serve the Lord. The Urim and Thummim will always be there to show Aaron what the Lord is saying about the Israelites. He will carry this help over his heart all the time.