Exodus 28 (Modern King James Version - MKJV)
(Exo 28:1) And you shall take to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, so that he may minister to Me in the priest's office: Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
(Exo 28:2) And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
(Exo 28:3) And you shall speak to all the wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, so that he may minister to Me in the priest's office.
(Exo 28:4) And these are the garments which they shall make: a breast-pocket, and an ephod, and a robe, and an embroidered coat, a miter, and a girdle. And they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and his sons, so that he may minister to Me in the priest's office.
(Exo 28:5) And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and bleached linen.
(Exo 28:6) And they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, scarlet, and fine twined bleached linen, skilled work.
(Exo 28:7) It shall have the two shoulder-pieces of it joined at the two edges of it. And so it shall be joined together.
(Exo 28:8) And the embroidered girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work of it: of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined bleached linen.
(Exo 28:9) And you shall take two onyx stones, and you shall engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel.
(Exo 28:10) Six of their names shall be on one stone, and six of the remaining names on the other stone, according to their birth.
(Exo 28:11) With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall make them to be set in settings of gold.
(Exo 28:12) And you shall put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial to the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
(Exo 28:13) And you shall make plaited work of gold,
(Exo 28:14) and two chains of pure gold at the ends. You shall make them of woven work, a work of cord, and fasten the woven chains to the plaited work.
(Exo 28:15) And you shall make the breast-pocket (breastplate) of judgment with embroidered work. After the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined bleached linen, you shall make it.
(Exo 28:16) It shall be square, doubled; a span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it.
(Exo 28:17) And you shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones. The first row shall be a ruby, topaz, and carbuncle in the row.
(Exo 28:18) And the second row: an emerald, a sapphire. and a diamond.(Exo 28:19) And the third row: an jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst.
(Exo 28:20) And the fourth row: a chrysolite, and an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold in their fillings.
(Exo 28:21) And the stones shall be with the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet. They shall be each one with his name according to the twelve tribes.
(Exo 28:22) And you shall make chains upon the breast-pocket, work of cords, in pure gold.
(Exo 28:23) And you shall make upon the breast-pocket two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breast-pocket.
(Exo 28:24) And you shall put the two woven chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breast-pocket.
(Exo 28:25) And the two ends of the two cords you shall fasten on the two plaitings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it.
(Exo 28:26) And you shall make two rings of gold, and you shall put them upon the two ends of the breast-pocket in the border of it, which is in the side of the ephod inward.
(Exo 28:27) And you shall make two rings of gold, and shall put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the front of it, near its joining, above the band of the ephod.
(Exo 28:28) And they shall bind the breast-pocket by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the band of the ephod, and so that the breast-pocket may not be loosed from the ephod.
(Exo 28:29) And Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breast-pocket of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Jehovah continually.
(Exo 28:30) And you shall put in the breast-pocket of judgment the Urim and the Thummim. And they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goes in before Jehovah. And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the sons of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually.
(Exo 28:31) And you shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
(Exo 28:32) And there shall be a hole in the top of it, in its middle; a binding shall be all around its mouth, of woven work. It shall be like the mouth of a corselet; it may not be torn.
(Exo 28:33) And on its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, all around its hem. And bells of gold shall be amidst them all around.
(Exo 28:34) There shall be a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around.
(Exo 28:35) And it shall be on Aaron to serve. And his sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out, so that he will not die.
(Exo 28:36) And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and carve on it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH.
(Exo 28:37) And you shall put a ribbon on it, and it shall be on the miter; to the front of the miter it shall be.
(Exo 28:38) And it shall be on Aaron's forehead, so that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which will sanctify the sons of Israel in all their holy gifts. And it shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be accepted before Jehovah.
(Exo 28:39) And you shall weave the tunic of bleached linen, and you shall make the miter of bleached linen, and you shall make the girdle of needlework.
(Exo 28:40) And you shall make tunics for Aaron's sons, and you shall make for them girdles, and turbans you shall make for them, for glory and for beauty.
(Exo 28:41) And you shall clothe Aaron your brother with them, and his sons with him. And you shall anoint them, and you shall consecrate them, and you shall sanctify them, so that they may minister to Me in the priest's office.
(Exo 28:42) And you shall make them linen breeches to cover the naked flesh; from the loins even to the thighs they shall reach.
(Exo 28:43) And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in to the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place; so that they do not bear iniquity, and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his seed after him.
Exodus 28 (Contemporary English Version - CEV)
(Exo 28:1) Send for your brother Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. They are the ones I have chosen from Israel to serve as my priests.
(Exo 28:2) Make Aaron some beautiful clothes that are worthy of a high priest.
(Exo 28:3) Aaron is to be dedicated as my high priest, and his clothes must be made only by persons who possess skills that I have given them.
(Exo 28:4) Here are the items that need to be made: a breastpiece, a priestly vest, a robe, an embroidered shirt, a turban, and a sash. These sacred clothes are to be made for your brother Aaron and his sons who will be my priests.
(Exo 28:5) Only gold and fine linen, woven with blue, purple, and red wool, are to be used for making these clothes.
(Exo 28:6) The entire priestly vest must be made of fine linen skillfully woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and decorated with gold. It is to have two shoulder straps to support it and a sash that fastens around the waist.
(Exo 28:7) (SEE 28:6)
(Exo 28:8) (SEE 28:6)
(Exo 28:9) Put two onyx stones in gold settings, then attach one to each of the shoulder straps. On one of these stones engrave the names of Israel's first six sons in the order of their birth. And do the same with his remaining six sons on the other stone. In this way Aaron will always carry the names of the tribes of Israel when he enters the holy place, and I will never forget my people.
(Exo 28:10) (SEE 28:9)
(Exo 28:11) (SEE 28:9)
(Exo 28:12) (SEE 28:9)
(Exo 28:13) Attach two gold settings to the shoulder straps and fasten them with two braided chains of pure gold.
(Exo 28:14) (SEE 28:13)
(Exo 28:15) From the same costly material make a breastpiece for the high priest to use in learning what I want my people to do.
(Exo 28:16) It is to be nine inches square and folded double
(Exo 28:17) with four rows of three precious stones: In the first row put a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald;
(Exo 28:18) In the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;
(Exo 28:19) in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
(Exo 28:20) and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount the stones in delicate gold settings
(Exo 28:21) and engrave on each of them the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
(Exo 28:22) Attach two gold rings to the upper front corners of the breastpiece and fasten them with two braided gold chains to gold settings on the shoulder straps.
(Exo 28:23) (SEE 28:22)
(Exo 28:24) (SEE 28:22)
(Exo 28:25) (SEE 28:22)
(Exo 28:26) Attach two other gold rings to the lower inside corners next to the vest
(Exo 28:27) and two more near the bottom of the shoulder straps right above the sash.
(Exo 28:28) Then take a blue cord and tie the two lower rings on the breastpiece to those on the vest. This will keep the breastpiece in place.
(Exo 28:29) In this way Aaron will have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his heart each time he enters the holy place, and I will never forget my people.
(Exo 28:30) He must also wear on his breastpiece the two small objects that he uses to receive answers from me.
(Exo 28:31) Under his vest Aaron must wear a robe of blue wool
(Exo 28:32) with an opening in the center for his head. Be sure to bind the material around the collar to keep it from raveling.
(Exo 28:33) Along the hem of the robe weave pomegranates of blue, purple, and red wool with a gold bell between each of them.
(Exo 28:34) (SEE 28:33)
(Exo 28:35) If Aaron wears these clothes when he enters the holy place as my high priest, the sound of the bells will be heard, and his life will not be in danger.
(Exo 28:36) On a narrow strip of pure gold engrave the words: "Dedicated to the LORD."
(Exo 28:37) Fasten it to the front of Aaron's turban with a blue cord,
(Exo 28:38) so he can wear it on his forehead. This will show that he will take on himself the guilt for any sins the people of Israel commit in offering their gifts to me, and I will forgive them.
(Exo 28:39) Make Aaron's robe and turban of fine linen and decorate his sash with fancy needlework.
(Exo 28:40) Since Aaron's sons are priests, they should also look dignified. So make robes, sashes, and special caps for them.
(Exo 28:41) Then dress Aaron and his sons in these clothes, pour olive oil on their heads, and ordain them as my priests.
(Exo 28:42) Make linen shorts for them that reach from the waist down to the thigh, so they won't expose themselves.
(Exo 28:43) Whenever they enter the sacred tent or serve at the altar or enter the holy place, they must wear these shorts, or else they will be guilty and die. This same rule applies to any of their descendants who serve as priests.
Exodus 28:15-20 (CEV) From the same costly material make a breastpiece for the high priest to use in learning what I want my people to do. It is to be nine inches square and folded double with four rows of three precious stones: In the first row put a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald; In the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount the stones in delicate gold settings.
| Birth Order | Tribe | Majority Stone14 | Alternate Stones (according to different Bible translations) |
| 1 | Reuben | sardius | ruby (NASB95, NIV, NET), carnelian (NRSV, TNK) |
| 2 | Simeon | topaz | chrysolite (NRSV, TNK) |
| 3 | Levi | carbuncle | emerald (DBY, NASB95, NKJV, NRSV, TNK), beryl (NET, NIV) |
| 4 | Judah | emerald | turquoise (NASB95, NET, NKJV, NRSV, TNK), carbuncle (DBY) |
| 5 | Dan | sapphire | - |
| 6 | Naphtali | diamond | emerald (NET, NIV), moonstone (NRSV), amethyst (TNK) |
| 7 | Gad | jacinth | opal (DBY, MKJV, YLT), ligure (KJV) |
| 8 | Asher | agate | - |
| 9 | Issachar | amethyst | crystal (TNK) |
| 10 | Zebulun | beryl | chrysolite (DBY, NET, NIV, MKJV) |
| 11 | Joseph | onyx | lapis lazuli (TNK) |
| 12 | Benjamin | jasper | - |
There is no description of the form of the Urim and Thummim in the passage describing the high priest's vestments but since they were tucked into the breastplate, they must have been small and flat. There must have been a pouch or pocket for them. The Urim and Thummim were lost probably when Jerusalem was sacked by the Babylonians. They were used as a kind of divine oracle.