Chapter 15

  1. And take unto yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office — even Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. And you shall speak unto all that are wise-hearted whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and an embroidered coat, a miter, and a sash. And they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen with skillful work. It shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof. And so it shall be joined together. And the skillfully woven band of the ephod which is upon it shall be of the same, according to the work thereof — even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
  2. And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel: six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel. You shall make them to be set in sockets of gold. And you shall put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And you shall make sockets of gold, and two chains of pure gold at the ends. Of braided work shall you make them and fasten the braided chains to the sockets.
  3. And you shall make the breastplate of judgment with skillful work. After the work of the ephod you shall make it. Of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen shall you make it. Square it shall be, being doubled. A span shall be the length thereof and a span shall be the breadth thereof. And you shall set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones. The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle. This shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row: a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row: a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold in their settings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet. Every one with its name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
  4. And you shall make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of braided work of pure gold. And you shall make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And you shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate. And the other two ends of the two braided chains you shall fasten in the two sockets, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod before it. And you shall make two rings of gold and you shall put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold you shall make, and shall put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, close to the other coupling thereof, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue, that it may be above the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosened from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he goes in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually. And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim. And they shall be upon Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.
  5. And you shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be a hole in the top of it, in the center thereof. It shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, like the hole of a habergeon, that it not be rent. And beneath, upon the hem of it, you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof, and bells of gold between them round about: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister. And his sound shall be heard when he goes in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, that he not die. And you shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be upon the miter. Upon the forefront of the miter it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts. And it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
  6. And you shall embroider the coat of fine linen, and you shall make the miter of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of needlework. And for Aaron’s sons you shall make coats, and you shall make for them sashes, and caps shall you make for them, for glory and for beauty. And you shall put them upon Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And you shall make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness, from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach. And they shall be upon Aaron and upon his sons when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place, that they bear not iniquity and die. It shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.
  7. And this is the thing that you shall do unto them to hallow them to minister unto me in the priest’s office: take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened mixed with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil — of wheat flour shall you make them. And you shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket with the bullock and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons you shall bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation and shall wash them with water. And you shall take the garments and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And you shall put the miter upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the miter. Then shall you take the anointing oil and pour it upon his head and anoint him. And you shall bring his sons and put coats upon them. And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the caps on them. And the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. And you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.
  8. And you shall cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. And you shall kill the bullock before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And you shall take of the blood of the bullock and put it upon the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the lobe that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shall you burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
  9. You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. And you shall slay the ram, and you shall take his blood and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. And you shall cut the ram in pieces, and wash the entrails of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces and unto his head. And you shall burn the whole ram upon the altar. It is a burnt offering unto the Lord. It is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
  10. And you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. Then shall you kill the ram, and take of his blood and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And you shall take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron and upon his garments, and upon his sons and upon the garments of his sons with him. And he shall be hallowed and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.
  11. Also, you shall take of the ram the fat, and the rump, and the fat that covers the entrails, and the lobe above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder (for it is a ram of consecration), and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord, and you shall put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons, and shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. And you shall receive them of their hands and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor before the Lord. It is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
  12. And you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord. And it shall be your part. And you shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved and which is heaved up of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons. And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel, for it is a heave offering. And it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the Lord.
  13. And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein and to be consecrated in them. And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days when he comes into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.
  14. And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil his flesh in the holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat thereof because they are holy. And if any of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten because it is holy.
  15. And thus shall you do unto Aaron and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded you. Seven days shall you consecrate them. And you shall offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement. And you shall cleanse the altar when you have made an atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. Seven days you shall make an atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And it shall be an altar most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall be holy.