Priestly Clothing and Consecration Instructions

Exodus 28

¹ “Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

² You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

³ You shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.

⁴ These are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a fitted tunic, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.

⁵ They shall use the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen.

⁶ “They shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful workman.

⁷ It shall have two shoulder straps joined to the two ends of it, that it may be joined together.

⁸ The skillfully woven band, which is on it, shall be like its work and of the same piece; of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.

⁹ You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel.

¹⁰ Six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, in the order of their birth.

¹¹ With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel. You shall make them to be enclosed in settings of gold.

¹² You shall put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel. Aaron shall bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial.

¹³ You shall make settings of gold,

¹⁴ and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them like cords of braided work. You shall put the braided chains on the settings.

¹⁵ “You shall make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, you shall make it.

¹⁶ It shall be square and folded double; a span shall be its length, and a span its width.

¹⁷ You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;

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

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

²⁰ and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be enclosed in gold in their settings.

²¹ The stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.

²² You shall make on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.

²³ You shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

²⁴ You shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

²⁵ The other two ends of the two braided chains you shall put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in its forepart.

²⁶ You shall make two rings of gold, and you shall put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which is toward the side of the ephod inward.

²⁷ You shall make two rings of gold, and shall put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its forepart, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

²⁸ They shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod.

²⁹ Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Yahweh continually.

³⁰ You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Yahweh. Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Yahweh continually.

³¹ “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.

³² It shall have a hole for the head in the middle of it. It shall have a binding of woven work around its hole, as it were the hole of a coat of mail, that it not be torn.

³³ On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, all around its hem; with bells of gold between and around them:

³⁴ a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe.

³⁵ It shall be on Aaron to minister: and its sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before Yahweh, and when he comes out, that he not die.

³⁶ “You shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘HOLY TO YAHWEH.’

³⁷ You shall put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be on the sash. It shall be on the front of the sash.

³⁸ It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall make holy in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Yahweh.

³⁹ You shall weave the tunic with fine linen. You shall make a turban of fine linen. You shall make a sash, the work of the embroiderer.

⁴⁰ “You shall make tunics for Aaron’s sons. You shall make sashes for them. You shall make headbands for them, for glory and for beauty.

⁴¹ You shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office.

⁴² You shall make them linen pants to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the waist even to the thighs.

⁴³ They shall be on Aaron and on his sons, when they go in to the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place, that they don’t bear iniquity, and die. This shall be a statute forever to him and to his offspring after him.

Exodus 29

¹ “This is the thing that you shall do to them to make them holy, to minister to me in the priest’s office: take one young bull and two rams without defect,

² unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour.

³ You shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.

⁴ You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.

⁵ You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and clothe him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

⁶ You shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban.

⁷ Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him.

⁸ You shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them.

⁹ You shall clothe them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headbands on them. They shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. You shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰ “You shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.

¹¹ You shall kill the bull before Yahweh at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

¹² You shall take of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.

¹³ You shall take all the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar.

¹⁴ But the meat of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵ “You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.

¹⁶ You shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood, and sprinkle it around on the altar.

¹⁷ You shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its innards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head.

¹⁸ You shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to Yahweh; it is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

¹⁹ “You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.

²⁰ Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot; and sprinkle the blood around on the altar.

²¹ You shall take of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be made holy, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

²² Also you shall take some of the ram’s fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration),

²³ and one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before Yahweh.

²⁴ You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands, and in his sons’ hands, and shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh.

²⁵ You shall take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar on the burnt offering, for a pleasant aroma before Yahweh: it is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

²⁶ “You shall take the breast of Aaron’s ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It shall be your portion.

²⁷ You shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the wave offering, which is waved, and which is raised up, of the ram of consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons.

²⁸ It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion forever from the children of Israel; for it is a wave offering. It shall be a wave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, even their wave offering to Yahweh.

²⁹ “The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them.

³⁰ Seven days shall the son who is priest in his place put them on, when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the holy place.

³¹ “You shall take the ram of consecration and boil its meat in a holy place.

³² Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

³³ They shall eat those things with which atonement was made, to consecrate and sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat of it, because they are holy.

³⁴ If anything of the meat of the consecration, or of the bread, remains to the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

³⁵ “You shall do so to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. You shall consecrate them seven days.

³⁶ Every day you shall offer the bull of sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it. You shall anoint it, to sanctify it.

³⁷ Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall be holy.

³⁸ “Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually.

³⁹ The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening;

⁴⁰ and with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering.

⁴¹ The other lamb you shall offer at evening, and shall do to it according to the meal offering of the morning and according to its drink offering, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

⁴² It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you.

⁴³ There I will meet with the children of Israel; and the place shall be sanctified by my glory.

⁴⁴ I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest’s office.

⁴⁵ I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

⁴⁶ They shall know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am Yahweh their God.