Exodus — Chapter 39
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1And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy
2And he made the ephod
3And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut
4They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple
5And the curious girdle of his ephod, that
6And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.
7And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod,
8And he made the breastplate
9It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span
10And they set in it four rows of stones:
11And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
12And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
13And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper:
14And the stones
15And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends,
16And they made two ouches
17And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.
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.
19And they made two rings of gold, and put
20And they made two
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.
22And he made the robe of the ephod
23And
24And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates
25And they made bells
26A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister
27And they made coats
28And a mitre
29And a girdle
30And they made the plate of the holy crown
31And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten
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.
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,
34And the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers’ skins, and the vail of the covering,
35The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat,
36The table,
37The pure candlestick,
38And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,
39The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
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,
41The cloths of service to do service in the holy
42According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work.
43And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they have done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
1And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made finely wrought garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
2And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
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, the work of the skilful workman.
4They made shoulder-pieces for it, joined together; at the two ends was it joined together.
5And the skilfully woven band, that was upon it, wherewith to gird it on, was of the same piece [and] like the work thereof; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
6And they wrought the onyx stones, inclosed in settings of gold, graven with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel.
7And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
8And he made the breastplate, the work of the skilful workman, like the work of the ephod; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being double.
10And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row;
11and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond;
12and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jaspar: they were inclosed in inclosings of gold in their settings.
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 according to his name, for the twelve tribes.
15And they made upon the breastplate chains like cords, of wreathen work of pure gold.
16And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
17And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.
18And the [other] two ends of the two wreathen chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, in the forepart thereof.
19And they made two rings of gold, and put them upon the two ends of the breastplate, upon the edge thereof, which was toward the side of the ephod inward.
20And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, in the forepart thereof, close by the coupling thereof, above the skilfully woven band of the ephod.
21And they did bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be upon the skilfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
22And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
23And the hole of the robe in the midst thereof, as the hole of a coat of mail, with a binding round about the hole of it, that it should not be rent.
24And they made upon the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, [and] twined [linen].
25And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the skirts of the robe round about, between the pomegranates;
26a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about, to minister in; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
27And they made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
28and the mitre of fine linen, and the goodly head-tires of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen,
29and the girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
30And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like the engravings of a signet, HOLY TO JEHOVAH.
31And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it upon the mitre above; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
32Thus was finished all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting: and the children of Israel did according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses; so did they.
33And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the Tent, and all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, it bars, and its pillars, and it sockets;
34and the covering of rams` skins dyed red, and the covering of sealskins, and the veil of the screen;
35the ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy-seat;
36the table, all the vessels thereof, and the showbread;
37the pure candlestick, the lamps thereof, even the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for the light;
38and the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door of the Tent;
39the brazen altar, and its grating of brass, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base;
40the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court, the cords thereof, and the pins thereof, and all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;
41the finely wrought garments for ministering in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest`s office.
42According to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.
43And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it; as Jehovah had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
1From the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for serving in the sanctuary; they made holy garments that were for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
2He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet yarn, and fine twisted linen.
3They hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut it into narrow strips to weave them into the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and into the fine linen, the work of an artistic designer.
4They made shoulder pieces for it, attached to two of its corners, so it could be joined together.
5The artistically woven waistband of the ephod that was on it was like it, of one piece with it, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6They set the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved as with the engravings of a seal with the names of the sons of Israel.
7He put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of memorial for the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
8He made the breastpiece, the work of an artistic designer, in the same fashion as the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine twisted linen.
9It was square—they made the breastpiece doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide when doubled.
10They set on it four rows of stones: a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl—the first row;
11and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;
12and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold filigree settings.
14The stones were for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, corresponding to the number of their names. Each name corresponding to one of the twelve tribes was like the engravings of a seal.
15They made for the breastpiece braided chains like cords of pure gold,
16and they made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and they attached the two rings to the upper two ends of the breastpiece.
17They attached the two gold chains to the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece;
18the other two ends of the two chains they attached to the two settings, and they attached them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it.
19They made two rings of gold and put them on the other two ends of the breastpiece on its edge, which is on the inner side of the ephod.
20They made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the juncture above the waistband of the ephod.
21They tied the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod by blue cord, so that it was above the waistband of the ephod, so that the breastpiece would not be loose from the ephod, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22He made the robe of the ephod completely blue, the work of a weaver.
23There was an opening in the center of the robe, like the opening of a collar, with an edge all around the opening so that it could not be torn.
24They made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and twisted linen around the hem of the robe.
25They made bells of pure gold and attached the bells between the pomegranates around the hem of the robe between the pomegranates.
26There was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe, to be used in ministering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
27They made tunics of fine linen—the work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons—
28and the turban of fine linen, the headbands of fine linen, and the undergarments of fine twisted linen.
29The sash was of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, the work of an embroiderer, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30They made a plate, the holy diadem, of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription, as on the engravings of a seal, “Holiness to the Lord.”
31They attached to it a blue cord to attach it to the turban above, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32So all the work of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed, and the Israelites did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses—they did it exactly so.
33They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings, clasps, frames, bars, posts, and bases;
34and the coverings of ram skins dyed red, the covering of fine leather, and the protecting curtain;
35the ark of the testimony and its poles, and the atonement lid;
36the table, all its utensils, and the Bread of the Presence;
37the pure lampstand, its lamps, with the lamps set in order, and all its accessories, and oil for the light;
38and the gold altar, and the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; and the curtain for the entrance to the tent;
39the bronze altar and its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin with its pedestal;
40the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway of the courtyard, its ropes and its tent pegs, and all the furnishings for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;
41the woven garments for serving in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.
42The Israelites did all the work according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
43Moses inspected all the work, and they had done it just as the Lord had commanded—they had done it exactly—and Moses blessed them.
1Of the blue, purple, and scarlet, they made finely worked garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
2He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.
3They beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in with the blue, the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen, the work of the skillful workman.
4They made shoulder straps for it, joined together. At the two ends it was joined together.
5The skillfully woven band that was on it, with which to fasten it on, was of the same piece, like its work; of gold, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
6They worked the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold, engraved with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel.
7He put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
8He made the breastplate, the work of a skillful workman, like the work of the ephod; of gold, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9It was square. They made the breastplate double. Its length was a span, and its width a span, being double.
10They set in it four rows of stones. A row of ruby, topaz, and beryl was the first row;
11and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;
12and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold settings.
14The stones were 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, for the twelve tribes.
15They made on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.
16They made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
17They put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.
18The other two ends of the two braided chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, in its front.
19They made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which was toward the side of the ephod inward.
20They made two more rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its front, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.
21They bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not come loose from the ephod, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
22He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
23The opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around its opening, that it should not be torn.
24They made on the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, scarlet, and twined linen.
25They made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates around the skirts of the robe, between the pomegranates;
26a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the skirts of the robe, to minister in, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
27They made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
28and the turban of fine linen, and the linen headbands of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen,
29and the sash of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
30They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it a writing, like the engravings of a signet: “HOLY TO YAHWEH”.
31They tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on the turban above, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
32Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was finished. The children of Israel did according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses; so they did.
33They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,
34the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, the covering of sea cow hides, the veil of the screen,
35the ark of the testimony with its poles, the mercy seat,
36the table, all its vessels, the show bread,
37the pure lamp stand, its lamps, even the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, the oil for the light,
38the golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door of the Tent,
39the bronze altar, its grating of brass, its poles, all of its vessels, the basin and its base,
40the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the Tent of Meeting,
41the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.
42According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.
43Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
Summary
The priestly garments are completed — the ephod, breastplate, robe, and turban — and all the Tabernacle work is finished exactly as God commanded.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Israel remains encamped at Mount Sinai. The priestly garments are completed and all work is brought to Moses for inspection.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik draws the creation parallel: seven repetitions of "as the LORD commanded" echo the seven days of creation. Moses' inspection and blessing mirror God's "very good." The tabernacle is a new creation.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "Holiness to the Lord" on v.30 (MTP Vol. 9, No. 525) "HOLINESS TO THE LORD — written on the priest's forehead where all could see it. This is what God requires first and foremost: not cleverness, not eloquence, not success — holiness. And it was on a plate of pure gold, fastened with blue lace. Holiness is precious (gold) and heavenly (blue). It is not natural to us — it must be inscribed upon us by grace. But when it is there, it is the crown of all virtues, the beauty of the saint, the glory of the church." Sermon: "The Priest's Breastplate" on vv.8-21 (MTP Vol. 5, No. 283) "Twelve stones over the heart — every tribe represented, none forgotten. So Christ carries every believer upon His heart before the Father. Your name is there. Not on His shoulders only (where He bears your burdens) but on His heart (where He loves you). You are engraved upon the heart of your great High Priest."
Reflection
- 1. The priest carried Israel's names on his shoulders (strength) and over his heart (love) — vv.6-7, 8-21. Christ carries you the same way. How does knowing you are borne on Christ's shoulders and engraved on His heart affect your sense of security?
- 2. "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" was the crown inscription (v.30). If there were an inscription on your life visible to all, what would it read? What would you want it to read? What needs to change?
- 3. "As the LORD commanded Moses" appears seven times. Faithful obedience to God's instructions — not innovation or improvement — is what God blesses. Where do you need to simply obey what God has already clearly said?
- 4. Moses inspected the work and blessed them (v.43). One day Christ will inspect your work (1 Cor 3:13-14). Are you building according to His pattern? Will your work stand the test?
- 5. The work was "finished" (v.32). There is a time for completion. What work has God given you that needs to be brought to completion? Are you persevering to the end?