The holy vestments for Aaron and his sons.

¹ “Also, join to yourself your brother Aaron, with his sons from the midst of the sons of Israel, so that they may exercise the priesthood for me: Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

² And you shall make a holy vestment for Aaron, your brother, with glory and elegance.

³ And you shall speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of prudence, so that they may make the vestments of Aaron, in which, having been sanctified, he may minister to me.

⁴ Now these shall be the vestments that they shall make: A breastplate and an ephod, a tunic and a close-fit linen garment, a headdress and a wide belt. They shall make the holy vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may exercise the priesthood for me.¹

1. 28:4The superhumerale or ephod was the ancient predecessor or prefigure of the Catholic scapular.(Conte)

⁵ And they shall receive gold, and hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen.

⁶ Then they shall make the ephod of gold, and hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twisted linen, wrought with diverse colors.

⁷ It shall have two edges joined at the top on both sides, so that they may respond as one.

⁸ Likewise, the weaving and all the detail work shall be of gold, and hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twisted linen.

⁹ And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:

¹⁰ six names on one stone, and the remaining six on the other, according to the order of their birth.

¹¹ By the work of a sculptor and the skill of a jeweler, you shall engrave them with the names of the sons of Israel, enclosed and encompassed with gold.¹

1. 28:11In this context, the word ‘cælatura’ refers to the process of engraving and the skill by which it is done, not to the engraving itself. Thus the rough work was to be done by a sculptor, but completed (in the finer details of the work) by a jeweler.(Conte)

¹² And you shall place them on both sides of the ephod, as a memorial to the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall carry their names before the Lord, upon both shoulders, as a remembrance.

¹³ You shall also make hooks of gold,

¹⁴ and two little chains of the purest gold, linked to one another, which you shall insert into the hooks.

¹⁵ Likewise, you shall make the breastplate of judgment, wrought with diverse colors according to the weaving of the ephod: of gold, hyacinth and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twisted linen.¹

1. 28:15The rational of judgment: This part of the priest’s attire, which he wore at his breast, was called the rational of judgment; partly because it admonished both priest and people of their duty to God, by carrying the names of all their tribes in his presence; and by the Urim and the Thummim, that is, doctrine and truth, which were written upon it; and partly because it gave divine answers and oracles, as if it were rational and endowed with judgment.(Challoner)

¹⁶ It shall have four corners and be doubled. It shall have the measure of the palm of a hand, both in length and in width.¹

1. 28:16It starts out as a square, with equal sides, but then it is folded (doubled) to be twice as high as it is wide, having about the proportions and the size of the palm of a hand.(Conte)

¹⁷ And you shall set within it four rows of stones. In the first row, there shall be a sardius stone, and a topaz, and an emerald.

¹⁸ In the second, there shall be a garnet, a sapphire, and a jasper.

¹⁹ In the third, there shall be a zircon, an agate, and an amethyst.

²⁰ In the fourth, there shall be a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl. They shall be set in gold by their rows.

²¹ And these shall have the names of the sons of Israel. With twelve names shall they be engraved: each stone with one name from the twelve tribes.

²² You shall make chains of the purest gold, linked one to another, on the breastplate,

²³ and two rings of gold, which you shall place at both ends of the breastplate.

²⁴ And the golden chains, you shall join to the rings, which are at its edges.

²⁵ And the ends of the chains themselves, you shall couple with two hooks, on both sides of the ephod, which looks toward the breastplate.

²⁶ You shall also make two rings of gold, which you shall place at the ends of the breastplate, at the borders which are away from the region of the ephod and which look toward its back.

²⁷ And then you shall also make two other rings of gold, which are to be suspended on both sides at the bottom of the ephod, which looks out opposite the face of the lower juncture, so that the breastplate can be fitted to the ephod.

²⁸ And it shall be drawn tight to the rings of the breastplate, by the rings of the ephod, with a hyacinth band, so that the well-constructed juncture will remain in place, and the breastplate and the ephod will not be able to be separated from one another.

²⁹ And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment upon his chest, when he enters into the Sanctuary, as a memorial in the presence of the Lord in eternity.

³⁰ Then you shall place in the breastplate of judgment, Doctrine and Truth, which shall then be upon Aaron’s chest, when he enters before the Lord. And he shall wear the judgment of the sons of Israel on his chest, in the sight of the Lord always.¹

1. 28:30Doctrine and Truth: Hebrew, Urim and Thummim: illuminations and perfections. These words, written on the rational, seem to signify the light of doctrine and the integrity of life, with which the priests of God ought to approach him.(Challoner)

³¹ And you shall make the tunic for the ephod entirely of hyacinth,

³² and the head will be above its middle, with a hem woven around it, just as is usually made at the end parts of a garment, so that it may not be easily broken.

³³ Yet truly, beneath it, at the base of the same tunic, all around, you shall make something like pomegranates, from hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, with little bells set in their midst.¹

1. 28:33The phrase ‘mala punica’ refers to ‘apples (or fruits) of Punicia (i.e. Carthage)’. Carthage apples are pomegranates.(Conte)

³⁴ So then, there shall be a little golden bell and a pomegranate, and again another golden bell and a pomegranate.

³⁵ And Aaron will be vested with it during the office of his ministry, so that the sound may be heard when he enters and exits the Sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and so that he may not die.

³⁶ And you shall make a plate of the purest gold, in which you shall engrave, with the skill of a sculptor, ‘Holy to the Lord.’

³⁷ And you shall fasten it with a band of hyacinth, and it shall be upon the headdress,

³⁸ hanging in front of the high priest. And Aaron shall carry the iniquities of that which the sons of Israel have offered and sanctified, in all their gifts and donations. But the plate will always be at his forehead, so that the Lord may be well pleased with them.

³⁹ And you shall draw the tunic tight with fine linen, and you shall make a headdress of fine linen, and a wide belt, wrought with embroidery.

⁴⁰ Furthermore, for the sons of Aaron, you shall prepare linen tunics, and wide belts as well as headdresses, with glory and elegance.

⁴¹ And with all these you shall vest your brother Aaron, and his sons with him. And you shall consecrate all their hands, and you shall sanctify them, so that they may exercise the priesthood for me.

⁴² You shall also make linen undergarments, in order to cover the flesh of their nakedness, from the kidneys all the way to the thighs.

⁴³ And Aaron and his sons will use them when they enter the tabernacle of the testimony, and when they approach toward the altar, in order to minister in the sanctuary, lest, being guilty of iniquity, they may die. It shall be a law forever for Aaron, and for his offspring after him.”