The Second Book of Moses, Called Exodus

Chapter 39

The cloths of service and holy garments, 1. The ephod, 2-7. The breast-plate, 8-21. The robe of the ephod, 22-26. The coats, miter, and girdle of fine linen, 27-29. The plate of the holy crown, 30, 31. All is finished, reviewed, and approved by Moses, 32-43.

1 And from the blue, purple, and scarlet, they made clothes of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD commanded Moses.

2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. 3 And they beat the gold into thin plates and cut it into wires to work it in the blue, in the purple, in the scarlet, and in the fine linen with skillful work. 4 They made shoulder-pieces for it to couple it together. By the two edges it was coupled together. 5 And the skillfully woven girdle of his ephod that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof, of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, as the LORD commanded Moses.

6 And they wrought onyx stones enclosed in settings of gold, engraved as signets are engraved with the names of the children of Israel. 7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod so that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses.

8 And he made the breast-plate of skillful work like the work of the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 It was square. They made the breast-plate double. A span was its length and a span its breadth, being doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle (this was the first row); 11 The second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 The third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their enclosings. 14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each with his name, according to the twelve tribes. 15 And they made upon the breast-plate chains at the ends of wreathed work of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings in the two ends of the breast-plate. 17 And they put the two wreathed chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breast-plate. 18 And the two ends of the two wreathed chains they fastened in the two settings and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it. 19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breast-plate upon its border, which was on the side of the ephod inward. 20 And they made two other golden rings and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath toward its forepart, over against the other coupling thereof, above the skillfully woven girdle of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breast-plate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue so that it might be above the skillfully woven girdle of the ephod and that the breast-plate might not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD commanded Moses.

22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. 23 And there was a hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of a habergeon, with a band around the hole so that it should not rend. 24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, scarlet, and twined linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, around between the pomegranates: 26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe to minister in, as the LORD commanded Moses.

27 And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron and for his sons, 28 And a miter of fine linen, fancy caps of fine linen, linen breeches of fine twined linen, 29 And a girdle of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet, of needle-work, as the LORD commanded Moses.

30 And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing like the engravings of a signet, 'HOLINESS TO THE LORD.' 31 And they tied to it a lace of blue to fasten it on high upon the miter, as the LORD commanded Moses.

32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses. And they did so. 33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, all its vessels, its buttons, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets, 34 The covering of rams' skins dyed red, the covering of badgers' skins, the veil of the covering, 35 The ark of the testimony and its staffs, the mercy-seat, 36 The table, all its vessels, the show-bread, 37 The pure candlestick with its lamps, even with the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, the oil for light, 38 The golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the hanging for the tabernacle door, 39 The brazen altar and its grate of brass, its staffs, and all its vessels, the basin and its foot, 40 The hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the hanging for the court-gate, its cords, and its pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation, 41 The clothes of service to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister in the priest's office. 42 According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. 43 And Moses looked upon all the work, and behold, they had done it. As the LORD had commanded, even so they had done it. And Moses blessed them.

Commentary

Matthew Henry Commentary - Exodus, Chapter 39[➚]

Notes

[v.2-31] - For an explanation of the clothes of service and the holy garments, see the notes for Exodus, ch. 28.

[v.27] - Reference, Revelation 19:8.

[v.43a] - From Matthew Henry's Commentary: "Moses blessed them. 1. He commended them, and signified his approbation of all they had done. He did not find fault where there was none, as some do, who think they disparage their own judgment if they do not find something amiss in the best and most accomplished performance. In all this work it is probable there might have been found here and there a stitch amiss, and a stroke awry, which would have served for an over-curious and censorious critic to animadvert upon; but Moses was too candid to notice small faults where there were no great ones. Note, All governors must be a praise to those that do well, as well as a terror to evil-doers. Why should any take a pride in being hard to be pleased? 2. He not only praised them, but prayed for them. He blessed them as one having authority, for the less is blessed of the better. We read not of any wages that Moses paid them for their work, but this blessing he gave them. For, though ordinarily the laborer be worthy of his hire, yet in this case, 1. They wrought for themselves. The honor and comfort of God's tabernacle among them would be recompense enough. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself. 2. They had their meat from heaven on free-cost, for themselves and their families, and their raiment waxed not old upon them; so that they neither needed wages nor had reason to expect any. Freely you have received, freely give. The obligations we lie under, both in duty and interest, to serve God, should be sufficient to quicken us to our work, though we had not a reward in prospect. But, 3. This blessing, in the name of the Lord, was wages enough for all their work. Those whom God employs he will bless, and those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. The blessing he commands is life forever more."

[v.43b] - Reference, Hebrews 3:5.

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