Chapter Thirty-Nine

39:1–7. Making of the ephod. 39:8–21. Making of the breastplate of judgment. 39:22–26. Making of the robe. 39:27–28. Tunics and turban. 39:29. Making of the sash. 39:30–31. Making of the golden plate. 39:32–43. Approval and blessing of the work by Moses.

Exodus 39:1. From the blue, purple, and scarlet material they made the garments for service in the sanctuary, and also made the sacred garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses. Exodus 39:2. And he made the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine twisted linen; Exodus 39:3. and they hammered gold into sheets and cut threads to weave them in with the blue, purple, scarlet, and linen threads, with skilled work. Exodus 39:4. And they made for it shoulder straps that joined together; at both of its ends it was joined. Exodus 39:5. And the belt of the ephod, which is upon it, was made of the same workmanship as the ephod itself, of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses. Exodus 39:6. And they prepared the onyx stones, setting them in gold mountings and engraving them with the names of the sons of Israel, like the engraving of a seal; Exodus 39:7. and he placed them on the shoulder straps of the ephod as a memorial for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses. Making of the ephod. See the commentary on Exodus 28:5–12.

Exodus 39:8. And he made the breastplate with skilled work, with work the same as the ephod, of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet material, and of fine twisted linen; Exodus 39:9. it was square; they made the breastplate double, a span in length and a span in width, double; Exodus 39:10. and they set in it four rows of stones. The first row: ruby, topaz, emerald; Exodus 39:11. In the second row: carbuncle, sapphire, and diamond; Exodus 39:12. In the third row: jacinth, agate, and amethyst; Exodus 39:13. In the fourth row: chrysolite, onyx, and jasper; they were set in gold mountings. Exodus 39:14. The stones were according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names, and on each was engraved, like a seal, one name for the twelve tribes. Exodus 39:15. To the breastplate they made twisted chains of pure gold; Exodus 39:16. and they made two gold settings and two gold rings and attached the two rings to the two ends of the breastplate; Exodus 39:17. and they threaded the two braided gold chains through the two rings at the ends of the breastplate, Exodus 39:18. and the two ends of the two chains they fastened to the two settings and fastened them to the shoulder straps of the ephod on the front of it; Exodus 39:19. and they made two gold rings and attached them to the two other ends of the breastplate, on the side that is toward the ephod, toward the inside; Exodus 39:20. and they made two gold rings and attached them to the two shoulder straps of the ephod, below, on the front of it, at the seam of it above the belt of the ephod; Exodus 39:21. and they fastened the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue material, so that it would lie above the belt of the ephod and the breastplate would not swing out from the ephod, as the Lord commanded Moses. Making of the breastplate of judgment. See the commentary on Exodus 28:15–28.

Exodus 39:22. And he made the robe of the ephod, woven entirely of blue material, Exodus 39:23. and the opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening of a coat of armor, with a binding around the opening, so that it would not tear; Exodus 39:24. On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet material; Exodus 39:25. and they made bells of pure gold and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around; Exodus 39:26. a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe for the service, as the Lord commanded Moses. Making of the robe. See the commentary on Exodus 28:31–34.

Exodus 39:27. And for Aaron and his sons they made tunics of fine linen, woven, Exodus 39:28. and a turban of fine linen, and ornamental caps of fine linen, and linen undergarments of fine twisted linen, Making of the tunics and turban.

Exodus 39:29. and a sash of fine twisted linen and of blue, purple, and scarlet material, embroidered with needlework, as the Lord commanded Moses. See the commentary on Exodus 28:39–40 and 42.

Exodus 39:30. And they made the polished plate, the crown of holiness, of pure gold, and inscribed on it the words engraved like a seal: Holy to the Lord; Exodus 39:31. and they attached to it a cord of blue material, to bind it on the turban above, as the Lord commanded Moses. See the commentary on Exodus 28:36–37.

Exodus 39:32. Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was completed; and the sons of Israel did everything as the Lord commanded Moses, so they did. Exodus 39:33. And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, its covering and all its furnishings, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its bases, Exodus 39:34. the covering of rams’ skins dyed red and the covering of fine leather and the curtain for the screen, Exodus 39:35. the ark of the covenant and its poles, and the mercy seat, Exodus 39:36. the table with all its furnishings and the bread of the presence, Exodus 39:37. the lampstand of pure gold, its lamps arranged upon it, and all its furnishings, and the oil for the light, Exodus 39:38. the golden altar and the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tabernacle, Exodus 39:39. the bronze altar and its bronze grating, its poles, and all its furnishings, the basin and its stand, Exodus 39:40. the curtains of the courtyard, its pillars and their bases, the curtain at the gate of the courtyard, its ropes and pegs and all the things for the service in the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, Exodus 39:41. the garments for service in the sanctuary, the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons for their service as priests. Exodus 39:42. As the Lord commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did all these works. Exodus 39:43. And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so they had done it. And Moses blessed them. The works are examined and verified by Moses in fulfillment of the command given to him by the Lord: “see that you make them according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain” (Exod 25:40). The order of the work in the Russian Bible differs substantially from the order in the Greek and Church Slavonic Bibles. Thus, Exodus 36:8 in the Greek Bible corresponds to Exodus 39:1 in the Russian Bible, while all the rest of its content reproduces Exodus 39:2–31; Exodus 37:1 corresponds to Exodus 36:8, and further the description of the veil for the holy of holies corresponds to Exodus 36:35–38; the description of the courtyard corresponds to Exodus 38:9–20; the following remark “and this is the construction of the tabernacle of the testimony” (Exod 38:21) corresponds to Exodus 38:21–23; the description of the construction of the ark of the covenant, the table for the bread of the presence, and the lampstand correspond to Exodus 37:1–23. The end of the chapter has no corresponding text in the Russian version. Exodus 38 in the description of the construction of the burnt offering altar corresponds to Exodus 38:1–7; in the description of the preparation of the anointing oil – Exodus 37:29; the basin – Exodus 38:8. Exodus 39 up to the words: “and the sons of Israel made” (Exod 39:32) corresponds to Exodus 38:24–31; the words: “and they made… as… the Lord commanded” reproduce Exodus 39:32; the end of the chapter corresponds to Exodus 39:33–43.