Exodus 39: The Work Is Finished
The priestly garments are completed, all the work of the tabernacle is finished as the Lord commanded, and Moses blesses the people.
Exodus 39 (WEB)
1 Of 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.
2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.
3 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, the work of the skillful workman.
4 They made shoulder straps for it, joined together. At the two ends it was joined together.
5 The 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.
6 They 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.
7 He put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
8 He 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.
9 It was square. They made the breastplate double. Its length was a span, and its breadth a span, being double.
10 They set in it four rows of stones. A row of ruby, topaz, and beryl was the first row;
11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;
12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold settings.
14 The 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.
15 They made on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.
16 They made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
17 They put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.
18 The 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.
19 They 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.
20 They made two 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.
21 They 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.
22 He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
23 The opening of the robe in its midst was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around its opening, that it should not be torn.
24 They made on the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, scarlet, and twined linen.
25 They made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates around the skirts of the robe, between the pomegranates;
26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the skirts of the robe, to minister in, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
27 They made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
28 and the turban of fine linen, and the linen headbands of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen,
29 and the sash of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
30 They 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”.
31 They tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on the turban above, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
32 Thus 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.
33 They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,
34 the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, the covering of sea cow hides, the veil of the screen,
35 the ark of the testimony with its poles, the mercy seat,
36 the table, all its vessels, the show bread,
37 the pure lamp stand, its lamps, even the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, the oil for the light,
38 the golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door of the Tent,
39 the bronze altar, its grating of brass, its poles, all of its vessels, the basin and its base,
40 the 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,
41 the 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.
42 According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.
43 Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39 (KJV)
1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths 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, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
3 And 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, with cunning work.
4 They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together.
5 And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the Lord commanded Moses.
6 And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.
7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses.
8 And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9 It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, 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 And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
12 And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings.
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, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.
15 And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.
16 And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.
17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.
18 And 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.
19 And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, 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 the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
21 And 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.
22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
23 And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend.
24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and 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, round about between the pomegranates;
26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about 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 mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen,
29 And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; 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 to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
31 And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the Lord commanded Moses.
32 Thus 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.
33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,
34 And the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers’ skins, and the vail of the covering,
35 The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat,
36 The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread,
37 The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,
38 And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,
39 The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
40 The 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,
41 The cloths of service to do service in the holy place, and 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 did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39 (ASV)
1 And 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.
2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
3 And 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.
4 They made shoulder-pieces for it, joined together; at the two ends was it joined together.
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
7 And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
8 And 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.
9 It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being double.
10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row;
11 and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond;
12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in inclosings of gold in their settings.
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, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes.
15 And they made upon the breastplate chains like cords, of wreathen work of pure gold.
16 And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.
18 And 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.
19 And 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.
20 And 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.
21 And 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.
22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue;
23 and 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.
24 And they made upon the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.
25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the skirts of the robe round about, between the pomegranates;
26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about, to minister in; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
27 And they made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
28 and the mitre of fine linen, and the goodly head-tires of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen,
29 and the girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer; as Jehovah 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, HOLY TO JEHOVAH.
31 And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it upon the mitre above; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
32 Thus 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.
33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the Tent, and all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets;
34 and the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of sealskins, and the veil of the screen;
35 the ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy-seat;
36 the table, all the vessels thereof, and the showbread;
37 the pure candlestick, the lamps thereof, even the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for the light;
38 and the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door of the Tent;
39 the brazen altar, and its grating of brass, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base;
40 the 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;
41 the 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.
42 According to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.
43 And 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.
Summary
The workers complete the holy garments for the priesthood, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. They make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, beating the gold into thin wires to work into the fabric, and set the onyx stones engraved with Israel's names on its shoulder straps. They make the breastplate with its twelve precious stones for the twelve tribes, the blue robe with golden bells and pomegranates around its hem, the woven coats, the turban, the headbands, the breeches, and the sash. Finally they make the plate of the holy crown of pure gold and engrave on it "HOLY TO YAHWEH." Throughout, the refrain sounds again and again: "as Yahweh commanded Moses." Then all the work of the tabernacle is finished; the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded. They bring everything to Moses—the tent, its furnishings, the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the basin, the courtyard, and the garments. Moses inspects all the work, and behold, they had done it just as the Lord had commanded; and Moses blesses them. The repeated obedience and the completed work echo the finished work of creation, anticipating both the finished work of Christ and the blessing that rests on those who do all that God commands.
Main Characters
- The skilled workers — The craftsmen who complete the priestly garments and all the work of the tabernacle exactly as the Lord commanded Moses.
- Moses — The leader who inspects all the completed work, sees that it was done as the Lord commanded, and blesses the people.
- Aaron — The high priest for whom the holy garments, the ephod, breastplate, robe, and golden crown are made.
- The children of Israel — The people who did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, bringing the finished work to him for inspection.
Key Verse
Exodus 39:43 (WEB)
Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
Lessons Learned
- Obedience to God's word, repeated and complete, is the hallmark of faithful work.
- God's people finish what he gives them to do, bringing it to completion as he commanded.
- The high priest's garments, crowned with "HOLY TO YAHWEH," point to the holiness we need and Christ supplies.
- Blessing rests upon those who do their work just as the Lord has commanded.
- Faithfulness obeys God's word fully. The refrain "as Yahweh commanded Moses" recurs throughout (Exodus 39:1, 5, 7, 43, WEB). Complete obedience honors God in every detail of the work.
- God's work comes to completion. "All the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was finished" (Exodus 39:32, WEB). What God commands, his people are enabled to bring to its end.
- Holiness belongs to the Lord. The golden plate is engraved "HOLY TO YAHWEH" (Exodus 39:30, WEB). The priest who carries the people near must bear the mark of God's own holiness.
- Faithful work invites God's blessing. When Moses saw the finished work done as commanded, "Moses blessed them" (Exodus 39:43, WEB). Obedience and blessing belong together.
- Why does the phrase "as Yahweh commanded Moses" appear so often in this chapter?
- What is the significance of the inscription "HOLY TO YAHWEH" on the high priest's crown?
- How does the finishing of all the work, and Moses' inspection and blessing, echo the account of creation in Genesis?
- What does it mean that Moses blessed the people when he saw they had done the work as the Lord commanded?
- Where is God calling you to finish, faithfully and completely, the work he has given you to do?
- The refrain (39:1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31, 43) underscores meticulous obedience—the people did exactly as God commanded. It marks a striking reversal from the disobedience of the golden calf, showing a community now submitting fully to God's word.
- "HOLY TO YAHWEH" (39:30) declares that the high priest bears God's holiness on his very forehead as he represents the people. It points to our need for a holiness we cannot manufacture, fulfilled in Christ, our High Priest who is truly holy to the Lord.
- Just as God finished his work, saw that it was good, and blessed, so the work is finished, Moses inspects it, and blesses the people (39:32, 43; Genesis 1:31-2:3). The tabernacle is a kind of new creation, a place where God will again dwell with his people.
- Moses' blessing follows their faithful completion of the work as commanded (39:43). It shows that God's favor accompanies obedient, finished service. Encourage the group that doing God's work God's way is met with his blessing, not mere approval.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name a task or calling they have left unfinished, and to consider faithful completion. As leader, encourage perseverance and point to Christ, who finished the work the Father gave him to do (John 17:4).