And mount on it a setting of gemstones, four rows of stones: In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;
- KJV And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
- NKJV And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row;
- NASB And you shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald;
- NLT Mount four rows of gemstones on it. The first row will contain a red carnelian, a pale-green peridot, and an emerald.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The breastplate held four rows of precious stones, the first row being ruby, topaz, and beryl. Each stone represented one of the twelve tribes.
Overview
Twelve gemstones, three per row, displayed the value God places on each tribe of his people. The high priest bore them over his heart as he ministered. This array of precious stones reappears in the New Jerusalem's foundations (Rev. 21:19-20), linking Israel's worship to the consummated people of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 39:10–21And they mounted on it four rows of gemstones: The first row had a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald;
- Ezek 28:13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.
- Prov 8:11For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her.
- Rev 21:19–21The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
- Job 28:18–19Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
- Exod 28:9Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:
- Prov 20:15There is an abundance of gold and rubies, but lips of knowledge are a rare treasure.
- Exod 28:11Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings.
- Mal 3:17“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- Prov 31:10A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
- Isa 54:11–12“O afflicted city, lashed by storms, without solace, surely I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires.
- Prov 3:15She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her.
- Lam 4:7Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 28:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.