And you shall set uses the word meaning to put or place. The turban is described in 28.39. (See also the comment at 28.4.) It was a linen cloth wrapped around the top of the head. In some cultures a different word may be appropriate for putting on a turban, such as tying, winding, or fastening.

And put the holy crown upon the turban refers in some way to the “plate of pure gold” mentioned in 28.36. (See the comment there.) And put is a different verb from that used at the beginning of the verse. Here it means “attach to” (Revised English Bible, New International Version), or “tie on” (Good News Translation). The word for crown (nezer) has the basic meaning of dedication or consecration. The engraved “plate” was probably a part of this crown, or “diadem” (New Revised Standard Version). (See 39.30, which speaks of “the plate of the holy crown.”) Good News Translation speaks of it as “the sacred sign of dedication engraved ‘Dedicated to the LORD.’ ” This clearly identifies it with the “plate” in 28.36, but the words beginning with “engraved” are not in the Hebrew. Contemporary English Version has simply “its narrow strip of engraved gold.” A suggested model for this is “and then tie to the turban the gold band that has the engraved plate.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .