On him: it is probably better to specify “on Aaron” (Good News Translation) in most languages in order to clarify the meaning.

The precise identification of the various articles of clothing listed in this verse is very difficult. In some cases the exact meaning is unknown. The translator should try to visualize the whole and then formulate it in such a way as to be meaningful to the readers. Footnotes may be necessary in order to emphasize the fact that the clothing mentioned here was special and reserved for the priests. The practice of transliterating the Hebrew terminology should be avoided if at all possible, but if no other solution can be found, a footnote or glossary explanation will definitely be required. For more details on the clothing of the priests, see Exodus 28.1-43 and 39.1-31.

The coat: in Exodus (28.4, 39; 39.27) this garment is mentioned without any detailed description. In ordinary usage the Hebrew word refers to an everyday article of clothing worn by men and women alike and was probably a sort of “shirt.” The Revised Standard Version coat is misleading, since it was not an outer garment but one worn underneath other clothing and next to the body. It has often been translated “tunic” (New International Version, New English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).

The girdle: see Exodus 28.4, 39; 39.29. In modern English the word girdle is also misleading. This piece was a long embroidered sash that was wrapped around the midsection and served as a kind of belt. However, in addition to its purely functional use, it also seems to have had a symbolic meaning as a sign of the priesthood. Many English versions use the word “sash,” but in some languages it may be necessary to say “the broad band.” In any case, it should be carefully distinguished from the skillfully woven band of the ephod, or “belt,” mentioned later in this verse.

The robe: this garment is described in Exodus 28.31-35 and 39.22-26. It was a kind of outer shirt consisting of a large piece of cloth with a hole cut for the head and with the edges around the hole sewn in order to prevent shredding. It probably reached down to the feet like the long flowing robe worn in the Middle East and parts of West Africa today.

The ephod: this term is a transliteration of the Hebrew and is by far the most difficult piece of the priestly clothing to translate. It is often mentioned in Exodus without ever being described in detail (Exo 25.7; 28.6; 29.5; 39.2-3). In the Old Testament this same word refers to at least three different items: (1) It was a kind of white linen undergarment worn by the priest on his lower body (see 1 Sam 2.18; 2 Sam 6.14, 20; 1 Chr 15.27). (2) It was some sort of cultic object, like a statue, used in divination (Judges 17.5; 18.14, 17; 1 Sam. 2.28; 21.9) or possibly a sack or some other kind of container used to hold such cultic objects (see Traduction oecuménique de la Bible note on Judges 8.27). (3) But in the present case it seems to have been a kind of apron with shoulder straps and tied with the skilfully woven band probably behind the back (see Exo 28.6-7; 39.2-4). Almost all English versions transliterate, but An American Translation has simply “the apron,” and Moffatt translates “the sacred apron.” In other languages it may be possible to say something like Moffatt‘s rendering or “the priestly apron.”

The skilfully woven band: this band or belt seems to have been made with the same material as the ephod (Exo 28.8) and attached to its corners so that it could be tied. The use of the singular does not necessarily mean that there was only one. The term may have been used in a collective sense. According to an ancient Jewish interpretation, the word translated skilfully has no place here. The word simply means “girdle,” or “waistband,” or “belt.” This idea is therefore omitted in New Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible as well as in many non-English versions, and may also be left out of the receptor-language rendering. It is interesting to note, however, that New Jerusalem Bible has “the decorated band.”

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .