With a holy garment, of gold and blue and purple, the work of an embroiderer: The text does not specify that the holy garment was a “robe” (Good News Translation; it does not render the same Greek word used in verse 8), and it was more likely the “ephod.” Embroidery is the art of sewing designs into cloth. Probably what is meant here is that the ephod or “vest” (Contemporary English Version) was embroidered with designs made with gold, blue, and purple threads as described in Exo 28.6-14. (Exo 28.31 and 39.22 state that the “robe” worn under the ephod was made of only blue cloth.) The ephod was also directly under the “breastpiece” (see the discussion below). Grammatically these two lines are a continuation of the sentence begun in verse 9 and continuing through verse 12. It is best to break the sentence into more manageable units. These two lines may be rendered “The ephod [or, sacred vest] that Aaron wore was decorated with designs sewn with gold, blue, and purple threads” or “They decorated the ephod that Aaron wore with designs that they sewed with gold….”

With the oracle of judgment, Urim and Thummim is literally “with the oracle of judgment, the decider of truth” (so An American Translation). This refers to the “breastpiece” of the priest’s garment, described in Exo 28.15-30. In Exo 28.15 it is referred to as “breastpiece of judgment,” translated in Good News Translation as “breastpiece for the High Priest to use in determining God’s will.” The “breastpiece” was made from a piece of square cloth and formed into a pouch in which were kept the Urim and Thummim. These were two objects, perhaps something like dice; in some way they were used to determine God’s will. See, for example, 1 Sam 14.41; Pro 16.33. There is no reason to use the terms Urim and Thummim here; they are in neither the Greek nor the Hebrew of this verse. For this line we could say “He wore the breastpiece used in determining the Lord’s will,” “… used for getting answers from the Lord,” or even “… used in learning what the Lord wanted the people to do.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• The ephod [or, sacred vest] that Aaron wore was decorated with designs sewn with gold, blue, and purple threads. He also wore the breastpiece used for determining the Lord’s will.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.