Exodus 39:6

וַֽיַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת־אַבְנֵי הַשֹּׁהַם מֻֽסַבֹּת מִשְׁבְּצֹת זָהָב מְפֻתָּחֹת פִּתּוּחֵי חוֹתָם עַל־שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וַֽיַּעֲשׂוּ֙ אֶת־אַבְנֵ֣י הַשֹּׁ֔הַם מֻֽסַבֹּ֖ת מִשְׁבְּצֹ֣ת זָהָ֑ב מְפֻתָּחֹת֙ פִּתּוּחֵ֣י חוֹתָ֔ם עַל־שְׁמ֖וֹת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Greek (Septuagint)

καὶ τοὺς χιλίους ἑπτακοσίους ἑβδομήκοντα πέντε σίκλους ἐποίησαν εἰς τὰς ἀγκύλας τοῖς στύλοις, καὶ κατεχρύσωσεν τὰς κεφαλίδος αὐτῶν καὶ κατεκόσμησεν αὐτούς.

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

Paravit et duos lapides onychinos, astrictos et inclusos auro, et sculptos arte gemmaria nominibus filiorum Israël:

Spanish

Prepararon las piedras de ónice y las montaron en engastes de oro. Las piedras fueron grabadas con el mismo cuidado que un joyero graba un sello, con los nombres de las tribus de Israel.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Y labraron las piedras oniquinas cercadas de engastes de oro, grabadas de grabadura de sello con los nombres de los hijos de Israel:

English

They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel.

✦ What the text says

Summary

The verse describes the preparation of onyx stones, set in gold filigree mountings, and engraved in the manner of a seal-engraving with the names of the sons of Israel. It describes a craftsmanship step in constructing part of the priestly vestments (the ephod's shoulder stones, contextually).

Key words

ya'aSu ("they prepared/made", H6213) — qal verb in narrative sequence, third person plural, continuing the ongoing account of construction actions.
'avnei ("stones of", H0068) — feminine plural construct, linking the stones directly to the following word ha-shoham ("the onyx", H7718).
musaBot ("surrounded", H5437) — hophal (causative-passive) participle, feminine plural, describing the stones as having been caused to be enclosed/surrounded (by the settings), rather than performing an action themselves.
mefuttachot ("engraved", H6605) — pual (intensive passive) participle, feminine plural, marking the stones as having undergone an intensive engraving process.
pittuchei ("engravings of", H6603) — masculine plural construct, joined to chotam ("a seal", H2368), forming the idiom "engravings of a seal," i.e., the type/style of engraving.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a chain of construct phrases and passive participles describing the stones through successive layers of craftsmanship. The main verb ya'aSu ("they prepared", H6213) governs the object 'et-'avnei ha-shoham ("the stones of the onyx"), marked by the object marker 'et (H0853). From there, two passive participles — musaBot ("surrounded", H5437) and mefuttachot ("engraved", H6605) — modify the stones without naming an agent, emphasizing the finished state of the object rather than the workers performing the action. Each participle is followed by its own construct chain: musaBot leads into mishbetzot zahav ("filigree settings of gold", H4865/H2091), specifying what surrounds the stones, while mefuttachot leads into pittuchei chotam ("engravings of a seal", H6603/H2368), specifying the style of the engraving — comparable to how a seal is carved. The final phrase, 'al-shemot benei Yisra'el ("on the names of the sons of Israel", H8034/H1121/H3478), states the content of what is engraved, using the preposition 'al ("on", H5921) to indicate that the engraving carries these names.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate reads "duos lapides onychinos" ("two onyx stones"), specifying a count of two, whereas the Hebrew text here only uses the plural construct 'avnei ha-shoham ("the stones of the onyx") without stating a number. The Septuagint text supplied for this reference does not correspond to the same content as the Hebrew, Vulgate, or later translations — it discusses shekel weights and gold plating for pillars' hooks, indicating a different verse or section is represented in the LXX numbering for this part of the tabernacle account.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.