Numbers 17

1 And the LORD said to Moses,

And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the Israelites and take from them twelve staffs, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man’s name on his staff,

Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them a staff, a staff for each father's house, of all their princes according to the houses of their fathers, twelve staves: thou shalt write each one's name upon his staff.

3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi, because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe.

And Aaron's name shalt thou write upon the staff of Levi; for one staff shall be for [each] head of their fathers' houses.

4 Place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you.

And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you.

5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.”

And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his staff shall bud forth; and I will make to cease from before me the murmurings of the children of Israel, that they murmur against you.

6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff—one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. And Aaron’s staff was among them.

And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and all their princes gave him a staff, one staff for each prince according to their fathers' houses, twelve staves, and the staff of Aaron was among their staves.

7 Then Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony.

And Moses laid the staves before Jehovah in the tent of the testimony.

8 The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, put forth buds, blossomed, and produced almonds.

And it came to pass, when on the morrow Moses went into the tent of the testimony, behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and ripened almonds.

9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD’s presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff.

And Moses brought out all the staves from before Jehovah to all the children of Israel, and they looked and took each one his staff.

10 The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against Me, lest they die.”

And Jehovah said to Moses, Bring Aaron's staff again before the testimony, to be kept as a token for the sons of rebellion, that thou mayest put an end to their murmurings before me, that they may not die.

11 So Moses did as the LORD had commanded him.

And Moses did so: as Jehovah had commanded him, so did he.

12 Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we are perishing! We are lost; we are all lost!

And the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Lo, we expire, we perish, we all perish.

13 Anyone who comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die. Are we all going to perish?”

Every one that comes at all near to the tabernacle of Jehovah shall die: shall we then expire altogether?