Numbers 17

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and receive from each of them a rod by their kinships, from all the leaders of the tribes, twelve rods, and write the name of each one on his rod.

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and take a rod from each of them, for a father’s house, from all their princes, for the house of their fathers—twelve rods; you write the name of each on his rod,

3 But the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi, and one rod separately shall contain all their families.

and you write Aaron’s name on the tribe of Levi; for one rod [is] for the head of their fathers’ house.

4 And you shall place these in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to you.

And you have placed them in the Tent of Meeting before the Testimony, where I meet with you.

5 Whomever of these I will choose, his rod will germinate, and so shall I restrain the complaints of the sons of Israel before me, by which they murmur against you.”

And it has come to pass, the man’s rod on whom I fix flourishes, and I have caused the murmurings of the sons of Israel, which they are murmuring against you, to cease from off Me.”

6 And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel. And all the leaders gave him rods, one for each tribe. And there were twelve rods, aside from the rod of Aaron.

And Moses speaks to the sons of Israel, and all their princes give to him one rod for a prince, one rod for a prince, for their fathers’ house—twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron [is] in the midst of their rods;

7 And when Moses had placed these before the Lord, in the tabernacle of the testimony,

and Moses places the rods before YHWH in the Tent of the Testimony.

8 returning on the following day, he found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, had germinated, and that the swelling buds had opened into flowers, which, spreading their petals, were formed into those of an almond tree.

And it comes to pass, on the next day, that Moses goes into the Tent of the Testimony, and behold, the rod of Aaron has flourished for the house of Levi, and brings out a bud, and blossoms [with] a blossom, and produces almonds;

9 Therefore, Moses brought out all the rods, from the sight of the Lord, to all the sons of Israel. And they saw, and each one received their rods.

and Moses brings out all the rods from before YHWH to all the sons of Israel, and they look, and each takes his rod.

10 And the Lord said to Moses: “Carry back the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of the testimony, so that it may be kept there as a sign of the rebellion of the sons of Israel, and so that their complaints may be quieted before me, lest they die.”

And YHWH says to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the Testimony, for a charge, for a sign to the sons of rebellion, and you remove their murmurings from off Me, and they do not die”;

11 And Moses did just as the Lord had instructed.

and Moses does as YHWH has commanded him; so he has done.

12 Then the sons of Israel said to Moses: “Behold, we have been consumed; we have been ruined.

And the sons of Israel speak to Moses, saying, “Behold, we have expired, we have perished, all of us have perished!

13 Whoever approaches to the tabernacle of the Lord dies. Will we all be wiped away, even to total annihilation?”

Any who is at all drawing near to the Dwelling Place of YHWH dies; have we not been consumed—to expire?”