Numbers 17

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The LORD spoke 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 children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers' house, of all their princes according to their fathers' houses, twelve rods: write every man's name 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.

You shall write Aaron's name on the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers' houses.

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

You shall lay them up 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.”

It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you."

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.

Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their leaders gave him rods, one for each leader, according to their ancestral houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

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

Moses laid up the rods before the LORD 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.

It happened on the next day, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and look, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe 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.

Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man 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.”

The LORD said to Moses, "Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; that you may make an end of their murmurings against me, that they not die."

11 And Moses did just as the Lord had instructed.

Moses did so. As the LORD commanded him, so he did.

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

The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Look, we perish. We are undone. We are all undone.

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

Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, dies. Will we all perish?"