Numbers 17

1 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 Speake vnto the children of Israel, and take of euery one of them a rod, after the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the familie of their fathers, euen twelue rods: and thou shalt write euery mans name vpon his rod.

“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.

3 And write Aarons name vpon the rod of Leui: for euery rodde shalbe for the head of the house of their fathers.

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

4 And thou shalt put them in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, before the Arke of the Testimonie, where I wil declare my selfe to you.

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

5 And the mans rod, whome I chuse, shall blossome: and I will make cease from mee the grudgings of the children of Israel, which grudge against you.

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.”

6 Then Moses spake vnto the children of Israel, and al their princes gaue him a rod, one rod for euery Prince, according to the houses of their fathers, euen twelue rods, and the rod of Aaron was among their roddes.

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.

7 And Moses layde the rods before the Lord in the Tabernacle of the Testimonie.

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

8 And when Moses on the morow went into the Tabernacle of the Testimonie, beholde, the rod of Aaron for the house of Leui was budded, and brought forth buddes, and brought forth blossoms, and bare ripe almondes.

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.

9 Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord vnto all the children of Israel: and they looked vpon them, and tooke euery man his rodde.

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.

10 After, the Lord said vnto Moses, Bring Aarons rod againe before the Testimonie to bee kept for a token to the rebellious children, and thou shalt cause their murmurings to cease from me, that they dye not.

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.”

11 So Moses did as the Lord had commanded him: so did he.

And Moses did just as the Lord had instructed.

12 And the children of Israel spake vnto Moses, saying, Behold, we are dead, we perish, we are all lost:

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

13 Whosoeuer commeth neere, or approcheth to the Tabernacle of the Lord, shall dye: shall we be consumed and dye?

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