Numbers 17

1 And the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

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 people of Israel and get staffs from them, one for each ancestral tribe, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff.

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

You must write Aaron's name on Levi's staff. There must be one staff for each leader from his ancestors' tribe.

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.

You must place the staffs in the tent of meeting in front of the covenant decrees, where I meet with 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.

It will happen that the staff of the man whom I choose will bud. I will cause the complaints from the people of Israel to stop, which they are speaking 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.

So Moses spoke to the people of Israel. All the tribal leaders gave him staffs, one staff from each leader, selected from each of the ancestral tribes, twelve staffs in all. Aaron's staff was among them.

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

Then Moses deposited the staffs before Yahweh in the tent of the covenant decrees.

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.

The next day Moses went into the tent of the covenant decrees and, behold, Aaron's staff for the tribe of Levi had budded. It grew buds and produced blossoms and ripe almonds!

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.

Moses brought out all the staffs from before Yahweh to all the people of Israel, and each man took his staff.

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.

Yahweh said to Moses, “Put Aaron's staff in front of the covenant decrees. Keep it as a sign of guilt against the people who rebelled so that you may end complaints against me, or they will die.”

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

Moses did just as Yahweh had commanded him.

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

The people of Israel spoke to Moses and said, “We will die here. We will all perish!

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

Everyone who comes up, who approaches Yahweh's tabernacle, will die. Must we all perish?”