Numbers 17

1 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

And the LORD said to Moses,

2 Speak unto the sons of Israel and take of them one staff each for an ancestral house of all their princes, by their ancestral houses, twelve staves, —each man’s name, shalt thou write upon his staff;

“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,

3 and, Aaron’s name, shalt thou write upon the staff of Levi, —for, one staff, shall there be for the head of their ancestral house.

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

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

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

5 So shall it come to pass, that, the man whom I shall choose, his staff, shall bud, —so will I cause to cease from against me the murmurings of the sons of Israel, wherewith they, are murmuring against you.

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

6 And Moses spake unto the sons of Israel and every one of their princes gave unto him, a staff apiece, for each prince, by their ancestral houses, twelve staves, —and the staff of Aaron, was in the midst of their staves.

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.

7 So Moses laid up the staves before Yahweh, —in the tent of the testimony.

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

8 And it came to pass, on the morrow, that Moses entered into the tent of the testimony; and lo! the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi, had budded, —yea it had brought forth buds and bloomed blossoms, and borne ripe almonds.

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.

9 So then Moses brought forth all the staves, from before Yahweh, unto all the sons of Israel, —and they saw and took, each man his own staff.

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.

10 And Yahweh said unto Moses—Put back the rod of Aaron, before the testimony, to be kept as a sign unto such as are perverse, —that thou mayest bring to an end their murmurings against me that they die not.

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.”

11 Thus did Moses, —as Yahweh commanded him, so, did he.

So Moses did as the LORD had commanded him.

12 Then spake the sons of Israel unto Moses saying: Lo! we have breathed our last—we are lost, we are, all, lost:

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

13 whosoever draweth near—draweth near—unto the habitation of Yahweh, dieth, —are we ever to have made an end of breathing our last?

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