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;

Say to the children of Israel that they are to give you rods, one for every family, for every chief, the head of his father's house, making twelve rods; let every man's name be placed on his rod.

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 let Aaron's name be placed on the rod of Levi: for there is to be one rod for the head of every family.

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

And let them be stored up in the Tent of meeting, in front of the ark of witness where I come to 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.

And the rod of that man who is marked out by me for myself will have buds on it; so I will put a stop to the outcries which the children of Israel make to me 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 gave these orders to the children of Israel, and all their chiefs gave him rods, one for the head of every family, making twelve rods: and Aaron's rod was among them.

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

And Moses put the rods before the Lord in the Tent of witness.

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.

Now on the day after, Moses went into the Tent of witness; and he saw that Aaron's rod, the rod of the house of Levi, had put out buds, and was covered with buds and flowers and fruit.

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 took out all the rods from before the Lord, and gave them back to the children of Israel: and they saw them, and every man took his rod.

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.

And the Lord said to Moses, Put Aaron's rod back in front of the ark of witness, to be kept for a sign against this false-hearted people, so that you may put a stop to their outcries against me, and death may not overtake them.

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

This Moses did: as the Lord gave orders, so he did.

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

And the children of Israel said to Moses, Truly, destruction has come on us; an evil fate has overtaken us all.

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

Death will overtake everyone who comes near, who comes near the House of the Lord: are we all to come to destruction?