Numbers 17

1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2 “Tell the Israeli people to bring to you twelve walking sticks. They should bring one from each of the leaders of the twelve tribes. You should carve each leader’s name on his stick.

“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 There must be one stick for the leader of each tribe, so you must carve Aaron’s name on the stick for the tribe of Levi.

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

4 Put those sticks inside the Sacred Tent, in front of the sacred chest that has in it the tablets on which the Ten Commandments are written. That is the place where I always talk with you.

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

5 Buds will sprout on the stick of the man whom I have chosen [to be the priest]. [When the people see that], they will stop their constantly complaining about you [because they will realize that you are the one whom I have chosen].”

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 So Moses/I told the people what Yahweh had said. Then each of the twelve Israeli leaders, including Aaron, brought his walking stick to Moses/me.

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 Moses/I placed the sticks inside the Sacred Tent in front of the sacred chest.

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

8 The following morning, when he/I went into the tent, he/I saw that Aaron’s stick, which represented the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, it had produced leaves and blossoms, and it had also produced almonds that were ripe!

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 Moses/I brought all the sticks out of the Sacred Tent and showed them to the people. Each of the twelve leaders took back his own stick.

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 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Put Aaron’s stick in front of the sacred chest, and let it stay there permanently. That will be a warning to people who want to rebel [against me]. Then no more people will die [because of complaining against me].”

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/I did what Yahweh had commanded.

And Moses did just as the Lord had instructed.

12 Then the Israeli people said to Moses/me, “We are going to die! All of us are surely going to die!

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

13 Everyone who comes close to Yahweh’s Sacred Tent dies. Are the rest of us going to die, also?” [RHQ]

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