1[1] The Lord said to Moses,2‘Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.3On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.4Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you.5The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.’6So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them.7Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.8The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.9Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.10The Lord said to Moses, ‘Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.’11Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.12The Israelites said to Moses, ‘We shall die! We are lost, we are all lost!13Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?’
Numbers 17
English Standard Version
Aaron’s Staff Buds
1[1] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2“Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. Write each man’s name on his staff, (Eze 37:16)3and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers’ house.4Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. (Ex 25:22)5And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” (Nu 16:5; Nu 16:11)6Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs.7And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. (Ex 38:21; Nu 18:2; 2Ch 24:6; Ac 7:44)8On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.9Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff.10And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” (Nu 16:38; Nu 17:5; Heb 9:4)11Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.12And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.13Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?” (Nu 1:51)