Chapter 17

¹Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house, of all their princes according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods: write you every man’s name on his rod. ³You shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses. ⁴You shall lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you. ⁶Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷Moses laid up the rods before Yahweh in the tent of the testimony. ⁸It happened on the next day, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. ⁹Moses brought out all the rods from before Yahweh to all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. ¹⁰Yahweh said to Moses, Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you may make an end of their murmurings against me, that they not die. ¹¹Thus did Moses: as Yahweh commanded him, so did he. ¹²The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. ¹³Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tent of Yahweh, dies: shall we perish all of us?