Numbers 17

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And the Lord said to Moses,

2 “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.

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

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

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 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.

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

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

8 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.

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 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.

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 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.”

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 And Moses did just as the Lord had instructed.

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

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

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

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

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