Numbers 16:41-17:13

English Standard Version

⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel ^(A)grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” ⁴² And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, ^(B)the cloud covered it, and ^(C)the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^45 (D)“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” ^(E)And they fell on their faces. ⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for ^(F)wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” ⁴⁷ So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ And he stood between the dead and the living, and ^(G)the plague was stopped. ⁴⁹ Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, ^(H)besides those who died in the affair of Korah. ⁵⁰ And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

Aaron's Staff Buds

17 ^[a] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (I)“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, ³ and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. ⁴ Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, ^(J)where I meet with you. ⁵ And the staff of the man ^(K)whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me ^(L)the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” ⁶ Moses 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. ⁷ And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in ^(M)the tent of the testimony.

⁸ On 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. ⁹ Then 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. ¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back ^(N)the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept ^(O)as a sign for the rebels, ^(P)that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” ¹¹ Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

¹² And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. ^13 (Q)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”