Aaron’s Staff Is Chosen

17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the Israelites,^[a] and take from among them twelve staffs, a staff from each family^[b] from among all their leaders according to their families’ households. Write the name of each man on his staff, ³ and the name of Aaron on the staff of Levi, because one staff is for the head of each of their families.^{[c] 4} You must then put them in the tent of assembly before^[d] the testimony^[e] where I meet with you. ⁵ And it will happen, the man whom I will choose, his staff will blossom, and so I will rid from upon myself the grumblings of the Israelites,^[f] who are grumbling against you.” ⁶ Moses spoke to the Israelites,^[g] and all their leaders gave him a staff for each leader, one from each of their families,^[h] twelve staffs, and the staff of Aaron was in the midst of their tribes. ⁷ And Moses put the staffs before Yahweh in the tent of testimony.

⁸ Then the next day, Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi blossomed and put forth a flower and produced blossoms, and it produced almonds. ⁹ Then Moses brought out to all the Israelites^[i] all the staffs before the presence of Yahweh, and they saw, and each man took his staff. ¹⁰ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Bring back the staff of Aaron before the testimony^[j] as a guard and sign for the children of rebellion, and let them finish their grumblings before me and not die.” ¹¹ So Moses did; just as Yahweh commanded him, so he did.

¹² And the Israelites^[k] said to Moses, saying, “Look! We will die! We will be destroyed! All of us will perish! ¹³ Anyone who approaches the tabernacle of Yahweh will die. Will we all die?”^[l]