Numbers 17
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Aaron’s Staff Chosen
17 [a]The Lord instructed Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and take one staff from them for each ancestral house, 12 staffs from all the leaders of their ancestral houses. Write each man’s name on his staff. 3 Write Aaron’s name on Levi’s staff, because there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral house. 4 Then place them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony where I meet with you. 5 The staff of the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the Israelites’ complaints that they have been making about you.”
6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each of the leaders of their ancestral houses, 12 staffs in all. Aaron’s staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.
8 The next day Moses entered the tent of the testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, formed buds, blossomed, and produced almonds! 9 Moses then brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff. 10 The Lord told Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign(A) for the rebels, so that you may put an end to their complaints before Me, or else they will die.” 11 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.
12 Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we’re perishing! We’re lost; we’re all lost! 13 Anyone who comes near the Lord’s tabernacle will die.(B) Will we all perish?”
Footnotes
- Numbers 17:1 Nm 17:16 in Hb
Numbers 17
New Living Translation
The Budding of Aaron’s Staff
17 [a]Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff. 3 Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the tablets of the Covenant,[b] where I meet with you. 5 Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.”
6 So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff. 7 Moses placed the staffs in the Lord’s presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant.[c] 8 When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!
9 When Moses brought all the staffs out from the Lord’s presence, he showed them to the people. Each man claimed his own staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant[d] to serve as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.” 11 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.
12 Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined! 13 Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the Lord dies. Are we all doomed to die?”
Footnotes
- 17:1 Verses 17:1-13 are numbered 17:16-28 in Hebrew text.
- 17:4 Hebrew in the Tent of Meeting before the Testimony. The Hebrew word for “testimony” refers to the terms of the Lord’s covenant with Israel as written on stone tablets, which were kept in the Ark, and also to the covenant itself.
- 17:7 Or Tabernacle of the Testimony; also in 17:8.
- 17:10 Hebrew before the Testimony; see note on 17:4.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
