Numbers 17:1-8

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!