Numbers 17
The Voice
17 The Eternal One continued.
Eternal One (to Moses): 2-3 Tell the Israelites that you’ll need twelve staffs—one for each of the extended families. Engrave on each one the respective leader’s name. (Aaron’s name should be on the Levi family’s staff.) 4 Bring the staff of each of them into the congregation tent and lay them in front of My tablets of witness with you in the place where I meet you. 5 I will indicate the person whom I choose by making his particular staff grow shoots and leaves. This will end once and for all any complaints about your leadership.
6-7 Moses passed these instructions on to the Israelites, and they all agreed to do it. They each gave their staffs as leaders representing their extended families with Aaron’s staff among them. Then Moses placed them before the Eternal One in the tent of the congregation and before the covenant. 8 The next day, when Moses went into the tent where the covenant was kept, it was obvious that Aaron of the Levite family was God’s choice. Aaron’s staff had grown not only little buds, but it had actually flowered and developed fully-ripened almonds. 9 Moses carried the staffs out of the Eternal’s presence, showed them to the congregation, and redistributed them to the twelve leaders.
Eternal One (to Moses): 10 Return Aaron’s staff to the tent and place it in front of the covenant, to serve as a reminder of whom I’ve chosen to lead this people. Let it be a warning to any who would question or undermine your leadership. I have made My choice clear and will kill anyone who persists in challenging it.
11 So Moses returned Aaron’s staff to the tent just as the Eternal told him to do.
The rod or staff is a symbol of guidance, protection, and power. At this time, the people are confused and afraid because the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram—followed by their sudden and absolute judgment—has caused the Israelites to think hard about their situation. Remember they said in response to God’s judgment, “What if the earth swallows us up too?” They are truly in awe of God. Immediately after this upheaval, God establishes the leadership of Aaron and his successors using the staff of Aaron. Only his staff and not those of the other leaders is affected. His staff not only buds but it bears fruit—almonds. Like the symbols of the testimony and the manna, the staff is a memorial for the people. With the staff, they are reminded that the Lord provides and protects.
Israelites (to Moses): 12 We’re going to die! We will be destroyed! 13 If anyone comes close to the tent where the Eternal One is supposed to meet with us, then he’ll die. Will we all die, then?
Numbers 17
Wycliffe Bible
17 And the Lord spake to Moses, saying,
2 Speak thou to the sons of Israel, and take thou rods, by their kindreds, by each kindred one rod, take thou of all the princes of the lineages twelve rods; and thou shalt write the name of each lineage upon his rod; (Speak thou to the Israelites, and take thou staffs, from their kindreds, one staff from each kindred, yea, take thou twelve staffs from all the leaders, or all the chief men, of the tribes; and thou shalt write the name of each leader on his staff;)
3 soothly the name of Aaron shall be written in the lineage of Levi, and one rod shall contain all the families of Levi. (and Aaron’s name shall be written on the staff of Levi; yea, one staff shall be for the head of each family.)
4 And thou shalt put those rods in the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, before the witnessing, where I shall speak with thee; (And thou shalt put those staffs in the Tabernacle of the Covenant, before the Ark of the Witnessing, that is, the Box containing the tablets of the Law, where I speak with thee;)
5 the rod of him shall burgeon, whom I shall choose of them to the office of priesthood; and I shall thereby refrain, or quench, from me the complainings, or grouchings, of the sons of Israel, by which they grouch against you. (and the staff of him shall sprout, whom I shall choose out of them for the office, or for the duties, of the priesthood; and I shall thereby quench the complaints, or the grumblings, of the Israelites, by which they grumble against you.)
6 And Moses spake to the sons of Israel; and all the princes gave to him rods, by all their lineages; and the rods were twelve, without the rod of Aaron. (And Moses spoke to the Israelites; and each leader from each tribe gave him a staff; and so there were twelve staffs, and Aaron’s staff was among them.)
7 And when Moses had put those rods before the Lord, in the tabernacle of witnessing, (And when Moses had put those staffs before the Lord, in the Tabernacle of the Witnessing,)
8 he went again in the day following, and found that the rod of Aaron, in the house of Levi, had burgeoned; and when [the] knops were great, the blossoms had broken out, which were alarged in (the) leaves, and were formed into almonds. (he went back on the following day, and found that Aaron’s staff, for the house of Levi, had sprouted; and first the buds grew great, and then the blossoms broke out, and enlarged themselves amid the leaves, and then they were formed into almonds.)
9 Therefore Moses brought forth all the rods from the sight of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they saw, and received each his rod. (And so Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites; and they looked at all of them, and then each man received back his own staff.)
10 And the Lord said to Moses, Bear thou again the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of witnessing, that it be kept there into a token of the rebel sons of Israel, and that their complainings, or grouchings, cease from me, lest they die. (And the Lord said to Moses, Bring thou back Aaron’s staff into the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, so that it can be kept there as a sign, or as a warning, to all the rebellious Israelites, so that their complaints, or their grumblings, cease, or else they shall die.)
11 And Moses did, as the Lord commanded.
12 Soothly the sons of Israel said to Moses, Lo! we be wasted, all we have perished; (And the Israelites said to Moses, Lo! we be destroyed, and we all shall perish;)
13 whoever nigheth to the tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth; whether we shall all be done away unto the death? (whoever cometh near to the Tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth; we all shall be done away unto death!)
Numbers 17
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 17
Aaron’s Staff.[a] 1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and take one staff from the leaders of each of the ancestral tribes, and write each of their names on the twelve staffs. 3 Write Aaron’s name upon the staff of Levi, for there is one staff for the leader of each of the ancestral tribes. 4 You are to lay them in the tent of meeting in front of the Testimony where I meet with you. 5 The staff of the man whom I choose will blossom. Thus I will bring an end to the grumblings of the people of Israel against you.” 6 Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and all of the leaders gave him one staff each, one for each of the twelve ancestral tribes, and the staff of Aaron was among the other staffs. 7 So Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of meeting.
8 The next day, Moses went into the tent of meeting. The staff of Aaron of the tribe of Levi had blossomed and brought forth buds.[b] It was blooming and producing almonds. 9 Moses brought all of the staffs from before the Lord out to the people of Israel. They looked at them, and each man took his staff.
10 The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s staff before the Testimony to be kept as a warning to the rebels. This should end their grumblings against me, so that they may not have to die.” 11 Moses did this. He did as the Lord had commanded him. 12 Then the people of Israel spoke to Moses saying, “We are dying, we are lost! We are all lost! 13 Anyone who approaches the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we going to die?”
Footnotes
- Numbers 17:1 The word translated staff means both “staff of command” and “genealogical tree.”
- Numbers 17:8 The staff . . . had blossomed and brought forth buds: as the Lord intended, Aaron’s staff exceeded the others in fruitfulness and was a clear sign of God’s choice of Aaron and his sons as true priests.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
2001 by Terence P. Noble
