Numbers 17
Jubilee Bible 2000
17 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the sons of Israel and take of each of them a rod according to the houses of their fathers, of all their princes, twelve rods according to the houses of their fathers, and write thou each man’s name upon his rod.
3 And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi, for each head of family of their fathers shall have one rod.
4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the testimony, before the testimony, where I will testify of myself unto you.
5 And it shall come to pass regarding the man whom I shall choose that his rod shall blossom; and I will resolve the complaints of the sons of Israel, with which they murmur against you.
6 And Moses spoke unto the sons of Israel, and all their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.
7 And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of the testimony.
8 ¶ And it came to pass that on the next day Moses went into the tabernacle of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aaron of the house of Levi had budded and blossomed and brought forth open flowers and yielded almonds.
9 Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each one took his rod.
10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Return Aaron’s rod before the testimony to be kept for a sign unto the rebellious sons; and thou shalt cause their complaints to cease from upon me, that they not die.
11 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him, so did he.
12 Then the sons of Israel spoke unto Moses, saying, Behold, we are dead, we are lost, we are all lost.
13 Anyone who comes near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die; shall we all perish?
Numbers 17
English Standard Version
Aaron's Staff Buds
17 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 (A)“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, (B)where I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man (C)whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me (D)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 (E)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 (F)the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept (G)as a sign for the rebels, (H)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 (I)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”
Footnotes
- Numbers 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Hebrew
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
