NumbersChapter 17

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¹And the LORD said to Moses, ²"Speak to the Israelites. Get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man's name on his staff. ³Write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. There must be one staff for the head of each tribe. ⁴Put the staffs in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony. That is where I meet with you. ⁵The staff of the man I choose will sprout. Then I will put a stop to the Israelites' constant grumbling against you." ⁶So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Each of their leaders gave him a staff. There was one for each leader of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. Aaron's staff was among them. ⁷Then Moses put the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony. ⁸The next day Moses went into the Tent of the Testimony. He saw that Aaron's staff, for the family of Levi, had sprouted. It had grown buds and flowers, and it had made almonds! ⁹Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff. ¹⁰The LORD said to Moses, "Put Aaron's staff back in front of the Testimony. Keep it there as a sign for those who rebel. It will put an end to their grumbling against me, so they won't die." ¹¹So Moses did just what the LORD commanded him. ¹²Then the Israelites said to Moses, "Look, we're going to die! We're lost. We're all lost! ¹³Anyone who comes near the LORD's tabernacle will die. Are we all going to die?"