Numbers 17

¹And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house, of all their princes according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. ³And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses. ⁴And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you. ⁶And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tent of the testimony. ⁸And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and bare ripe almonds. ⁹And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. ¹⁰And the LORD said unto Moses, Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that thou mayest make an end of their murmurings against me, that they die not. ¹¹Thus did Moses: as the LORD commanded him, so did he. ¹²And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. ¹³Every one that cometh near, that cometh near unto the tabernacle of the LORD, dieth: shall we perish all of us?