17:1 ①Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
▷ ①Ch 17:16 in Heb
17:2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and obtain from them a staff for each father’s household: twelve staffs, from all their leaders for their fathers’ households. You shall write each man’s name on his staff,
17:3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi; for there is to be one staff for the head of each of their fathers’ households.
17:4 You shall then leave them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony, where I meet with you.
17:5 And it will come about that the staff of the man whom I choose will sprout. So I will relieve Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.”
17:6 So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader, for their fathers’ households, twelve staffs in all, with the staff of Aaron among their staffs.
17:7 Then Moses left the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony.
17:8 Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, Aaron’s staff for the house of Levi had sprouted and produced buds and bloomed with blossoms, and it yielded ripe almonds.
17:9 Moses then brought out all the staffs from the presence of the LORD to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his staff.
17:10 But the LORD said to Moses, “Put the staff of Aaron back in front of the testimony ①to be kept as a sign against the ②rebels, so that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me and they do not die.”
▷ ①Lit for preserving ②Lit sons of rebellion
17:11 Moses did so; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.
17:12 Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, we are passing away, we are perishing, we are all perishing!
17:13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, must die. Are we to perish completely?”