1 Adonai spoke to Moses saying,
2 “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and get a rod from each ancestral house, twelve staffs in all, from each prince according to his ancestral household. Write each man’s name on his staff.
3 Write Aaron’s name on Levi’s staff, for there is to be one staff for the prince of each tribe.
4 Then you are to place them in the Tent of Meeting, before the Testimony, where I meet with you.
5 It will come about that the staff of the man I choose will sprout. I will then rid Myself of the grumblings of Bnei-Yisrael, who are grumbling against you.”
6 So Moses spoke to Bnei-Yisrael. Each of their princes gave him a staff, one staff for each prince according to their ancestral houses, twelve staffs in all, and Aaron’s staff was among them.
7 Moses placed the staffs before Adonai in the Tent of Testimony.
8 The next day, Moses entered the Tent of Testimony and behold, Aaron’s staff, from the house of Levi, had sprouted, blossomed, and produced almonds!
9 Moses then brought all the staffs from Adonai’s Presence to all Bnei-Yisrael. They looked and each man took his staff.
10 Adonai said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony to keep as a sign to the sons of rebellion, so that it may put an end to their grumblings against Me, and so they will not die.”
11 Moses did just as Adonai had commanded him.
12 But Bnei-Yisrael said to Moses saying, “Look! We will die! We are all lost! We are lost!
13 Anyone approaching the Tabernacle of Adonai will die! Must all of us die?”