Read the Bible

Aaron's Staff Buds

^1 (F1)Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,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,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.⁴ "You shall then leave them in the tent of meeting in front of ^(C1)the testimony, where I meet with you.⁵ "And it will come about that the staff of ^(C1)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."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.⁷ Then Moses left the staffs before the LORD in ^(C1)the tent of the testimony.

⁸ Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, ^(C1)Aaron's staff for the house of Levi had sprouted and produced buds and bloomed with blossoms, and it yielded ripe almonds.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.¹⁰ But the LORD said to Moses, "Put the staff of Aaron ^(C1)back in front of the testimony ^(F1)to be kept as a sign against the ^(F2)(C2)rebels, so that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me and they do not die."¹¹ Moses did so; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

¹² Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "^(C1)Behold, we are passing away, we are perishing, we are all perishing!¹³ "^(C1)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, must die. Are we to perish completely?"