[1] And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, [2] "Speak unto the children of Israel, and take from every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, from all their princes according to the house of their fathers, twelve rods. Write thou every man's name upon his rod. [3] And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi, for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. [4] And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the Testimony, where I will meet with you. [5] And it shall come to pass that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom; and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you." [6] And Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. [7] And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. [8] And it came to pass that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds and bloomed blossoms and yielded almonds. [9] And 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. [10] And the LORD said unto Moses, "Bring Aaron's rod again before the Testimony to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from Me, that they die not." [11] And Moses did so; as the LORD commanded him, so did he. [12] And the children of Israel spoke unto Moses, saying, "Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish! [13] Whosoever cometh anywhere near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die. Shall we be consumed with dying?"
