| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The LORD instructed Moses: | 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, |
| 2"Speak to the Israelites and take one staff from them for each ancestral tribe, twelve staffs from all the leaders of their tribes. Write each man's name on his staff. | 2“Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff. |
| 3Write Aaron's name on Levi's staff, because there is to be one staff for the head of each tribe. | 3Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe. |
| 4Then place them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony where I meet with you. | 4Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the tablets of the Covenant, where I meet with you. |
| 5The staff of the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of the Israelites' complaints that they have been making about you." | 5Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.” |
| 6So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. Aaron's staff was among them. | 6So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff. |
| 7Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony. | 7Moses placed the staffs in the LORD’s presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant. |
| 8The next day Moses entered the tent of the testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, formed buds, blossomed, and produced almonds! | 8When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds! |
| 9Moses then brought out all the staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff. | 9When Moses brought all the staffs out from the LORD’s presence, he showed them to the people. Each man claimed his own staff. |
| 10The LORD told Moses, "Put Aaron's staff back in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign for the rebels, so that you may put an end to their complaints before me, or else they will die." | 10And the LORD said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.” |
| 11So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. | 11So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. |
| 12Then the Israelites declared to Moses, "Look, we're perishing! We're lost; we're all lost! | 12Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined! |
| 13Anyone who comes near the LORD's tabernacle will die. Will we all perish?" | 13Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the LORD dies. Are we all doomed to die?” |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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