| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1The LORD spoke to Moses: | 1 The LORD instructed Moses, |
| 2"Speak to the Israelites, and receive from them a staff from each tribe, one from every tribal leader, twelve staffs; you must write each man's name on his staff. | 2"Tell the Israelis to take a rod—one from each ancestral house, that is, one from every leader, for a total of twelve rods. Write each tribal name on his rod. |
| 3You must write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi; for one staff is for the head of every tribe. | 3You are also to write Aaron's name on the tribe of Levi, since there is to be one rod for every leader of their ancestral tribes. |
| 4You must place them in the tent of meeting before the ark of the covenant where I meet with you. | 4"Then lay them there in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Ark of the Covenant where I'll meet with you. |
| 5And the staff of the man whom I choose will blossom; so I will rid myself of the complaints of the Israelites, which they murmur against you." | 5The rod that belongs to the man whom I'll choose will burst into bloom. That's how I'll put a stop to the complaints of the Israelis, who are complaining against you." |
| 6So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader, according to their tribes--twelve staffs; the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. | 6So Moses spoke to the Israelis, and each of the tribe leaders gave him a rod, one for each leader, according to their ancestral tribes, for a total of twelve rods. Aaron's rod was one of them. |
| 7Then Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony. | 7Then Moses laid out the rods in the LORD'S presence, inside the Tent of Testimony. |
| 8On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony--and the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and brought forth buds, and produced blossoms, and yielded almonds! | 8The next morning, Moses went to the Tent of Testimony and the rod of Aaron of the tribe of Levi had burst into bloom! It sprouted buds, bloomed blossoms, and produced fully ripe almonds! |
| 9So Moses brought out all the staffs from before the LORD to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his staff. | 9Then Moses took out all the rods from the LORD's presence to show all the Israelis. Everybody looked, and then each man took his rod. |
| 10The LORD said to Moses, "Bring Aaron's staff back before the testimony to be preserved for a sign to the rebels, so that you may bring their murmurings to an end before me, that they will not die." | 10Then the Lord instructed Moses, "Return Aaron's rod before the testimony to be kept for a reminder against the rebels so that you may put an end to their complaints against me and so that they won't die." |
| 11So Moses did as the LORD commanded him--this is what he did. | 11So Moses did exactly what the LORD had commanded him to do. |
| 12The Israelites said to Moses, "We are bound to die! We perish, we all perish! | 12Then the Israelis told Moses, "We're sure to die! We're all going to perish—all of us! |
| 13Anyone who even comes close to the tabernacle of the LORD will die! Are we all to die?" | 13Anyone who comes near or approaches the LORD's tent is to die. Are all of us going to die?" |
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