The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 ADONAI said to Moshe,
1
The LORD said to Moses,
2 "Speak to the people of Isra'el, and take from them staffs, one for each ancestral tribe from each leader of a tribe, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff;
2
"Speak to the Israelites, and get 12 staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their tribes. Write each man's name on his staff.
3 and write Aharon's name on the staff of Levi, for each tribe's leader is to have one staff.
3
Write Aaron's name on the staff for Levi because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe.
4 Put them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony, where I meet with you.
4
Put them in the tent of meeting where I meet with you, in front of the words of my promise.
5 The staff of the man I am going to choose will sprout buds - in this way I will put a stop to the complaints the people of Isra'el keep making against you."
5
The staff from the man I choose will begin to grow. In this way I will silence the frequent complaints the Israelites make against you and Aaron."
6 Moshe spoke to the people of Isra'el, and all their leaders gave him staffs, one for each leader, according to their ancestral tribes, twelve staffs. Aharon's staff was among their staffs.
6
So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Their leaders gave him 12 staffs, one from the leader of each of their tribes. Aaron's staff was among them.
7 Moshe put the staffs before ADONAI in the tent of the testimony.
7
Moses put the staffs in the LORD's presence in the tent of the words of God's promise.
8 The next day Moshe went into the tent of the testimony, and there he saw that Aharon's staff for the house of Levi had budded - it had sprouted not only buds but flowers and ripe almonds as well.
8
The next day Moses went into the tent. He found that Aaron's staff for the tribe of Levi had not only begun to grow, but it had also blossomed and produced ripe almonds.
9 Moshe brought out all the staffs from before ADONAI to all the people of Isra'el, and they looked, and each man took back his staff.
9
Moses brought out the staffs from the LORD's presence and showed them to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his staff.
10 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Return Aharon's staff to its place in front of the testimony. It is to be kept there as a sign to the rebels, so that they will stop grumbling against me and thus not die."
10
The LORD said to Moses, "Put Aaron's staff back in front of the words of my promise, and keep it there as a sign to warn any other rebels. Then you will stop their complaints about me, and they won't die."
11 Moshe did this; he did as ADONAI had ordered him.
11
Moses did exactly what the LORD commanded him to do.
12 But the people of Isra'el said to Moshe, "Oh no! We're dead men! Lost! We're all lost!
12
The Israelites said to Moses, "Now we're going to die! We're lost! We're all lost!
13 Whenever anyone approaches the tabernacle of ADONAI, he dies! Will we all perish?"
13
Anyone who comes near the LORD's tent will die! Are we all going to die?"
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.