2
"Speak to the People of Israel. Get staffs from them - twelve staffs in all, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write each man's name on his staff.
3
Start with Aaron; write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi and then proceed with the rest, a staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe.
4
Now lay them out in the Tent of Meeting in front of The Testimony where I keep appointments with you.
5
What will happen next is this: The staff of the man I choose will sprout. I'm going to put a stop to this endless grumbling by the People of Israel against you."
6
Moses spoke to the People of Israel. Their leaders handed over twelve staffs, one for the leader of each tribe. And Aaron's staff was one of them.
7
Moses laid out the staffs before God in the Tent of Testimony.
8
Moses walked into the Tent of Testimony the next day and saw that Aaron's staff, the staff of the tribe of Levi, had in fact sprouted - buds, blossoms, and even ripe almonds!
9
Moses brought out all the staffs from God's presence and presented them to the People of Israel. They took a good look. Each leader took the staff with his name on it.
10
God said to Moses, "Return Aaron's staff to the front of The Testimony. Keep it there as a sign to rebels. This will put a stop to the grumbling against me and save their lives."