| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The LORD spoke to Moses: | 1 Then the LORD said to 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 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. |
| 3You must write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi; for one staff is for the head of every 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. |
| 4You must place them in the tent of meeting before the ark of the covenant 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. |
| 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." | 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 leader, according to their tribes--twelve staffs; the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. | 6So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff. |
| 7Then Moses 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. |
| 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! | 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! |
| 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. | 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 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." | 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--this is what he did. | 11So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. |
| 12The Israelites said to Moses, "We are bound to die! We perish, we all perish! | 12Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined! |
| 13Anyone who even comes close to the tabernacle of the LORD will die! Are we all to die?" | 13Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the LORD dies. Are we all doomed to die?” |
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