1: GOD spoke to Moses:
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."
11: Moses did just as GOD commanded him.
12: The People of Israel said to Moses, "We're as good as dead. This is our death sentence.
13: Anyone who even gets close to The Dwelling of GOD is as good as dead. Are we all doomed?"