The Holy Bible – Knox Translation
The Book of Numbers
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Chapter 17
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Then the Lord said to Moses,
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Bid the Israelites bring thee twelve rods, to represent the twelve tribes, each with the name of the tribe’s chieftain written on it;
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and Levi, too, must have a rod, a single rod representing all its families, with Aaron’s name written on it.
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These thou wilt lay up in the tabernacle, before the ark, my appointed trysting-place with thee.
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On one of these names my choice shall fall, and the rod which bears that name will sprout. So I will put an end to these complaints with which the men of Israel assail you.

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Moses handed on this message to the Israelites, and the chieftain of each tribe brought him a rod, twelve rods in all, not counting Aaron’s,
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all of which he laid up in the Lord’s presence, in the tabernacle.
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And when he went back next day he found that the rod of Aaron, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted; buds had formed on it and burst into flower, and these flowers, as their petals drooped, turned into almonds.
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So Moses carried all the rods away from the Lord’s presence and shewed them to all the people, and each of the chieftains had his rod returned to him;
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but Aaron’s rod, the Lord told Moses, was to be taken back into the tabernacle, to be kept there in memory of the rebellious Israelites; there must be no more complaining, no more death-penalties.
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Moses did as the Lord had bidden him;
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and now the Israelites said to Moses, We have dwindled away; we are dead men, all of us.
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None comes near the Lord’s tabernacle, but he dies for it. Surely he will not go on destroying us, till our race is utterly extinguished?