Et locutus est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Then the Lord said to Moses,

Loquere ad filios Israël, et accipe ab eis virgas singulas per cognationes suas, a cunctis principibus tribuum, virgas duodecim, et uniuscujusque nomen superscribes virgæ suæ.

Speak to the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod by their kindreds, of all the princes of the tribes, twelve rods, and write the name of every man upon his rod.

Bid the Israelites bring thee twelve rods, to represent the twelve tribes, each with the name of the tribe’s chieftain written on it;

Nomen autem Aaron erit in tribu Levi, et una virga cunctas seorsum familias continebit:

And the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi, and one rod shall contain all their families:

and Levi, too, must have a rod, a single rod representing all its families, with Aaron’s name written on it.

ponesque eas in tabernaculo fœderis coram testimonio, ubi loquar ad te.

And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to thee.

These thou wilt lay up in the tabernacle, before the ark, my appointed trysting-place with thee.

Quem ex his elegero, germinabit virga ejus: et cohibebo a me querimonias filiorum Israël, quibus contra vos murmurant.

Whomsoever of these I shall choose, his rod shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, wherewith they murmur against you.

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.

Locutusque est Moyses ad filios Israël: et dederunt ei omnes principes virgas per singulas tribus: fueruntque virgæ duodecim absque virga Aaron.

And Moses spoke to the children of Israel: and all the princes gave him rods one for every tribe: and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron.

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,

Quas cum posuisset Moyses coram Domino in tabernaculo testimonii,

And when Moses had laid them up before the Lord in the tabernacle of the testimony:

all of which he laid up in the Lord’s presence, in the tabernacle.

sequenti die regressus invenit germinasse virgam Aaron in domo Levi: et turgentibus gemmis eruperant flores, qui, foliis dilatatis, in amygdalas deformati sunt.

He returned on the following day, and found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded: and that the buds swelling it had bloomed blossoms, which spreading the leaves, were formed into almonds.

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.

Protulit ergo Moyses omnes virgas de conspectu Domini ad cunctos filios Israël: videruntque, et receperunt singuli virgas suas.

Moses therefore brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel: and they saw, and every one received their rods.

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;

Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen: Refer virgam Aaron in tabernaculum testimonii, ut servetur ibi in signum rebellium filiorum Israël, et quiescant querelæ eorum a me, ne moriantur.

And the Lord said to Moses: Carry back the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be kept there for a token of the rebellious children of Israel, and that their complaints may cease from me lest they die.

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.

Fecitque Moyses sicut præceperat Dominus.

And Moses did as the Lord had commanded.

Moses did as the Lord had bidden him;

Dixerunt autem filii Israël ad Moysen: Ecce consumpti sumus, omnes perivimus.

And the children of Israel said to Moses: Behold we are consumed, we all perish.

and now the Israelites said to Moses, We have dwindled away; we are dead men, all of us.

Quicumque accedit ad tabernaculum Domini, moritur. Num usque ad internecionem cuncti delendi sumus?

Whosoever approacheth to the tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth. Are we all to a man to be utterly destroyed?

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?