1 And the LORD {YHWH, Instruction Giver} spoke to Moses, saying {lemor: introducing direct speech},
2 Speak to the sons of Israel and take from them a staff from each of all their leaders {nesiʾeihem: tribal chiefs}, according to the house of their fathers, twelve staffs in all. You shall write each man’s name on his staff {mattehu: symbol of authority}.
3 And you shall write Aaron’s name upon the staff of Levi {matteh: symbol of tribal authority}, for there shall be one staff for the head {rosh: chief leader} of each ancestral house.
4 And you shall set them in the tent of meeting before the testimony {edut: covenant witness}, where I {YHWH, Covenant Host} meet with you there.
5 And it shall be that the staff of the man whom I {YHWH, Complaint Remover} choose shall sprout; and I will remove from upon Me the persistent protests {telunot: persistent protest} of the sons of Israel who are complaining against you.
6 And Moses {Mosheh: Appointed Mediator} spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him staffs—one staff for each leader, according to their ancestral houses—twelve staffs in all. And Aaron’s {Aharon: Priestly Representative} staff was among them.
7 And Moses placed the staffs before the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Witness} in the tent of the testimony {edut: witness}.
8 And it was on the next day that Moses came to the tent of the testimony {edut: covenant witness}, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted; it brought forth buds, produced blossoms {perach: full bloom}, and yielded almonds.
9 And Moses brought out all the staffs from before the LORD {YHWH, Tribal Sovereign} to all the sons of Israel. They saw, and each man took his staff {matteh: symbol of authority}.
10 And the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Upholder} said to Moses, “Place Aaron’s staff before the testimony {edut: covenant witness}, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, so that their murmurings will cease from upon Me and they will not die.”
11 And Moses did just as the LORD {YHWH, Divine Lawgiver} commanded {tsivvah: issued instruction} him; so he did.
12 And the sons of Israel said to Moses {Moshe: covenant mediator}, saying, “Look, we have perished {gavanu: sense of mortal peril}; we are ruined; all of us are ruined.”
13 Everyone who approaches—who approaches—the tabernacle of the LORD {YHWH, Holy Dwelling} will die. Is it that we have come to our end {tamnu: reached final limit}, to die?