Numbers 16:36–17:13

³⁶And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, ³⁷Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are holy, ³⁸even the censers of these sinners against their own lives; and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before Jehovah; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. ³⁹And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, which they that were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar, ⁴⁰to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger, that is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to burn incense before Jehovah; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as Jehovah spake unto him by Moses.

⁴¹But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of Jehovah. ⁴²And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared. ⁴³And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, ⁴⁵Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. ⁴⁶And Moses said unto Aaron, Take thy censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and make atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from Jehovah; the plague is begun. ⁴⁷And Aaron took as Moses spake, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. ⁴⁹Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah. ⁵⁰And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the plague was stayed.

17And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house, of all their princes according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. ³And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses. ⁴And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you. ⁶And Moses spake unto the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷And Moses laid up the rods before Jehovah in the tent of the testimony.

⁸And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bare ripe almonds. ⁹And Moses brought out all the rods from before Jehovah unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. ¹⁰And Jehovah said unto Moses, Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that thou mayest make an end of their murmurings against me, that they die not. ¹¹Thus did Moses: as Jehovah commanded him, so did he.

¹²And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. ¹³Every one that cometh near, that cometh near unto the tabernacle of Jehovah, dieth: shall we perish all of us?