« | Numbers 17 | » |
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father's house, all their leaders according to their fathers' houses -- twelve rods. Write each man's name on his rod.
3 "And you shall write Aaron's name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of [each] father's house.
4 "Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before the Testimony, where I meet with you.
5 "And it shall be [that] the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you."
6 So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers' houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron [was] among their rods.
7 And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.
8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.
9 Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.
10 And the LORD said to Moses, "Bring Aaron's rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die."
11 Thus did Moses; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.
12 So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Surely we die, we perish, we all perish!
13 "Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?"
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The New King James Version (NKJV) is a modern translation of the Bible that seeks to preserve the stylistic and literary beauty of the original King James Version (KJV) while making it more accessible to contemporary readers. The project to create the NKJV began in 1975, spearheaded by Arthur Farstad and a team of over 130 scholars, theologians, and pastors. They aimed to maintain the traditional language and rhythm of the KJV while updating archaic terms and expressions to be more understandable for modern audiences. The translation was completed and published in 1982, offering a blend of reverence for the past and clarity for the present.
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