1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2. "Speak to the sons of Israel, and receive from each of them a rod by their kinships, from all the leaders of the tribes, twelve rods, and write the name of each one on his rod.
3. But the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi, and one rod separately shall contain all their families.
4. And you shall place these in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to you.
5. Whomever of these I will choose, his rod will germinate, and so shall I restrain the complaints of the sons of Israel before me, by which they murmur against you."
6. And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel. And all the leaders gave him rods, one for each tribe. And there were twelve rods, aside from the rod of Aaron.
7. And when Moses had placed these before the Lord, in the tabernacle of the testimony,
8. returning on the following day, he found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, had germinated, and that the swelling buds had opened into flowers, which, spreading their petals, were formed into those of an almond tree.