Numbers 17:2–11

¹⁷And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

²And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

¹⁴And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

¹⁰It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.

¹³Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God.

¹⁶Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

¹⁷And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

¹⁸¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

¹⁹Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

²⁰¶ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

¹⁰The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

¹⁴¶ Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

⁵¶ And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.

⁶Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

⁷Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

⁸Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar.

⁹Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon.

¹⁰Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

¹¹Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.

¹²Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

¹³Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran.

¹⁴Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

¹⁵Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan.

¹⁶These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

¹⁴¶ In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

¹⁵And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar.

¹⁶And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.

¹⁷And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle.

¹⁸¶ And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur.

¹⁹And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

²⁰And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

²¹And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.

²²¶ And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.

²³And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

²⁴And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.

²⁵¶ And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was the rereward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

²⁶And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran.

²⁷And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.

³And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.

⁴And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.

⁵And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar.

⁶And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.

⁷Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun.

⁸And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.

⁹All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.

¹⁰¶ On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.

¹¹And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.

¹²And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

¹³And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.

¹⁴Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.

¹⁵And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.

¹⁶All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.

¹⁷¶ Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.

¹⁸¶ On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.

¹⁹And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.

²⁰And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

²¹And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.

²²Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.

²³And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.

²⁴All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank.

²⁵¶ The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

²⁶And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.

²⁷And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.

²⁸And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.

²⁹¶ Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.

³⁰And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.

²The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

³For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

¹⁶¶ And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years.

²⁰And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.

¹AND the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

⁷Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

²And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.

³⁶And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

¹⁶And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.

¹⁷And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

¹⁸And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

¹⁹And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

²⁰And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

²¹And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

²²And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

⁴²This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

⁴³And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.

⁶And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

⁷And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness.

⁵And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

⁴¹And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.

⁵I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

¹THE wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

²It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.

¹¹For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?

⁸And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.

²⁷Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.

¹AND there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

¹¹And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

⁶He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

²⁴Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁰¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.

⁴⁴Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

²¹¶ This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.

²And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.

²⁴And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.

¹I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

²Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

³Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

⁵I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

⁶If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

¹⁷There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.

¹⁸His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

²In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

⁵And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.

¹⁴And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

¹⁰And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:

²The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

¹²But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

⁴Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

³As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

⁶Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

⁴Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

²Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

¹²¶ Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.

²²Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.

¹⁹Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

²⁰For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

²¹And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

²²¶ Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

²³And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

²⁴¶ And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,

²⁵That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,

²⁶Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

²⁴Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

³²¶ And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

³⁸The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

⁴⁰To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses.

⁴My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

²Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

³Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

⁹O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.