Read the Modern Pastor’s Version
Select a book and chapter to read the MPV in modern, pastor-shaped English. This view shows the reading edition of the text in paragraphs.
Currently viewing: Numbers 17 · MPV reading edition
The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the people and take one rod from each of their leaders, one for each of the twelve ancestral houses. Write the name of every leader on his rod.
Moses spoke to the Israelites and asked them to give him a rod from each of their families, one from each of their twelve ancestral houses, including Aaron's house among them. The people gave Moses the rods, and he laid them before the Lord in the Tabernacle.
After some time passed, Moses went into the Tabernacle and saw that Aaron's rod for the house of Levi had budded, produced blossoms, and yielded almonds. When he came out with the rods, all the Israelites took their rods back and looked at them.
The Lord said to Moses, "Take Aaron's rod and put it in front of the Covenant Box as a sign to remind the people that I was angry with those who rebelled against me. Remove their complaints from my ears, so they won't die.
Moses did what the Lord told him to do. The Israelites then realized how deadly it was for anyone to approach the Tabernacle without proper purification. They said to Moses, "We are all going to perish if we keep doing this!"