Números 17

SAGRADA BIBLIA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 O Senhor disse a Moisés:	1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 "Fala aos israelitas. Que eles te dêem uma vara por tribo, ou seja, doze varas de todos os príncipes das doze casas patriarcais. Escreverás o nome de cada um na sua vara;	2 "Tell Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, to remove the censers from the embers; and scatter the fire some distance away,
3 na vara de Levi escreverás o nome de Aarão, porque haverá uma vara por tribo.	3 for these sinners have consecrated the censers at the cost of their lives. Have them hammered into plates to cover the altar, because in being presented before the LORD they have become sacred. In this way they shall serve as a sign to the Israelites."
4 Depô-las-ás na tenda de reunião, diante do testemunho, no lugar onde me encontro convosco.	4 So Eleazar the priest had the bronze censers of those burned during the offering hammered into a covering for the altar,
5 E eis que a vara de meu eleito florescerá, e desse modo farei cessar diante de mim as murmurações dos filhos de Israel contra vós."	5 in keeping with the orders which the LORD had given him through Moses. This cover was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no layman, no one who was not a descendant of Aaron, should approach the altar to offer incense before the LORD, lest he meet the fate of Korah and his band.
6 Moisés falou aos israelitas, e todos os príncipes lhe deram a vara, um de cada tribo, ou seja, doze varas pelas doze tribos, entre as quais também a de Aarão.	6 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "It is you who have slain the LORD'S people."
7 Moisés as pôs diante do Senhor na tenda do testemunho.	7 But while the community was deliberating against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the meeting tent, and the cloud now covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.
8 Voltando no dia seguinte, entrou no pavilhão, e eis que tinha florescido a vara de Aarão, pela tribo de Levi: tinham aparecido botões, saído flores e amadurecido amêndoas.	8 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the meeting tent,
9 Moisés levou todas as varas de diante do Senhor aos israelitas. Eles viram o {prodígio} e receberam cada um a sua vara.	9 and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
10 O Senhor disse então a Moisés: "Torna a levar a vara de Aarão para diante da tenda do testemunho, e seja ali conservada como um sinal para todos aqueles que quiserem revoltar-se, e assim possas pôr um termo às murmurações diante de mim, para que não morram."	10 "Depart from this community, that I may consume them at once." But they fell prostrate.
11 Moisés executou a ordem que o Senhor lhe tinha dado.	11 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, and bring it quickly to the community to make atonement for them; for wrath has come forth from the LORD and the blow is falling."
12 Os israelitas disseram a Moisés: "Nós pereceremos, estamos perdidos, sim, estamos todos perdidos!	12 Obeying the orders of Moses, Aaron took his censer and ran in among the community, where the blow was already falling on the people. Then, as he offered the incense and made atonement for the people,
13 Qualquer que se aproxime do tabernáculo do Senhor, morre. Acaso seremos todos exterminados?"	13 standing there between the living and the dead, the scourge was checked.
	14 Yet fourteen thousand seven hundred died from the scourge, in addition to those who died because of Korah.
	15 When the scourge had been checked, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the meeting tent.
	16 The LORD now said to Moses,
	17 "Speak to the Israelites and get one staff from them for each ancestral house, twelve staffs in all, one from each of their tribal princes. Mark each man's name on his staff;
	18 and mark Aaron's name on Levi's staff, for the head of Levi's ancestral house shall also have a staff.
	19 Then lay them down in the meeting tent, in front of the commandments, where I meet you.
	20 There the staff of the man of my choice shall sprout. Thus will I suppress from my presence the Israelites' grumbling against you."
	21 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their princes gave him staffs, twelve in all, one from each tribal prince; and Aaron's staff was with them.
	22 Then Moses laid the staffs down before the LORD in the tent of the commandments.
	23 The next day, when Moses entered the tent, Aaron's staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth not only shoots, but blossoms as well, and even bore ripe almonds!
	24 Moses thereupon brought out all the staffs from the LORD'S presence to the Israelites. After each prince identified his own staff and took it,
	25 the LORD said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the commandments, to be kept there as a warning to the rebellious, so that their grumbling may cease before me; if it does not, they will die."
	26 And Moses did as the LORD had commanded him.
	27 Then the Israelites cried out to Moses, "We are perishing; we are lost, we are all lost!
	28 Every time anyone approaches the Dwelling of the LORD, he dies! Are we to perish to the last man?"