Numbers 17

¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

²Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod.

³And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.

⁴And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.

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.

⁶And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

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

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.

⁹And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.

¹⁰And 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.

¹¹And Moses did so: as the Lord commanded him, so did he.

¹²And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.

¹³Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?

Numbers 17

¹And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

²`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and take from them each a rod, for a father's house, from all their princes, for the house of their fathers, twelve rods; the name of each thou dost write on his rod,

³and Aaron's name thou dost write on the tribe of Levi; for one rod is for the head of their fathers' house:

⁴and thou hast placed them in the tent of meeting, before the testimony, where I meet with you.

⁵`And it hath come to pass, the man's rod on whom I fix doth flourish, and I have caused to cease from off me the murmurings of the sons of Israel, which they are murmuring against you.'

⁶And Moses speaketh unto the sons of Israel, and all their princes give unto him one rod for a prince, one rod for a prince, for their fathers' house, twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron is in the midst of their rods;

⁷and Moses placeth the rods before Jehovah, in the tent of the testimony.

⁸And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Moses goeth in unto the tent of the testimony, and lo, the rod of Aaron hath flourished for the house of Levi, and is bringing out flourishing, and doth blossom blossoms, and doth produce almonds;

⁹and Moses bringeth out all the rods from before Jehovah, unto all the sons of Israel, and they look, and take each his rod.

¹⁰And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Put back the rod of Aaron, before the testimony, for a charge, for a sign to the sons of rebellion, and thou dost remove their murmurings from off me, and they do not die;'

¹¹and Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded him; so he hath done.

¹²And the sons of Israel speak unto Moses, saying, `Lo, we have expired; we have perished; we have all of us perished;

¹³any who is at all drawing near unto the tabernacle of Jehovah dieth; have we not been consumedto expire?'

Numbers 17

¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

³And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.

⁴And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.

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.

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

⁹And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.

¹¹And Moses did so: as the Lord commanded him, so did he.

¹²And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.

¹³Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?

Numbers 17:1

KJV

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

YLT

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

KJV

Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod.

YLT

`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and take from them each a rod, for a father's house, from all their princes, for the house of their fathers, twelve rods; the name of each thou dost write on his rod,

KJV

And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.

YLT

and Aaron's name thou dost write on the tribe of Levi; for one rod is for the head of their fathers' house:

KJV

And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.

YLT

and thou hast placed them in the tent of meeting, before the testimony, where I meet with you.

KJV

And 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.

YLT

`And it hath come to pass, the man's rod on whom I fix doth flourish, and I have caused to cease from off me the murmurings of the sons of Israel, which they are murmuring against you.'

KJV

And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

YLT

And Moses speaketh unto the sons of Israel, and all their princes give unto him one rod for a prince, one rod for a prince, for their fathers' house, twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron is in the midst of their rods;

KJV

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

YLT

and Moses placeth the rods before Jehovah, in the tent of the testimony.

KJV

And 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.

YLT

And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Moses goeth in unto the tent of the testimony, and lo, the rod of Aaron hath flourished for the house of Levi, and is bringing out flourishing, and doth blossom blossoms, and doth produce almonds;

KJV

And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.

YLT

and Moses bringeth out all the rods from before Jehovah, unto all the sons of Israel, and they look, and take each his rod.

KJV

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.

YLT

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Put back the rod of Aaron, before the testimony, for a charge, for a sign to the sons of rebellion, and thou dost remove their murmurings from off me, and they do not die;'

KJV

And Moses did so: as the Lord commanded him, so did he.

YLT

and Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded him; so he hath done.

KJV

And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.

YLT

And the sons of Israel speak unto Moses, saying, `Lo, we have expired; we have perished; we have all of us perished;

KJV

Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?

YLT

any who is at all drawing near unto the tabernacle of Jehovah dieth; have we not been consumedto expire?'

Understanding King James Version vs Young's Literal Translation in Numbers 17

King James Version (KJV)

The classic 1611 English translation known for its majestic prose and literary influence. Ideal for traditional study and memorization thanks to its formal style. A foundational English Bible used for centuries.

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

An extremely literal, word-for-word translation that preserves original verb tenses and phrasing. Best for close study and comparing structures from the source languages. The English can feel rigid, but it’s very useful for detailed analysis.

You are viewing a side-by-side comparison of Numbers 17 in the King James Version and Young's Literal Translation. Comparing these two versions can help shed light on the nuances of the original text.