The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people and take from them–from the chieftains of their ancestral houses–one staff for each chieftain of an ancestral house: twelve staffs in all. Inscribe each man’s name on his staff, there being one staff for each head of an ancestral house; also inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. Deposit them in the Tent of Meeting before the Pact, where I meet with you. The staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout, and I will rid Myself of the incessant mutterings of the Israelites against you.
From Parshat Korah. From THE TANAKH: The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. Used by permission.