So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses took the rod from before Yahweh, as he commanded him.
- KJV And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
- BSB So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he had been commanded.
- NKJV So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.
- NASB So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him;
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses took the rod from before the Lord as commanded. He began in obedience, taking up the appointed staff.
Overview
The rod kept before the Lord was likely Aaron's budded staff, a sign of God's chosen authority. Moses' initial step follows the command exactly. The verse heightens the contrast with what follows, where obedience falters in the moment of testing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Num 17:10Yahweh said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you may make an end of their murmurings against me, that they not die.”
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 20:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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